How much time should my child spend on the Internet

The Internet is a very useful tool for finding information, for contacting friends by email, and for chatting to others with similar interests.

However, the Internet is but one means of communication, and one source of information among many. This topic outlines a few issues of a general nature that parents and caregivers may like to consider:

• the child’s age and developmental needs
• reliability of information accessed
• safety considerations
• need for children to be physically active.

The child’s age and developmental needs

• the greatest developmental need for children is to develop caring relationships with others
• it is also important to develop a good understanding of the way their community works and what it has to offer them.

Reliability of information accessed

• the information collected from the Internet may not always be reliable. The source of the information always needs to be checked.
• the local public library may be a better and more reliable source of information. It offers many things besides information, including contact with real people with many skills to offer.

Safety considerations

• The Internet is not a safe place for children to play unsupervised. Their time with the Internet should be dependent on your ability and availability to provide supervision. (See related topics What are the risks involved with my child using the Internet and Tips for Safe Internet Use.

Need for children to be physically active

• Time with the computers limit the opportunities for your child to be physically active.
• Extended periods of time at the screen, can lead to eyestrain, repetitive stress injuries, obesity and social isolation. (See related topic Physical effects of media use)
• children’s time with screen based media (including TV and computers) needs to be kept in balance with time in the real world with real people. For those in early childhood (under seven or eight) up to an hour a day is appropriate, and up to one and a half to 2 hours for older children. (See related topic How much time should my children spend with the media)

Readings & research

• Computers & the internet
  • Books, articles and reports
  • Websites
• Computer/video games
  • Books, articles and reports
  • Websites

Related topics

What are the risks involved with my child using the Internet

Tips for safe Internet use