Parent FAQs
This page focusses on Frequently Asked Questions
from parents and the community.
Navigating the digital landscape with your child can be complex. You have questions, and we have evidence-based answers.
This resource is designed to support parents and caregivers by addressing the most pressing questions regarding smartphones, social media, and age-appropriate technology. We’ve organized our guidance by school level to ensure you get the most relevant information, whether you are dealing with a pre-schooler’s screen time or a high schooler’s mental health.
Select the appropriate tab below to find practical advice, scientific facts, and actionable steps tailored to your child’s developmental stage.
Limiting screen time for children under 5 is strongly recommended by pediatric and health organizations because this age range is a crucial period for rapid brain development and acquiring fundamental skills through real-world interaction.Excessive screen time can negatively impact a child’s development, specifically cognitive & language development, physical health, and social & emotional skills.
- For children aged 2 to 5 years, the recommendation is no more than one hour per day of high-quality, educational screen time, co-viewed by a parent or caregiver.
- For children younger than 2 years, the recommendation is generally to avoid screen media entirely, except for video chatting with family.
Download this resource SFC-SA screentime guidelines for more information.
When explaining a limit to a young child, the key is to be simple, positive, and consistent. They don’t need a lecture on neuroscience; they need an explanation rooted in their own world and feelings. Focus on the benefit of other activities rather than the “badness” of the device. Be mindful of your own device use, especially when playing with your child. Create a list of other fun screen-free activities to engage them.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: Explaining screen limits to your young child for more information.
Setting consistent screen time boundaries with other caregivers, such as co-parents, grandparents, au pairs, or family members, is vital because consistency is what helps young children understand and accept rules.
This requires approaching the conversation with teamwork, clarity, and empathy. Before speaking with anyone else, you and your co-parent/partner need to be aligned on the key simple non-negotiables.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: Explaining screen limits to grandparents & caregivers for more information.
Setting device-free expectations for playdates can feel awkward, but it’s a boundary many parents appreciate. The key is to be direct, warm, and frame it as a positive choice for the children’s experience. Discussing the boundary upfront when you are making the plan helps to frame it as a rule for your home, not a judgment on their parenting.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: Conversations around device-free playdates (young children) for more information.
SFC-SA encourages parents to stand together in delaying smartphones and other smart devices, building a supportive community. Ask your pre-primary school to host a talk to spark conversation, and put up a copy of the SFC-SA Pre-Primary Parent Pact to enable parents to sign a pledge to delay.
Download these resources:
Talking to primary school children about why your family is delaying devices requires shifting the explanation from “brain growth” (which is abstract) to practical reasons, safety, and empowering them with future responsibility. It’s about explaining that “it’s no for now, not no forever”.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: Explaining screen limits to your young child for more information.
Your decision should be based on a combination of your child’s maturity level, your family’s needs, and the type of device they will be using. In primary school, chidren’s brains are rapidly developing through real-world, hands-on, and social interaction. A device owned by the child distracts from this crucial development, so it is recommended that they only use family-owned, shared devices under strict supervision and only for specific, high-quality, and educational purposes.
Download this resource SFC-SA screentime guidelines for more information.
Refer to the norms that need to change because of the dangers. Research that shows brain development is damaged by screens vs natural play.
This is the impossible position that parents are put in – we want to delay devices to protect our children, but don’t want them to be left out! The power of the Parent Pact is in increasing the numbers of families who are also committed to delaying in the interests of a happier and healthier childhood.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: Establishing Parent Pacts in your child’s school for more information.
Sign the Parent Pact to find your tribe.
Setting consistent screen time boundaries with other caregivers, such as co-parents, grandparents, au pairs, or family members, is vital because consistency is what helps children understand and accept rules.
This requires approaching the conversation with teamwork, clarity, and empathy. Before speaking with anyone else, you and your co-parent/partner need to be aligned on the key simple non-negotiables.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: Explaining screen limits to grandparents & caregivers for more information.
Having open conversations with your child’s school helps ensure that technology is being used in ways that support learning, encourage balance, and protect wellbeing. By asking the right
questions, parents can better understand their school’s approach to screen time, digital tools, and online safety and privacy, and play an active role in shaping a healthy relationship between
education and technology.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: starting the EdTech conversation with your school for more information.
To approach your child’s school about phone use, focus on collaboration rather than confrontation. Schools are currently grappling with the balance between educational technology and digital distraction, so they often welcome constructive parental input.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: starting the Phone Free School conversation with your school for more information.
Setting device-free expectations for playdates can feel awkward, but it’s a boundary many parents appreciate. The key is to be direct, warm, and frame it as a positive choice for the children’s experience. Discussing the boundary upfront when you are making the plan helps to frame it as a rule for your home, not a judgment on their parenting.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: Conversations around device-free playdates & sleepovers (older children) for more information.
SFC-SA supports the recommendation by experts to delay giving children access to their own smartphones until at least high school. The choice to give a teen a smartphone is a major shift in their development and your family dynamic.Your decision should be based on a combination of your child’s maturity level, your family’s needs, the type of device they will be using and your ability to monitor the device. Teenager’s brains are still rapidly developing, and need lots of real-world, hands-on, and social interaction. If you decide they are ready, it is important to establish clear, non-negotiable boundaries before they receive the device, which can be formalised in a Digital Pledge.
Download these resources for more information:
SFC-SA supports the recommendation by experts to delay giving children access to social media until 16 years old. It creates a major shift in their development and your family dynamic.Your decision should be based on a combination of your child’s maturity level, your family’s needs, the type of device they will be using and your ability to monitor the device.
As social media becomes a primary communication channel once teenagers access it, the challenge for parents and policymakers is how to balance protection with inclusion. As the global trend shifts towards regulation of a minimum age threshold of 16 for social media platfoms, it is clear that as more families come on board to delay social media until this age, so the risk of social exclusion of teenagers under this age lessens.
Explaining your decision clearly and empathetically is crucial for getting your teen’s understanding and cooperation. The key is to shift the focus from “what they are losing” to “what they are gaining” (like focus, deeper connection, and mental well-being).
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: How to talk to your teenager about why you are delaying social media for more information.
The consensus among mental health professionals is that social media use poses a significant risk to the mental health and well-being of adolescents, especially with heavy or problematic use. These include:
- Social Comparison and body dissatisfaction
- Addiction and emotional vulnerability
- Increased depression and anxiety risk
- FOMO and isolation
- Cyberbullying, harassment and predation
- Disruption of healthy habits (sleep deprivation and missed mental health enhancing opportunities such as physical activity, in-person social bonding, hobbies, and downtime for reflection)
The good news is yes, it is absolutely possible to mitigate and, in many cases, reverse the negative effects of early or excessive smartphone and social media use.
The teenage brain is still highly plastic, meaning it can reorganize itself and form new habits. The key is intervention, consistency, and focusing on replacing the damaging behaviours with healthy, real-world alternatives.
It’s important to remember that these types of behavioral addictions often have underlying causes like stress, anxiety, or loneliness. The most crucial first steps are to approach your teen with support and open-mindedness and to seek professional help.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: How to manage an online addiction for more information.
Navigating the digital world with a teen requires ongoing, open communication, as the landscape is constantly changing with new trends and technology. The goal is not just to police their behaviour, but set a foundation for why you need to oversee their online world, to help them learn how to cultivate good digital decisions and critical thinking so they can make safe choices even when you’re not around.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: How to have online safety conversations for more information.
Navigating the digital world with a teen requires ongoing, open communication, as the landscape is constantly changing with new trends and technology. The goal is not just to police their behavior, but set a foundation for why you need to oversee their online world, to help them learn how to cultivate good digital decisions and critical thinking so they can make safe choices even when you’re not around.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: How to have online safety conversations for more information.
Having open conversations with your child’s school helps ensure that technology is being used in ways that support learning, encourage balance, and protect wellbeing. By asking the right
questions, parents can better understand their school’s approach to screen time, digital tools, and online safety and privacy, and play an active role in shaping a healthy relationship between
education and technology.
Download this resource A Parent’s Guide: starting the EdTech conversation with your school for more information.
To approach your child’s school about phone use, focus on collaboration rather than confrontation. Schools are currently grappling with the balance between educational technology and digital distraction, so they often welcome constructive parental input.
Download this resource A Parent & Educator’s Guide: Starting the phone-free school conversation for more information.
