Screens have become a normal part of childhood.

Children use technology to learn, communicate, relax, create and entertain themselves. Screens may be part of schoolwork, video calls with grandparents, educational games, favourite television programs or time spent connecting with friends.

At the same time, childhood is still about building cubbies, climbing playgrounds, riding bikes, digging in the garden, making messy craft, dressing up, creating imaginary worlds and asking someone to watch them do the same jump for the tenth time.

So where does the balance sit?

As Occupational Therapists at The Therapy Network (TTN), we don’t see technology as simply “good” or “bad”.

Screens are part of modern life and can offer meaningful opportunities for learning, creativity, communication and connection.

What matters is whether screen use is supporting a child’s participation in everyday life — or beginning to replace the experiences they need to move, play, connect, rest and develop independence.

Why Balance Matters

Occupational Therapy is centred around participation in meaningful everyday activities — or what we call occupations.

For children, these occupations include things such as:

  • playing
  • learning
  • moving
  • communicating
  • getting dressed
  • eating
  • sleeping
  • spending time with family
  • developing friendships
  • participating at school
  • joining in community activities.

Children develop many of their skills through active participation in these experiences.

A screen can show a child how to build a tower, kick a ball or make a cake.

But it is the experience of actually building, kicking, mixing, spilling, trying again and solving problems that helps children develop physical, cognitive, emotional and social skills.

That is why, from an OT perspective, balance is so important.

The aim doesn’t need to be eliminating technology. Instead, we want to make sure there is still plenty of room in a child’s day for movement, play, relationships, sleep, creativity and hands-on exploration.

Screen Time Can Have Benefits Too

When technology is used thoughtfully, it can be a valuable part of a child’s day.

Screens may:

  • Support learning through educational programs, games and interactive activities.
  • Encourage creativity through drawing, music, photography, animation and storytelling.
  • Build connection by helping children communicate with friends and family.
  • Develop problem-solving skills through games that involve planning, memory and flexible thinking.
  • Introduce new ideas and interests, from animals and science to art, music and other cultures.
  • Support communication and accessibility for some children through visual supports, communication systems and assistive technology.

Not all screen experiences are the same.

A child creating digital artwork, talking with a family member or following a recipe may be having a very different experience from endlessly scrolling through short videos.

That is why the quality, purpose and context of screen use matter.

Why Play Is So Important

If screen time is one piece of the childhood puzzle, play is another very important one.

Play is one of the primary ways children learn about themselves, other people and the world around them.

When children are playing, they may look as though they are “just having fun”, but their brains and bodies are doing an enormous amount of work.

Building Gross Motor Skills

Running, jumping, climbing, swinging, balancing, riding and throwing help children develop:

  • strength
  • coordination
  • balance
  • body awareness
  • endurance
  • confidence in movement.

These skills support participation in playground activities, sport, school routines and everyday independence.

Developing Fine Motor Skills

Activities such as drawing, cutting, threading, building, using playdough, completing puzzles and constructing with blocks strengthen the small muscles of the hands.

These skills contribute to:

  • handwriting
  • using cutlery
  • doing up buttons and zips
  • opening containers
  • managing school materials
  • completing everyday self-care activities.

Learning Social Skills

Play with siblings, friends and adults provides opportunities to practise:

  • sharing
  • turn-taking
  • negotiating
  • communicating ideas
  • understanding another person’s perspective
  • compromising
  • solving disagreements
  • working as part of a group.

These skills are difficult to learn from explanation alone. Children need opportunities to experience them.

Supporting Emotional Regulation

Play naturally involves things not going according to plan.

The tower falls down.

Someone else gets the first turn.

The game is lost.

The drawing doesn’t look right.

A sibling changes the rules.

These small moments give children opportunities to experience frustration, disappointment, excitement and success while gradually learning how to manage those emotions.

Building Imagination and Flexible Thinking

A cardboard box can become a rocket.

A blanket can become a cave.

A stick can become a magic wand.

The lounge room floor can suddenly become lava.

Open-ended play gives children opportunities to create ideas, experiment, adapt and solve problems.

There is no predetermined “right” answer — and that is part of what makes this type of play so valuable.

When Might Screen Use Be Getting in the Way?

Rather than focusing only on a number of minutes or hours, we often encourage families to look at what screen use might be displacing.

It may be helpful to consider whether technology is regularly reducing opportunities for:

  • physical activity
  • outdoor play
  • face-to-face interaction
  • imaginative play
  • family connection
  • participation in everyday routines
  • sleep
  • hobbies and interests
  • independent play
  • hands-on learning.

Families might also notice that their child:

  • becomes very distressed when asked to stop
  • struggles to move on to another activity
  • constantly asks for a device
  • loses interest in activities they previously enjoyed
  • relies on screens whenever they feel bored
  • finds mealtimes, bedtime or morning routines difficult without a device.

These behaviours don’t automatically mean screens are the problem.

For some children, technology may also be serving an important purpose. It might provide predictability, sensory regulation, downtime, social connection or a way to recover after a demanding day.

Understanding why a child is seeking a screen is often more useful than simply taking it away.

Five of our OT-Informed Ways to Create Better Balance

1. Make Screen Time Predictable

Children often cope better with transitions when they know what to expect.

Rather than negotiating screen access throughout the day, families might establish predictable routines such as:

  • screen time after certain afternoon routines are complete
  • a favourite program at a consistent time
  • gaming during agreed periods
  • a regular family movie night.

Visual schedules, timers and “first–then” language may also help some children understand when screen time will start and finish.

For example:

“First dinner, then your show.”

Predictability can reduce uncertainty and make boundaries easier to understand.

2. Build Movement Into Everyday Life

Movement doesn’t have to mean organised sport.

Children can get their bodies moving through:

  • playground visits
  • bike or scooter riding
  • backyard games
  • walking the dog
  • dancing
  • swimming
  • kicking a football
  • helping with gardening
  • obstacle courses
  • active household jobs
  • walking to local places when practical.

For many children, regular movement can also support attention, regulation and readiness to participate in everyday activities.

3. Let Screens Inspire Real-World Experiences

Technology and hands-on play don’t need to compete.

They can work together.

For example:

Watch a cooking video → make the recipe together.

Learn about dinosaurs → create a dinosaur dig in the sandpit.

Watch an art tutorial → get out the paints and create your own version.

See a science experiment → try it at home.

Play a building game → construct something using boxes, LEGO® or recycled materials.

This helps children transfer ideas from the digital world into active learning.

4. Remember That Children Watch Our Habits Too

Adults are navigating the same digital world.

Children notice when phones come to the dinner table, when we check notifications during conversations and when screens fill every quiet moment.

This doesn’t mean parents need to model perfect technology habits.

It simply means that small family choices can be powerful.

You might decide to:

  • put phones aside during meals
  • take a family walk without devices
  • read together
  • play a board game
  • cook together
  • spend time outdoors
  • have conversations without competing with notifications.

Healthy screen habits work best when they become part of the whole family’s routine.

5. Protect Some Screen-Free Moments

Some parts of the day may benefit from having fewer digital distractions.

Families may choose to protect times such as:

  • Family meals
  • Bedtime routines
  • Games and shared activities
  • Outdoor family time
  • Conversations and catch-ups

The goal isn’t to create rigid rules for every family.

It is to intentionally protect opportunities for connection, communication, movement and rest.

Quality Can Matter Just as Much as Quantity

Parents understandably want to know:

“How much screen time is too much?”

But duration is only part of the picture.

As OTs, we are also interested in questions such as:

  • What is my child doing on the screen?
  • Is the content appropriate for them?
  • Are they actively creating or passively consuming?
  • Are they interacting with another person?
  • How do they feel before, during and after using the device?
  • Can they transition away from it?
  • Is screen use affecting sleep or daily routines?
  • Are there still opportunities for movement, play and social connection?
  • Is technology helping or limiting participation in everyday life?

A child watching a documentary with a parent and then heading outside to search for insects is having a very different experience from a child repeatedly scrolling alone late at night.

Context matters.

What About Children Who Really Struggle to Switch Off?

For some children, moving away from a highly preferred screen activity is genuinely difficult.

This may be particularly noticeable for children who experience challenges with:

  • executive functioning
  • impulse control
  • emotional regulation
  • transitions
  • flexible thinking
  • sensory processing
  • recognising time
  • shifting attention between activities.

Simply saying “turn it off” may therefore be much harder for some children than adults realise.

Strategies such as giving advance warning, using visual timers, having a predictable next activity and maintaining consistent routines may make transitions more manageable.

It can also help to think carefully about what comes after the screen.

“Turn off your game and find something to do” is vague.

“Five more minutes of your game, then we’re going outside to kick the football” provides a much clearer transition.

Don’t Be Afraid of Boredom

One of the easiest ways to fill a quiet moment is to hand over a screen.

And sometimes, that is completely understandable.

But children don’t necessarily need to be entertained every minute.

Boredom can create space for children to:

  • generate their own ideas
  • explore
  • problem-solve
  • initiate play
  • become creative
  • discover new interests.

A child saying “I’m bored” doesn’t always require an immediate solution.

Sometimes boredom is the beginning of the cardboard box becoming a spaceship.

How Occupational Therapy Can Help

At The Therapy Network, our Occupational Therapists recognise that every child and every family is different.

There is no single screen-time routine that will suit every household.

Instead, we work with families to understand the bigger picture.

Our Occupational Therapists may help families:

  • understand how screen use fits within their child’s everyday routine
  • identify sensory or emotional reasons a child may strongly seek technology
  • build predictable routines and boundaries
  • support transitions away from preferred screen activities
  • develop visual schedules and other practical supports
  • identify play and movement activities that match the child’s interests
  • build independence in everyday routines
  • support emotional regulation and flexible thinking
  • increase participation in family, school and community activities.

Sometimes the goal isn’t actually to reduce screen time.

The more meaningful goal may be to increase everything else.

More movement.

More independence.

More connection.

More creativity.

More participation.

More opportunities to experience the world beyond the screen.

The TTN Takeaway: Make Room for Both Screens and Scenes

Screens are here to stay — and that’s okay.

Technology can help children learn, communicate, create and connect.

But childhood also happens in the moments that can’t be downloaded.

It’s in the muddy shoes.

The scraped knees.

The tower that falls down.

The bike ride around the block.

The cubby made from every blanket in the house.

The game that changes rules halfway through.

The conversation at the dinner table.

The repeated cry of:

“Watch me do it again!”

As Occupational Therapists, we want children to have opportunities to participate in all of these experiences.

The goal isn’t a perfectly screen-free childhood.

The goal is a childhood with enough space for movement, play, imagination, relationships, rest and real-world discovery alongside technology.

Because sometimes the most important developmental opportunities don’t happen on a screen.

They happen in the scenes children create around them.

Our Tips for Healthier Screen Habits

  • Create predictable routines around when screens are available.
  • Give children advance warning before screen time finishes.
  • Include opportunities for movement and active play throughout the day.
  • Choose quality, age-appropriate content.
  • Watch, play and talk about digital content together when possible.
  • Use technology as a springboard for real-world activities.
  • Protect some family times from digital distractions.
  • Offer a clear next activity when transitioning away from a screen.
  • Remember that boredom can be the beginning of creativity.
  • Focus on balance across the whole day rather than striving for perfection.

Need Support With Your Child’s Daily Routines?

If technology is becoming a source of frequent conflict, your child finds it difficult to transition away from screens, or you would like support building more movement, play and independence into everyday routines, The Therapy Network’s Occupational Therapists can help.

We work alongside children and families to develop practical, achievable strategies that support participation, emotional regulation, independence and wellbeing across everyday life.

Contact The Therapy Network to learn more about how Occupational Therapy can support your child and family.