How much time should kids be allowed to stare into their screens like zombies? New guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics upturns conventional thinking on the matter, showing that a sweeping one-size-fits-all approach is not the right way for parents to go about limiting their children’s screen time. For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has told parents to limit their child’s screen time to no more than two hours per day, whether that time is spent in front of a television, tablet computer, laptop, or mobile phone. What’s more, the AAP made virtually no mention of age, or the kind of content that should be limited, issuing a simplified blanket approach to media use.In a series of papers published today in the science journal Pediatrics, it’s clear that the AAP has significantly revised its thinking on the matter, breaking down media use according to all these criteria. And to support parents with these new recommendations, the AAP has published an interactive, online tool that families can use to create a personalized Family Media Use Plan.

As the AAP’s new guidelines point out, not all screen time is equal. To say that these revised guidelines are long overdue would be a gross understatement. As any parent knows, not all media content is equal. army meps backpackAccordingly, the AAP now makes a distinction between entertainment and educational programming. wenger ibex laptop computer backpack capacityThis means that parents can now be a bit more lenient when their tweens need to hit up Wikipedia while doing their homework, or when they’d like to tackle some modules on Khan Academy.lejeune backpack tote tumi That said, the AAP says parents need to limit the entertainment side of media use, pointing to social media, video games, commercial television, and streaming services. abrasus backpack

For school-aged children and teens, the AAP says it’s important to balance media use with other healthy behaviors, and that problems begin when excessive screen time interferes with experiences critical to learning, such as physical activity, hands-on exploration, and face-to-face social interaction. laptop bags for asus g751For younger children, the AAP recommends that children under the age of 18 months avoid screens altogether, except for apps like Skype and FaceTime which they can use to chat with grandma and grandpa. baby equipment rental port aransasChildren between 18 to 24 months can be introduced to digital media, but the AAP says it needs to be “high-quality programming” (the AAP doesn’t define what it means by that, but it clearly doesn’t want young children to be watching any old garbage) and that parents should watch it along with their children to help them understand what they’re seeing. backpack gids thailand

Similarly, children between the ages two to five should be limited to high-quality programming, with screen use limited to one hour per day. Again, the AAP is asking parents to co-watch these programs with their children. Kids who are six and older should have “consistent limits” placed on the time spent using media, particularly of the entertainment variety. Parents should make sure that screen time isn’t getting in the way of adequate sleep, physical activity, and other healthy behaviors. Lastly, the AAP says parents should designate media-free times for the entire family, such as during dinner or while driving, and that families should also create media-free zones in the home, such as in bedrooms—which, good luck. Indeed, these guidelines are all well and good—and they’re undoubtedly not even wrong—but implementing these prescriptions is another thing entirely. The AAP, with its lofty recommendations, doesn’t sound entirely in tune with the realities of daily life.

Parents obviously want to raise healthy children who aren’t constantly glued to computer screens, but these devices are a godsend for those moments when a parent needs to make dinner, or when they simply need to go to the bathroom. A few moments of peace and quiet can do wonders for a parent, powering them with the patience to truck on and put on a genuine smile when the kids comes calling. When it comes to limiting screen time, there’s a tradeoff between parental health, and the needs of a child—and that needs to be acknowledged. And let’s face it, sometimes it’s fun for both the kid and the parent to watch Minions for the 30th time.Staying connected with the kids takes on a literal meaning for many parents who turn to child safety harnesses to keep their little ones close. Attached to mom or dad by a tether, a small child can’t bolt off or get lost in a mall, at an amusement park or any other crowded place. Depending on your viewpoint, it’s one of the best ways to keep kids out of harm’s way or a cringeworthy practice that comes uncomfortably close to treating them like four-legged creatures on a leash.

Put Katy Maher firmly in the "pro-harness" column. The mom of 14-month-old twins lives on a very busy street in Chicago, so she recently started using harnesses when she’s on her own and the family wants to venture outside. The knowledge that the kids can’t stray far away from her provides peace of mind, she said. “I really love being able to just go outside and walk around and let them explore. So this gives us the freedom to do that and not be as stressful,” Maher, 40, told TODAY Moms. “If it’s just you and the two little ones, it can be kind of a scary prospect when you’re out on a busy street.” The harnesses look like tethers attached to backpacks in the shape of stuffed animals that Maher’s twins, a boy and a girl, like to play with when they’re at home. Mom lets them lead the way when they’re walking outside for a hands-free experience, but they also hold hands when they want to. Maher recently put together a list of all the reasons why she uses a harness in a column that also acknowledged some passers-by are openly critical of her stance.

“There have been a couple of people who looked sideways at me, and I have heard the comment, ‘I leash my dog, you leash your kids,’” Maher recalled. “I didn’t want to get very upset but I was, and I said, ‘I’m doing my best to keep them safe.’” Kat Komin’s mom always used a harness with her when she was little, so Komin did the same when her 2-year-old daughter began scooting off from her at the playground. “It got me really scared that you just blink and the next second your daughter is running away,” said Komin, 32, who lives in suburban Seattle and wrote about the experience in her blog. She was also shaken after reading a news story about a stranger snatching a boy away from his parents during an outing, so Komin uses the harness when the family is out in a public place as an extra measure of security for her daughter. Like Maher, she also gets looks from people who disapprove. “I just glare right back at them,” Komin said.

“Having her on a harness definitely outweighs the looks for me because I’m just interested in my child’s safety and I’m doing the best that I can.” Parenting experts have mixed opinions about child safety harnesses. Some children who are incredibly impulsive or have special needs can put themselves in dangerous situations, so using a harness could be a good thing, said Jennifer Hartstein, a New York child psychologist. “Some parents really do not know what to do, so this is a potentially effective solution,” Hartstein said. But she cautioned the practice could create embarrassment in children that they could carry with them over time. Indeed, many people can’t get past the visual—there’s even a photo sharing site for those “who laugh when they see children on leashes.” For the general population of kids, a firm stance as a parent should be enough to keep a child from scooting off, said Susan Newman, a New York social psychologist and parenting expert who is a critic of the harnesses.