This sounds extreme, but first let me ask: how many parents do you think actually keep track of their kids’ screen time? If the TV is on but one of the children wanders out of the room, does that count? What if they’re following along to a yoga video? What if the kid borrows Mom’s phone at dinner to ask Google what snails eat?

Guidelines abound that encourage limiting “screen time.” The American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, recommends two hours or less per day, and says screens “should be avoided” for kids under 2. While I hate to see kids vegging out in front of the TV, I think these limits are based more on knee-jerk reactions (kids these days and their screens!) than on anything that’s actually meaningful to kids’ development. READ MORE: The Case for Unlimited Tablet Time for Toddlers | Public Health.

You May Also Like: Concerns About Children, Social Media and Technology Use | July 16, 2015 | Pew Research Center Snip: “In this survey, 33% of parents said they have had concerns or questions about their child’s technology use in the past 12 months. Mothers and fathers are equally likely to have had concerns and questions. Parents who have children over the age of 5 are significantly more likely than parents who only have children under age 5 to say they have had questions or concerns of this type over the past year (36% vs. 21%).”