Children under five must spend less time sitting watching screens, or restrained in prams and seats, get better quality sleep and have more time for active play if they are to grow up healthy, according to the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO Screen time Recommendations:
- Infants (less than 1 year): Screen time is not recommended.
- Children 1-2 years of age: For 1-year-olds, sedentary screen time (such as watching TV or videos, playing computer games) is not recommended. For those aged 2 years, sedentary screen time should be no more than 1 hour; less is better.
- Children 3-4 years of age: sedentary screen time should be no more than 1 hour; less is better.
However, it is recognised that screen time used in the right circumstances and context can be a positive educational tool.
A high level strategy for addressing children’s screen time usage has been led and developed by: the Director of Public Health, Director of Education and GHA paediatric consultant. A working group was established in 2024 and this strategy will evolve as work continues to progress on this topic.
Gibraltar’s vision is to enable a generation of children to mindfully and safely use technology and screen time in a positive way that supports their development and learning
- Our goals are to:
- reduce the number of children who are not ready for school
- reduce the number of secondary school children identified as having problematic screen time usage
- improve our children’s ability to self-regulate using non-technical devices
- improve our children’s in person social interactions
- improve our children’s level of physical activity
We aim to re-set the Gibraltar ‘norm’ that may evolve to include:
-
- No screen time for under 2 year olds
- Phone-free during the school day
- Device free bedrooms on school nights
- Device free mealtimes for adults and children
- Screens not used an hour before sleep
- Develop an ethos of ‘outdoors whenever possible’ to also promote wider health and well-being of children
Gibraltar Special Educational Needs Report:
The Government has published in 2024 a report commissioned by the Minister for Education Prof John Cortes, which looked into the marked increase in the number of children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND). The report, prepared by Public Health professional Una Geary used data from the Department of Education and an extensive literature search to arrive at its conclusions. There were also meetings with stakeholders and a public meeting. While the terms of reference were to identify causes, the report goes on to make a number of recommendations.
The report finds that increases in SEND, in particular autism and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) are being seen globally. While increased awareness makes a contribution, it does not account for the whole increase, which is real. Parental health and age, and smoking, are some of the contributory factors, while excessive screen time in very young children is considered to exacerbate the conditions.
The key recommendations made in the report are:
1. Tackle maternal health
2. Provide support for parenting skills
3. Limit children’s screen time
4. Continue to pursue a philosophy of inclusion in Education
You can download the Children and Screentime strategy by clicking on the link below
Children & screen time strategy FINAL 11th Feb 2026
Please see our FAQ section on screen time use if you are concerned about your child or teenager
