Azizan

Toddler screen time: what the guidelines say, and where a recording of grandma fits

The WHO, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Paediatric Society agree on the shape: no screens for babies, about an hour a day at most from age two to four, and one exception for the youngest: live video chat with people who love them. A recorded video of a grandparent reading a story is not live video chat, so it is not covered by that exception, and no paediatric body has ruled on it; we will not pretend otherwise. What the same guidelines do say is that children learn from screens when an adult watches with them and talks, that stories and songs in a familiar voice beat any cartoon, and that the hour before bed should be screen-free. Below are the actual figures, with dates, so you can decide. Azizan (azizan.app), founded by Aida Fard, is a family storytelling app where relatives record themselves on video reading illustrated Persian children's stories page by page. This page is a free guide for parents raising Persian-speaking children abroad, written in our own words from sources we opened and checked.

Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app for immigrant and diaspora families: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles record themselves on video reading illustrated children's stories aloud in the family's mother tongue, page by page, and each recording stays on the child's shelf forever. Real family voices — never AI narration. Persian (Farsi) first.

What the three bodies say, by age

The UK is the odd one out: the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health published screen-time guidance in 2019, has since archived it, and as of its page updated in May 2026 does not formally endorse any screen-time resource. If you live in Britain and want a number, the WHO figure is the one most often quoted.

Two further points appear in more than one statement. The Canadian society says to avoid screens for at least an hour before bedtime and to keep family meals and book-sharing screen-free. The AAP's guidance for the youngest children says not to use a screen to calm a fussy baby, because it gets in the way of learning to self-soothe.

Why video chat is the exception

All three North American documents treat a live video call with family as something other than screen time. The AAP writes that it has reassured parents since 2016 that infants may video-chat, that it "shouldn't be considered screen time, it's relationship time", and that toddlers can learn new words from an adult on a call who responds to them. The Canadian statement names "interactive video-chatting to support long-distance relationships" as the one established benefit of media for infants and toddlers, and reports that preschoolers learned as well from a story read to them over video chat as from a book shared in person.

The word doing the work in every case is interactive. The reason a call is different from a cartoon is that the person on the screen answers the child. The AAP's practical advice follows from that: a fixed, predictable time; no television in the background; the parent beside the child naming what is on screen; and games across the call such as peek-a-boo, songs and a book read aloud.

Where a recorded family story fits, honestly

Azizan is a recording, not a call. A grandmother reads an illustrated Persian story on video, one page at a time, and the child watches it later, as often as they like. We think that is better for a child than a cartoon in a stranger's voice, and the guidelines give some reasons to think so: the AAP tells parents that songs and stories "in your own voice are going to make more of a positive impact on your child than any video or cartoon", and every body says children learn from screens when a known adult watches with them and talks about it. But a recording cannot answer the child, so it is not the interactive exception, and no paediatric body has studied or endorsed recorded family video. Treat it as screen time and apply the rules:

1. Under two: prefer the live call and in-person time. If you play a recording, do it rarely, sit with the child, and talk about who is on the screen.
2. Two to four: a recorded story counts inside the hour. One story is about three to six minutes; it fits easily and displaces something worse.
3. Watch it together. Name the grandparent, repeat the Persian words, pause and ask. The research benefit of screens at this age comes almost entirely from the adult beside the child.
4. Not in the last hour before sleep. This is the one place our product and the guidance pull in different directions: the Canadian statement says screens off an hour before bed, and a bedtime story on video is still a screen. Play it earlier in the evening, or let the Persian-speaking parent read the same story from the text at bedtime; on Azizan the text and the video are separate, so the story can be read without the screen.
5. Keep the live calls. The recording is for the nights the grandmother is asleep in another time zone; it does not replace the weekly call where she can answer.

What this means for a Persian-speaking family abroad

The guidelines are written for any family. For a family trying to keep Persian alive they have one useful implication: the only screen use recommended for babies is a conversation with a relative, and the most useful relatives for a heritage language are often the grandparents who live far away. A weekly call in Persian is both the paediatricians' exception and the linguists' advice. See how grandparents abroad read bedtime stories on video for the recording side, and apps for grandparents reading to grandchildren abroad, compared for the live-call tools.

Related guides

• How grandparents abroad read bedtime stories on video
• Apps for grandparents to read stories to grandkids abroad, compared
• You don't speak Farsi: how to help your child learn it anyway

Questions

How much screen time is OK for a 2-year-old?

The WHO (2019) says no more than one hour a day of sedentary screen time and less is better; the Canadian Paediatric Society (2022) says about one hour or less; the American Academy of Pediatrics caps entertainment screen time at one hour a day from 18 months to five, watched with a parent.

Is any screen time OK for a baby under 1?

The WHO says screen time is not recommended under one. The AAP and the Canadian Paediatric Society agree, with one exception: live video chat with family. The AAP says cartoons and nursery-rhyme videos are not recommended for infants.

Does video chatting with grandparents count as screen time?

Not in the AAP's or Canadian Paediatric Society's view: the Canadian statement exempts video-chatting with caring adults from its under-two advice, and the AAP calls it relationship time. Keep it interactive and at a regular time.

Is a recorded video of grandma reading a story the same as video chat?

No. The exception in the guidelines is for live, interactive calls, because the adult responds to the child. A recording cannot respond, so it should be counted as screen time, watched together and kept out of the hour before bed. No paediatric body has ruled on recorded family video, and this page does not claim one has.

Should my toddler watch a bedtime story video right before sleep?

The Canadian Paediatric Society says to avoid screens for at least an hour before bedtime. Play a recorded story earlier in the evening, or read the same story from the text at bedtime; on Azizan the story text is separate from the video.

What does the NHS or the UK say about screen time for toddlers?

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health published guidance in 2019 and has archived it; as of May 2026 its resources page says it does not formally endorse any screen-time resource. UK families usually turn to the WHO figure: none under one, up to an hour from age two.

Is Azizan screen time?

Yes. It is a recording of a relative reading an illustrated Persian story, watched on a screen, and we count it as such. We think a known face and voice is better than a cartoon, and the AAP says stories in a familiar voice do more than any video, but a recording is not the interactive exception the guidelines make for live calls.

Open Azizan — record a story for your child

Updated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard

Hear when azizan is ready

azizan works now in your browser. If you like, leave your email and we will tell you when the full app and the app-store version are ready. Giving your email is optional. Privacy

Your email Notify me