France to ban screens for children under 3

France has taken the positive step to ban screens in settings of care for children under three years of age.  The practicalities of the legal ban are yet to be ironed out, but crucially does include the home. Public Health France has published troubling figures showing that two-year-olds in France have an average of 56 minutes of screen time per day and only 13.7% have the recommended no screen time at all! The ban is a strengthening of previous French national guidance recommending against screens in childhood. The Health Minister Cathrine Vautrin is aiming to kickstart a cultural shift that recognises the harms of screen time in childhood. For more details, see this article.

In addition, French health professionals have formally recognised the harms of screens in their Carnet de Santé, similar to the UK’s Red Book.  The Carnet de Santé is a child’s health record containing vaccination history, growth milestones, illnesses and treatments alongside general health information.  On January 1st 2025 the Carnet de Santé was updated with numerous recommendations around screen time that include, amongst others: No screen time under 3, very limited screen time between 3 and 6, no mobile phone until 11, no social media before 15, and after this age only “ethical” social media networks.

We celebrate and support the efforts of our international colleagues to safeguard childhood in France. Technology is shaping our collective global culture and alongside our international colleagues we are committed to minimising the harms of screen time in childhood. In terms of UK Guidance, Health Professionals for Safer Screens recommends our Summer of Connections guidance here.