What It Means
Co-viewing is watching a show, video or app together with your child, paying attention to it with them and talking about it. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends it, and its 2016 statement "Media and Young Minds" asked parents of young children to watch with them, help them understand what they're seeing, and connect it to the world around them. Using an app or game together in the same way is sometimes called co-using.
Try It: See What Co-Viewing Looks Like at Each Age
Pick your child's age to see what the AAP's 2016 guidance says and what co-viewing can look like. The example lines are Buhata's own.
No screen media except video chat.
If you add media, choose high-quality programming and use it together.
Up to 1 hour a day of high-quality programming, watched with you.
Co-view at every age, and make a family media plan.
Hold your baby on your lap during a video call with grandma and point to her face.
Sit together, name what's on screen: "A red truck! Beep beep."
Pause and ask: "Why is she sad?" Later, count ducks at the park like the show did.
Watch their show with them and ask what they'd have done in the character's place.
How Parents Say It
- "We watch it together so I know what's in it."
- "Let's pause. What do you think happens next?"
- "Movie night, everybody on the couch."
The Breakdown
Co-viewing by age, from the AAP's 2016 statement
| Age | Guidance | Co-viewing tip |
|---|---|---|
| Under 18 months | No screen media except video chat | Join video calls together |
| 18 to 24 months | If you add media, pick high-quality programming and use it together | Name and point at what you see |
| 2 to 5 years | Up to 1 hour a day of high-quality programming, co-viewed | Talk about it, then connect it to real life |
| Older children | The AAP's handout says to co-view at all ages | Ask questions, share your view, watch their picks |
In February 2026 the AAP replaced its 2016 media statements with "Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents," which shifts the emphasis toward the quality and context of media and the conversations around it. Co-viewing is one of the simplest ways to have those conversations. CDC's parenting tips for toddlersToddlerA child from 1 to 3 years old, the stage CDC's parenting guidance places between infancy and the preschool years. See more carry the same 1 hour limit for quality programming from age 2.
How to co-view
- Choose the show together, and preview anything you're unsure of.
- Sit with your child, with your own phone put away.
- Pause now and then to ask a question or name a feeling.
- Afterward, link it to real life: a letter from the show on a street sign, a kind act like the character's.
Good to Know
Co-viewing matters most when the content is new to your child or has something they may not understand, such as ads, scary scenes or unkind behavior you'd want to talk through. Parental controlsParental controlsSettings and tools that let a parent limit what a child can see, download, buy and who they can contact on a device or app, and for how long. See more and age ratings on streaming apps help you choose, but they don't replace sitting down together.
FAQ
What does co-viewing mean?
Watching media with your child and engaging with it together: talking about what happens, answering questions and linking it to real life. The AAP recommends it for young children and in its handout for all ages.
Is co-viewing better than kids watching alone?
The AAP's 2016 statement advised watching with young children so you can help them understand what they see and use it in everyday life, which a child watching alone doesn't get.
How much screen time is OK for a toddler if we watch together?
The AAP's 2016 statement advised no screen media except video chat under 18 months, and up to 1 hour a day of high-quality programming, watched together, from ages 2 to 5.
Do It in Buhata
Calendar
Put a weekly family movie night on the Calendar in your Household Space in Buhata, so watching together becomes a regular plan.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Screen time
The time a child spends using screens such as TVs, tablets, phones, computers and game consoles, counted across a day or a week.
- Screen-free time
Set times or places in a family's day, like meals, bedrooms or the hour before bed, when phones, TVs, tablets and games stay off.
- Parental controls
Settings and tools that let a parent limit what a child can see, download, buy and who they can contact on a device or app, and for how long.
- Game age ratings
Labels that tell you which ages a video game suits and what content it has. In the U.S., the ESRB assigns them, from E for Everyone to AO for Adults Only.
- Language development
How a child learns to understand and use sounds, gestures and words, from early squeals to first words, two-word phrases and short stories.
- Dialogic reading
A way of reading picture books where the adult asks questions and builds on the child's answers, so the child gradually becomes the one telling the story.
Sources
American Academy of Pediatrics, "Media and Young Minds" (Pediatrics, 2016); AAP News, "Policy addresses how to help parents manage young children's media use"; American Academy of Pediatrics, patient handout "All Ages: Co-view media with your kids"; American Academy of Pediatrics, "Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Policy Statement" (Pediatrics, February 2026); HealthyChildren.org (AAP), "Helping Kids Thrive in a Digital World: AAP Policy Explained"
- publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/5/e20162591/60503/Media-and-Young-Minds
- publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/12960/Policy-addresses-how-to-help-parents-manage-young
- publications.aap.org/patiented/article-pdf/doi/10.1542/ppe_document108/722050/ppe_document108_en.pdf
- publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/157/2/e2025075320/206129/Digital-Ecosystems-Children-and-Adolescents-Policy
- www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/helping-kids-thrive-in-a-digital-world-AAP-policy-explained.aspx
Last updated .