Screen time is simultaneously one of the biggest boons and worries of modern parenting.

Luckily, the rules around screen time for kids are actually pretty simple. First, you can stop worrying so much about the amount of screen time children are getting. Of more importance is what kids are doing during that screen time, and that boils down to three golden rules: Age-Appropriateness, Interactivity, and Parent Partnership. If an app, game or video contains age-appropriate content, is interactive in a way that gets kids thinking or creating, and allows for parents to be involved, too, then screen time is a positive, educational experience for kids. Anything passively viewed that requires no critical thought is much less valuable.

But screen time isn’t just about learning and entertainment — it’s also about online safety. Many parents turn to parental control apps to ensure children’s online privacy and protection, but a better strategy is to help kids build skills to identify and deal with online threats to themselves and others. It’s a long-view strategy that pays off as kids grow, and you can learn all about it and more in the articles and videos below.