The school holidays have arrived, and with them comes a question most parents dread: what happens to screen time when structure disappears?

For many families, the December break brings a predictable pattern. The first few days feel liberating—late mornings, relaxed rules, the occasional movie marathon. Then comes the creeping realisation that your child has been on a device for six hours straight, and it’s only lunchtime.

Before the guilt sets in, it’s worth understanding what’s actually happening during these school holidays, what research tells us about screen time, and what realistic options exist for families trying to navigate the next few weeks.

The Reality Check: How Much Screen Time Are We Talking About?

Children and teenagers now spend an average of 7½ hours daily looking at screens, according to research from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. That figure has climbed steadily over the past decade—pre-teens alone have increased their daily screen time by a full hour since 2015.

A June 2025 survey by Lurie Children’s Hospital found a stark gap between parental intentions and reality. Parents of children under 13 believe nine hours per week is ideal. The actual figure? Twenty-one hours weekly, that is more than double their preferred amount. Two-thirds of parents say they’d like to reduce their child’s screen time, yet nearly half rely on screens daily to help manage parenting responsibilities.

The holidays amplify this pattern. Without school schedules, homework deadlines, or structured activities, screen time often expands to fill available hours. It’s not necessarily about bad parenting, it’s about the collision between work obligations, childcare gaps, and devices that provide instant entertainment.

What the Science Actually Says

The conversation around children’s screen time has evolved significantly. The American Academy of Pediatrics, which once recommended strict two-hour daily limits for older children, has largely abandoned that approach. The Canadian Pediatric Society now emphasises that “it’s more useful to focus on how screens are being used” rather than counting minutes.

Research published throughout 2025 reveals a nuanced picture. A December study from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, tracking over 8,000 children for four years, found that social media specifically, not TV or video games, was linked to declining attention spans. The key finding wasn’t that all screens are equal, but that constant notifications and mental distractions from platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok created unique attention challenges.

Other studies point to concerning patterns when screen use becomes excessive. Research from Cedars-Sinai warns that overstimulation of the visual cortex in young children can come at the expense of the auditory cortex, which is vital for language and social skills. Children spending more than two hours daily on non-educational screen time show increased risks of anxiety, depression, and emotional challenges.

But perhaps the most interesting research centres on what happens during screen-free time, specifically, boredom.

The Unexpected Benefits of Boredom

Multiple neuroscience studies in 2025 have documented what happens in children’s brains during periods of boredom. When children aren’t receiving external stimulation, the brain’s default mode network activates, the same system responsible for creativity, self-reflection, and planning.

Research published in April 2025 found that boredom triggers several crucial developmental processes. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive functions like planning and impulse control, strengthens when children navigate boredom independently. Studies show that children who regularly experience boredom develop stronger neural pathways for creative problem-solving and self-directed learning.

There’s a neurochemical component as well. Boredom creates a temporary dip in dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with reward and motivation. This discomfort prompts children to seek new, engaging activities, stimulating exploratory behaviour and creativity. It’s an adaptive stress response that promotes emotional resilience by teaching children to tolerate discomfort and develop coping mechanisms.

The Child Mind Institute notes that boredom helps children build tolerance for less-than-ideal experiences, develop planning strategies, and acquire problem-solving skills—abilities that children with highly structured lives often lack.

One researcher summarised it simply: “If we don’t ever slow down to allow ourselves the possibility of being bored, we’ll never have the opportunity to clarify our own desires and abilities and our own unique way of expressing ourselves.”

The Challenge: When Devices Replace Boredom

The problem isn’t screens themselves, it’s what screens displace. Modern devices offer constant entertainment with every click, swipe, and scroll. This floods the brain’s reward system with dopamine, creating a high baseline of stimulation. Ordinary activities like reading, drawing, or outdoor play suddenly feel “boring” by comparison.

Research shows that heavy digital media users may experience reduced attention span, weaker working memory, and decreased creative capacity. When children consistently use devices to alleviate boredom, they miss opportunities to develop coping skills and emotional regulation.

Extended exposure to vivid colours, loud sounds, and constant stimulation can overload the nervous system. Over time, the dopamine reward system becomes desensitised, meaning children need increasing amounts of screen time to feel satisfied. The Lurie Children’s survey found that 28% of parents give in to screen time multiple times weekly to avoid meltdowns, a pattern that inadvertently reinforces the cycle.

What Different Families Actually Do

There’s no consensus on the “right” approach to holiday screen time, and expert recommendations vary based on family circumstances.

Some families implement complete device-free days during holidays. Research from the Freedom app shows that when teenagers set their own screen time limits rather than having rules imposed, they’re significantly more likely to stick with them. This collaborative approach lets children track their own usage and reflect on which digital activities feel energising versus draining.

Other families maintain term-time limits but allow occasional “binge days” for new game releases or film marathons, treating them as special events rather than daily norms.

Many parents focus on screen-free zones and times—no devices during meals, in bedrooms, or before bed. Sleep research consistently shows that screen use before sleep disrupts circadian rhythms, with the AAP recommending screens be turned off at least 30-60 minutes before bedtime.

Some families adopt what’s called the “Five Cs” approach from the Center on Media and Child Health: considering the Child’s needs, evaluating Content quality, assessing Context of use, monitoring Communication about media, and ensuring screens aren’t Crowding Out other activities.

Practical Options for the Holiday Period

Rather than prescribing a single approach, research suggests several evidence-based strategies families might consider:

Create structure without rigidity. Even during holidays, having consistent wake-up times, meal times, and bedtimes helps children self-regulate. Unstructured time within that framework gives children space to be bored and find their own activities.

Distinguish between screen types. Research indicates that educational content with parental co-viewing, creative activities like digital art or coding, and video chatting with family members have different effects than passive scrolling or gaming. Not all screen time is equal.

Plan the reset. If screen time has crept up significantly during holidays, the final week before school returns can serve as a gradual transition period, slowly reintroducing previous limits. Abrupt changes on the first day back often trigger resistance.

Acknowledge the convenience factor. The Lurie Children’s survey found that 25% of parents use screens because they can’t afford childcare, and 34% turn to screens when they can’t find care. For working parents during school holidays, some increased screen time may be unavoidable and acceptable.

Watch for warning signs. The Child Therapy Center identifies red flags: preoccupation with devices, irritability when unable to use them, needing more time online for satisfaction, or using screens primarily to escape negative emotions. Physical signals like headaches, back pain, and sleep problems also warrant attention.

Prepare for boredom complaints. When children say “I’m bored,” experts suggest acknowledging the feeling without immediately providing solutions: “I hear that you’re feeling bored. What do you think you might want to do about that?” This validates their experience while encouraging them to generate their own solutions.

Stock alternatives without force. Having art supplies, books, outdoor equipment, and building materials readily available makes non-screen activities more accessible when boredom strikes, though forcing these activities typically backfires.

The Bottom Line

The school holidays are a unique period where normal rules don’t quite apply. Some increased screen time during this period is neither surprising nor catastrophic. What research suggests matters more is the overall pattern like whether children are developing the ability to self-regulate, whether they’re getting physical activity and sleep, and whether screens are crowding out important developmental experiences like boredom, creativity, and face-to-face interaction.

The goal isn’t to eliminate screens during holidays, but to ensure they’re one option among many rather than the default answer to every empty moment. That might mean accepting more screen time than usual while still preserving some device-free time for brains to rest, wander, and reset before January arrives.

Sources:

Screen Time Statistics & Research:

• Lurie Children’s Hospital – Screen Time Statistics Shaping Parenting in 2025 (June 2025)
• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – Screen Time and Children
• Cedars-Sinai – How Screen Time Affects Children’s Developing Brains (August 2025)
• Child Therapy Center LA – Teen Screen Time in 2025: What Every Parent Needs to Know Now
• AAP Center on Media and Child Health – Screen Time at School

Karolinska Institute Study:

• Klingberg, T. et al. (2025). Social media and attention in children. Pediatrics Open Science. DOI: 10.1542/pedsos.2025-000922

Boredom & Child Development Research:

Thoughtful Parent – The Benefits of Boredom (August 2025)