Help us improve Litsee

With your permission, Google Analytics measures visits and Microsoft Clarity records clicks, scrolling and page interactions, with form inputs and page text masked. We use no advertising cookies.

Change it any time with Cookie settings. Privacy policy · Google privacy · Microsoft privacy

SchoolsStart your free trialStart a free classroom trial
Painted outer space: ringed planets, a crescent moon and a golden shooting star.

FOR PARENTS · AGES 5–11

Screen time and reading: when apps help, and when a book is better

Paper wins for plain reading, and reading together beats both. An app helps only when its extras are part of the story, not autoplay and feeds built to keep children watching.

How Litsee helps: illustrated stories your child steers, written for their age (5 to 11) and read aloud if you like.

Start your free trial

7 days free. A card is needed to start.

If you worry that screens are crowding out reading, you're not wrong. This guide sets out what the research actually says about children reading on screens, what UK guidance does and doesn't say for ages 5 to 11, and five questions to test any reading app: ours, the school's or anyone else's.

By the Litsee team · Last reviewed · About this guide

Where parents are right

Many parents feel that screens have quietly pushed reading out of the day, and in a lot of homes that's simply true. Short videos, autoplay and endless feeds are built to keep children watching, and a book can't compete with that on equal terms. Paper at bedtime matters too: the NHS advises keeping tablets and phones away in the last half hour to hour before sleep.

So this guide doesn't argue that screen time is good for reading. It asks a narrower question: when a screen is going to be used anyway, what makes the difference between watching and reading?

What the research says about screens and paper

The clearest evidence for young children is a 2021 review of 39 studies with 1,812 children aged 1 to 8, by Furenes, Kucirkova and Bus (Review of Educational Research). It found three things.

  • A plain ebook loses to paperWhen the only difference was the screen, children understood the paper book better.
  • You beat the bells and whistlesA grown-up talking about a printed book did more than digital extras a child used alone.
  • Only extras that serve the story helpWhen the digital features were part of the story itself, digital books did better than paper.

In the authors' words: “The comparison of digital versus paper books that only differed by digitization showed lower comprehension scores for digital books.” “Adults’ mediation during print books’ reading was more effective than the enhancements in digital books read by children independently.” “However, with story-congruent enhancements, digital books outperformed paper books.” They also found that a built-in dictionary did nothing for understanding the story, or made it worse, though it did help children learn new words.

An earlier review of 54 studies, mostly of older pupils and adults, also found an advantage for paper, bigger for information texts and under time pressure, and not found in the studies that used only stories (Delgado and others, 2018). The National Literacy Trust's survey data adds a different angle: “digital formats can act as a gateway into reading”, especially for less-engaged readers, boys and children from lower-income homes (National Literacy Trust).

None of this measures wellbeing or sleep. It is about understanding stories, which is what matters for reading.

What UK guidance says, and what it doesn't

  • Ages 5 to 11: no official limit yet. In June 2026 the government asked for evidence for new guidance for ages 5 to 16, to be published in the autumn, and said “the guidance will avoid blanket rules” (GOV.UK). On 2 November 2026 it had not been published. We will update this page when it is.
  • Under-5s (March 2026): no more than an hour a day for ages 2 to 5, avoiding mealtimes and the hour before bed, and “Watching or using screens together - talking, asking questions and engaging with the content - is better for children’s development than solo screen use.” It also advises avoiding fast-paced videos and AI toys or tools for young children (GOV.UK).
  • The chief medical officers (2019): “Scientific research is currently insufficiently conclusive to support UK CMO evidence-based guidelines on optimal amounts of screen use or online activities”. They suggested phones out of bedrooms at bedtime and screen-free mealtimes (UK CMOs).
  • Bedtime: the NHS says, “Do not let your child look at laptops, tablets or phones in the 30 to 60 minutes before bed” (NHS).

Test any reading app, including ours (and the school's)

Try the app for ten minutes beside your child, then answer these five questions. There's no score and no verdict: you know your child, so you decide. Your answers stay on this page; nothing is saved or sent.

  1. Is your child reading, rather than mostly watching?

    If the words are on screen and your child is following them, it's reading. If it's mainly animation and sound, it's closer to a cartoon.

  2. Does it come to an end, rather than playing on by itself?

    A story or chapter that finishes gives a natural place to stop. Autoplay and endless feeds are designed to keep children watching.

  3. Is it free of adverts and in-app pressure?

    Look for adverts, timers, prompts to buy or nagging to come back. Each one pulls attention away from the story.

  4. Do the extras serve the story, rather than distract from it?

    The research found that features which are part of the story can help, while a plain screen version of a book did worse than paper.

  5. Can you sit with your child and share it?

    A grown-up talking about the story made the biggest difference in the research, on paper or on screen.

0 of 5 answered

Swap, don't add

The simplest rule we know: a reading app is worth it when it takes the place of a cartoon or a scroll, not when it takes the place of a bedtime book or is added on top of everything else. The government's under-5s guidance makes the same point with its idea of “screen swaps”, such as a bedtime story together in place of a video, and it works just as well at 9.

  • Swap the after-school cartoon for a story your child reads or chooses.
  • Keep bedtime for paper, read together when you can, at any age.
  • Share some of the screen time. Sit with your child for part of it and talk about what's happening. That's what made the biggest difference in the research.

Does a Kindle, a reading app or an audiobook count as screen time?

Strictly, anything on a screen is screen time, but the official advice deliberately avoids counting minutes, so you can decide what counts in your house. Many families sort it into three kinds:

  • Reading: a book on an e-reader, or an ebook with no games. Closer to a paper book, though plain paper is still the better choice for learning to read.
  • Learning: school apps and reading games. Part of the day's total.
  • Watching and scrolling: the kind to keep an eye on, and to keep out of the hour before sleep.

Audiobooks are mostly listening, not looking, and many families count them as reading time. Listening isn't practice at reading the words, but it is still time spent enjoying stories.

School reading apps: questions worth asking

Schools choose apps for good reasons, and when homework is on one it isn't optional, so count it first and plan the rest of the day around it. If you'd like to understand it better, these are fair, neutral questions to ask the class teacher:

  • What is the app for: practice, reading books, or recording what my child has read?
  • Roughly how long is my child expected to spend on it each week?
  • Can reading from a paper book count, and can I log it for them?
  • Does it have adverts or anything to buy?

Fitting homework apps into your screen rules

  • Count school apps separately. They're homework, so they don't use up your child's screen time for fun.
  • Do what's set, then stop. Ask how long is expected and keep to it, rather than letting points or streaks stretch it out.
  • Keep them away from bedtime. The NHS bedtime advice applies to homework screens too.
  • Tell the teacher if it's not working: if it takes far longer than expected, or causes nightly rows.

Bridges back to paper

  • Print something. Our free tools include printable reading logs, book review templates and story starters, so a story read on screen can end with a pencil.
  • Read along together. If a story has narration, listen side by side with the words on screen, then talk about what happened.
  • Make the library a habit. Choosing books for free keeps reading fresh, including comics and non-fiction.

Questions parents ask

Is reading on a tablet as good as reading a book?

Not always. A large review of studies with children aged 1 to 8 found they understood plain ebooks less well than the same book on paper, but digital books did better when their extra features were part of the story. Reading together and talking about it helped most, on any format.

Does reading on a Kindle or tablet count as screen time?

Technically yes, but the UK's chief medical officers found the evidence too weak to set screen-time limits, and the government says its guidance for ages 5 to 16 will avoid blanket rules. Most parents judge by what's on the screen: a book on an e-reader is very different from fast videos.

How much screen time should a 7 year old have?

There is no official UK limit for children aged 5 to 11. Guidance for under-5s (March 2026) suggests no more than an hour a day for ages 2 to 5, and guidance for ages 5 to 16 has been promised. The NHS suggests no tablets or phones in the 30 to 60 minutes before bed.

Are reading apps good for kids?

It depends on the app and on what it replaces. Ask whether your child is reading or watching, whether it ends or plays on, whether it's free of adverts, whether its extras serve the story, and whether you can share it. An app is most worth it when it replaces a cartoon or a scroll, not a bedtime book.

Sources

  1. A Comparison of Children’s Reading on Paper Versus Screen: A Meta-Analysis (Furenes, Kucirkova and Bus), Review of Educational Research 91(4) American Educational Research Association, 8 March 2021, checked 2 November 2026
  2. Don’t throw away your printed books: A meta-analysis on the effects of reading media on reading comprehension (Delgado and others), Educational Research Review 25 Elsevier, 2018, checked 2 November 2026
  3. UK CMO commentary on screen time and social media map of reviews Department of Health and Social Care, 7 February 2019, checked 2 November 2026
  4. New screen time guidance for parents of under-5s UK Government, 26 March 2026, checked 2 November 2026
  5. New guidance on screen use for children aged 5–16 (call for evidence) UK Government, 8 June 2026, checked 2 November 2026
  6. Trends in children and young people’s reading in print and digital formats National Literacy Trust, March 2026, checked 2 November 2026
  7. Sleep and young children NHS, reviewed 31 March 2023, checked 2 November 2026

About this guide

Written by the Litsee team and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page.

Research findings are quoted from each paper's published abstract, and UK guidance from GOV.UK and the NHS. Litsee makes a reading app; we have tried to describe the evidence fairly, including where it favours paper.

Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email info@litsee.com and we will fix it. Last reviewed: .

Stories your child steers

In Litsee your child picks the hero and decides what happens next, in an illustrated story written for their age.

Start your free trial

A card is needed to start the trial, and nothing is charged if you cancel before it ends. See plans and pricing

Try it in LitseeYour child creates the hero, picks the world and chooses what happens next, in an illustrated story that is read aloud.Start your free trialUse it in classRead an illustrated, narrated story together on the whiteboard, and let the class choose what happens next.Start a free classroom trialSee Litsee for schools