Does FaceTime count as screen time for babies?
Not in the way TV does. The American Academy of Pediatrics makes a clear exception for video chat, even under 18 months, because a call is two-way: Grandma can wave back, answer a coo and sing your baby's name. That's social, and social is what the baby brain learns from. Hold your baby on your lap and help.
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The short answer: video chat is the friendly exception
The AAP's 2016 guidance says to avoid digital media for babies under 18 months except video chatting. Press reports on its January 2026 statement say it still advises avoiding screens before 18 months, apart from interactive use with caregivers. A call with someone who knows and loves your baby fits that description.
The World Health Organization's 2019 guidance is stricter on paper: it simply says screen time is not recommended under age 1, and doesn't single out video calls. So if you want the strictest rule, keep calls short and occasional in the first year. But the reasoning behind both bodies' advice is the same, and video chat sits on the right side of it.
Why a call is different from a show
Babies and toddlers learn much less from a video than from a person doing the same thing live. Researchers call this the "video deficit."
The clearest example comes from Seattle. American 9-month-olds spent about 5 hours over 4 weeks (12 sessions of 25 minutes) with a Mandarin speaker who played and read with them. Afterward, they could tell apart Mandarin speech sounds about as well as babies in Taiwan who had heard Mandarin for 10 months. Another group got the same Mandarin from a DVD, and a third from audio only. Those babies learned nothing.
What made the live speaker work? She responded. She saw where the baby looked, paused when the baby babbled, and named what the baby was holding. A recorded show can't do any of that. A grandparent on a video call can, at least some of it: they can wave back, answer a coo and wait for a reply. That back-and-forth is serve and return, and it's what a baby's brain is built to learn from.
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How to make video calls work for a baby
A call works best when you're part of it. With you as the bridge, it becomes a three-way conversation: you point, the caller answers, your baby kicks or coos, and someone answers that too.
- Hold your baby on your lap and point. "Look, there's Nana! Wave to Nana."
- Ask the grandparent to slow down. A sing-song voice, short sentences and pauses so the baby can "answer" work far better than fast adult chatter.
- Sing a song with the baby's name in it. Familiar songs and rhymes give the call a shape your baby can recognize from week to week.
- Keep it short. A few minutes is plenty. Stop when your baby looks away or fusses, which is their way of saying they're done.
- Make it regular. A weekly call at the same time gives your baby a familiar face and voice to look forward to.
Ideas by age
| Age | What to try on a call |
|---|---|
| 0 to 6 months | Hold your baby so they can see the screen up close. The caller smiles slowly, coos, and pauses. You answer for the baby: "Oh, she's smiling at you!" |
| 6 to 12 months | Peekaboo across the screen, waving hello and bye-bye, a song with a pause before the last word |
| 12 to 24 months | Show-and-tell: your toddler holds up a toy and the caller names it. Read the same board book on both ends. |
| 2 years and up | Ask the caller open questions: "What did you eat today?" A grandparent can tell a short story or sing in a family language. |
Video calls are also a lovely way to keep a heritage language going. A grandparent who chats, sings and jokes in their first language gives a child real, responsive practice. More in does raising a child bilingual cause speech delay.
When a parent is away
Video calls matter most when someone your baby loves can't be there in person: a parent who travels or works nights, a deployed parent, grandparents in another country. A few habits help keep that person part of your baby's everyday life.
- Keep a ritual. The same bedtime song or goodnight line at the end of every call gives your baby a familiar last step, the way a bedtime routine does at home.
- Read the same book on both ends. The away parent reads; you turn the pages and point. Babies love a book they know, and repetition is how they learn the words in it.
- Share the day. Hold up the toy, the snack, the new shoes, and let the caller name them. That's the kind of shared focus that serve and return is built on.
- Don't worry about bad days. Some calls will be a fussy baby and a frozen screen. Try again tomorrow. One missed call changes nothing.
What still counts as screen time
The exception is for live, two-way calls with real people. These still count as ordinary screen time:
- Recorded videos of family, even lovely ones. They can't respond.
- Cartoons or "baby learning" videos on the same tablet after the call ends.
- A TV left on in the background during the call.
For everything else, the usual limits apply: WHO recommends no screen time under age 2 and no more than an hour a day for ages 2 to 4. See screen time by age for the full table.
Do this
- Schedule a weekly video call with a grandparent or friend your baby knows.
- Hold your baby on your lap during calls and point and name: "There's Grandpa!"
- Ask callers to slow down, use a sing-song voice and leave pauses for your baby.
- End the call when your baby looks away or fusses.
- Close the tablet after the call so it doesn't roll into cartoons.
Grow a Genius
In the book: Chapter 18: Sleep, Screens and the Video Deficit
The book explains the video deficit and why video chat is the exception, and Talk to Me: 101 Conversation Games gives you serve-and-return games that work on a call as well as on your lap.
- The 7 Genius Builders, stage by stage
- 16 printable guides, including the Prenatal Label Decoder
- Built on 500+ sources from 35+ countries
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People also ask
Is FaceTime okay for a newborn?
The AAP's 2016 guidance makes an exception for video chat under 18 months, because it's two-way and social. WHO doesn't single out video calls and recommends no screen time under 1. A short call with you holding your baby is a reasonable middle ground, especially for family who live far away.
Can babies learn from video calls?
Babies learn from responsive people, and a caller can respond in a way a recorded show can't: waving back, answering a coo and pausing for a reply. Calls work best with a parent on hand to point, name and help the baby take part.
How long should a video call with a baby be?
A few minutes is plenty for a baby. Follow their cues and stop when they look away, fuss or lose interest. Short, regular calls, such as once a week at the same time, help your baby get to know a familiar face and voice.
Do recorded videos of grandparents count as video chat?
No. The exception is for live calls, because the person on the other end can respond. A recorded video plays the same way no matter what your baby does, so it counts as ordinary screen time.