We believe children and parents are happier, healthier, and more deeply connected when they spend time engaging with each other and the world around them - not with screens.

But we also understand the data: screen exposure among babies, infants and toddlers is growing at an alarming rate. Most children begin consuming digital media around four months of age, averaging an hour per day by 6 months; long before their brains can process it. Once a young child is exposed to overstimulating media, it becomes increasingly difficult to curb that dependency.

That’s why the Children's Media Research and Reform Lab's (CMRRL) mission is twofold:

Education and Advocacy

To educate parents, caregivers, and professionals about the developmental harms of early screen exposure, the harmful overstimulating production techniques, and the deceptive marketing campaigns. We work to bridge the gap between research, industry, and policy so that parents can make better informed decisions.

Research and Solutions

To design and promote research-backed guidelines and age-appropriate media grounded in science, developed for co-viewing and co-learning, and centered on human connection.

CMRRL has identified a critical gap in relevant research, guidelines and solutions pertaining to screen media for children under the age of 2.

Nearly all global organizations have adopted guidelines that suggest that any screen time consumed by children under the age of 2 may have long-lasting detrimental effects, even though the majority of polls and surveys conducted over the past decade reveal that the vast majority of children under the age of 2 are engaging in screen time on a daily basis, starting at an average age of 4-months-old.

These rigid policies have discouraged support and funding for more relevant research and solutions. This has created a void that has left only aged-up, inappropriate, and unregulated content options for children under 2, whose caregivers allow the use of screen time for varying reasons.

We believe that it is time to stop ignoring the facts, and start fixing what we know is broken.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

Recommends minimizing or eliminating media exposure, other than video chatting, for children under the age of 18 months. 

The World Health Organization (WHO)

Recommends that sedentary screen time (such as watching TV or videos, playing computer games) is not recommended for children under 2. 

The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS)

Recommends no screen time for children younger than 2 apart from video-chatting with caring adults.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE UK)

Recommends no screen time for children under 2.

EARLY YEARS MEDIA™

CMRRL is launching an ad-free public media channel for children ages 3 and under.  We believe that parents should have access to a more mindful media alternative to the harmful, regressive and unregulated content that is deceptively labeled 'baby safe' and 'educational' - with no clear guidelines or standards.  

Each program must meet rigorous content development guidelines developed by Children's Media Research and Reform Lab, ensuring they meet the highest standards in early childhood education and developmental science.

Screen Time Quality Index™ (STQI)

The Screen Time Quality Index™ is a multidimensional rating system that evaluates infant- and toddler-directed media on a 0–100 scale. It integrates sensory load, pacing, developmental alignment, relational affordances (e.g., co-viewing support), emotional safety, and ethical design characteristics (e.g., autoplay, ad exposure). The STQI provides a standardized benchmark for researchers, clinicians, and producers to assess the developmental quality of early years media.

Screen Time Ingredients™

Screen Time Ingredients™ is a structured coding framework that identifies and classifies the specific production and sensory elements embedded within children’s media. The taxonomy covers pacing, scene duration, camera movement, audio layering, visual intensity, conceptual complexity, and social–emotional cues, grounded in empirical work on attention, sensory processing, learning, and self-regulation in the first two years of life. It enables systematic content analysis for both academic research and industry self-assessment.

Screen Time Nutrition Label™

The Screen Time Nutrition Label™ is a standardized disclosure format that translates the underlying STQI and Screen Time Ingredients™ data into an accessible, public-facing summary. Modeled on evidence-based nutrition labels, it reports core metrics such as sensory load, developmental fit, co-viewing support, and recommended patterns of use, alongside a clear advisory statement aligned with major pediatric guidelines. The label is designed to support informed decision-making by parents, caregivers, clinicians, and institutional partners.