The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued its first ever guidance on screen time amongst children and infants.
They say that infants under the age of one should not have any screen time on smartphones or tablets whatsoever, and that it should be less than one hour a day for children under five.
The guidance was set out in a report for physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under the age of five.
For early infants, the health organisation says "screen time is not recommended" and that 'sedentary' time should instead be spent engaging in reading and storytelling.
The report also recommends that children within this early age group should be physically active in a variety of ways, 'particularly through interactive floor-based play'.
If infants are being restrained in a pram or at a high chair, this shouldn't take up more than an hour at a time, according to the report.
For children a little older, having reached the age of one or two-years-old, WHO says that 'less is better' for screen time, which includes watching TV and playing computer games.
And again for children aged up to three to five years old, the organisation encourages parents and carers to engage in reading and storytelling, reducing screen time to no more than one hour a day.
However critics of the report say that the study ignores the benefits of digital media.
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The director of research at the Oxford Internet Insititue at the University of Oxford, Andrew Przybylski, told Business Insider that the advice "overly focuses on quantity of screen time and fails to consider the content and context of use."
They added: "Not all screen time is created equal."
Research by Britain's Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health also said that evidence is 'not strong enough' to support the setting of screen time limits for infants.
