Screen-free bedtime stories: four ways to do it

What the WHO recommends

The World Health Organization's 2019 recommendations for children under 5 advise against sedentary screen time before age 2. At 2, 3 and 4, they set a maximum of one hour a day, adding that less is better. They encourage reading and telling stories with an adult.

These figures apply to children under 5 and cover all screens across the whole day, not just the evening. Still, they give you a reason to pick screen-free moments when you easily can.

The book

A printed book is the simplest screen-free story: a parent reads, the child looks at the pictures and turns the pages, and you can reread it as many times as the child asks. Sooner or later you run out of stories, and every new one means another book.

Story boxes

Yoto calls its players screen-free because they play audio only, but the Yoto Player 4th Gen ($149.99 in the US, £119.99 in the UK, ages 3 and up) has a display that shows artwork and a clock. The Toniebox 2 ($129.99 in the US, £104.99 in the UK) is designed for children from age 1 and plays stories from figures placed on top, with no screen. Lunii's storyteller ($79.90 in the US, ages 3 to 8) has no display either.

So "screen-free" doesn't always mean "no display". If that matters to you, check the product page before buying. What these boxes have in common is that the child can listen alone.

Podcasts and audio

In the US, WBUR's Circle Round turns folktales from around the world into radio plays for kids, in episodes of 15 to 25 minutes, each ending with an activity to talk about together. In the UK, CBeebies Bedtime Stories are on BBC Sounds as audio, read by familiar faces. Both are free.

A podcast has no pictures, but it often starts on a phone. Once it's playing, the phone can stay out of your child's reach, or you can play it on a speaker or a story box with radio.

A text read aloud by a parent

This is Lulio's approach: each evening, a new episode of a saga starring your child as the hero, where siblings, pets and comfort toys can play a part, written to be read aloud in 5, 10 or 15 minutes, for children aged 2 to 10.

There is still a screen on the parent's side: you read the text on a phone or tablet. Your child has nothing to look at and you are with them. The first episode is free, no credit card needed, then €12.99 a month with VAT included, billed in euros, no commitment.

Lulio also has a reading-practice feature, "Your turn to read", but it is currently available in French only. In English, the child never looks at a screen: the parent reads the story aloud.

Choosing by evening

For an evening when you're free, a book or an episode read aloud gives you the same shared moment. For an evening when your child has to listen without you, a story box or a podcast works better. Nothing stops you from mixing several of these during the week.