China urges parents to avoid 'digital babysitting'

The Ministry of Education has encouraged parents to adopt child-rearing practices that emphasize companionship, play, sports and time in nature while avoiding so-called digital babysitting.

The ministry launched the 2026 national preschool education publicity month on Tuesday, calling on kindergartens nationwide to uphold play as the primary activity for young children.

It stressed that digital products — such as reading companions, chat-based tools and interactive games — must not replace physical picture books and toys. Digital tools should also not be used to directly generate child observation records or assessments, the ministry said.

The ministry noted that misunderstandings about digital applications in early childhood education persist, along with misleading marketing by some commercial entities and the improper or excessive use of digital products by some local authorities and kindergartens.

A large body of authoritative research shows that early and prolonged exposure to digital products can cause long-term and irreversible harm to children's eyesight, attention span, language and communication skills, and emotional development, the ministry said. It added that there is broad international consensus on protecting preschool children from excessive exposure to digital products in order to safeguard their developmental rights.

During the campaign period, a series of public awareness activities will be held nationwide, bringing together professional and social resources to focus on protecting the rights and interests of preschool children in the digital era.

China has made significant progress in expanding universal and affordable preschool education in recent years. In 2025, the gross enrollment rate for the three years before primary school reached 92.9 percent nationwide, while the coverage rate of affordable kindergartens reached 91.5 percent.

The Preschool Education Law took effect on June 1, 2025. By the end of July last year, the country had begun rolling out free preschool education in phases.