Jill Murphy
Chief Content Officer | Mom of two
Parents' Ultimate Guide to Your 5- to 7-Year-Old's Digital World
Topics: Recommendations
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What's Digital Life Like at 5–7?
Understanding Your 5- to 7-Year-Old
Parents Need to Know
- This is a critical transition period as children begin formal schooling and encounter new digital learning tools.
- At this age, kids are spending almost 3.5 hours per day with screens.
- Your child is developing foundational reading and writing skills that open new digital possibilities.
- While they're ready for more independence, they need clear structure and oversight in their digital activities.
- Peer influence is beginning to shape their media interests and choices.
- This is an ideal time to establish healthy digital habits and boundaries.
What's Digital Life Like at 5–7?
- Digital learning tools become part of daily academic life
- Growing interest in interactive educational content and basic games
- First exposure to school-based digital platforms and tools
- Beginning to navigate between digital rules at home and school
- Starting to use technology for basic reading and writing
- Showing interest in simple content creation
- Early exposure to coding concepts through educational games
- Balancing screen-based and traditional learning methods
Understanding Your 5- to 7-Year-Old
Where They're at Developmentally
- Entering formal education with new learning expectations
- Developing the reliable ability to share and take turns
- Understanding and following basic game rules
- Building independent reading skills
- Learning to express their thoughts through writing
- Showing improved emotional awareness
- Engaging in more structured play
- Beginning to assess their capabilities
- Showing greater interest in peer activities
What This Means for Their Digital Lives
- Ready to learn basic digital safety concepts
- Can follow simple digital instructions independently
- Able to navigate age-appropriate educational apps
- Beginning to create basic digital content
- Managing transitions between activities more effectively
- Developing awareness of peer media preferences
- Building skills to evaluate content choices
- Ready for supervised exploration of creation tools
Key Digital Milestones
Digital Learning & Creation
What to Expect
- First use of school-based digital platforms: Your child will begin navigating classroom platforms like Google Classroom or Seesaw.
- Beginning typing and digital writing skills: Your child might start with "hunt and peck" typing, and that's perfectly normal. They'll gradually develop their style of digital writing.
- Introduction to voice commands and basic searches: Your curious explorer will discover they can ask devices questions about anything and everything. It's a great time to guide their search habits!
- Early exposure to simple coding concepts: Through playful apps, your child will start thinking in new ways. They'll learn basic sequences and cause-and-effect digital problem-solving.
- Interest in digital art and storytelling tools: Your little creator might discover they can make stories and art on tablets or computers. These tools open up new ways to express creativity, complementing (not replacing) traditional crayons and paper.
- Growing ability to navigate educational apps: Your child will navigate between different learning games and activities. They're building confidence in their digital skills, one tap at a time.
Family Strategies
- Create consistent learning environments: Set similar rules and expectations for digital learning at home and during homework. Having predictable routines helps children feel secure and focused.
- Monitor and guide content creation: Stay involved in what your child is making online. Ask about their digital projects and help them understand the difference between private and shareable content.
- Balance screen-based and traditional learning: If they've spent time on math games, switch to hands-on counting with blocks. Keep learning varied and engaging across different formats.
- Build foundational digital literacy skills: Help them understand that not everything online is true. Start simple conversations about reliable sources—even at this age, they can learn to ask, "How do we know this is real?"
- Support reading comprehension across formats: Whether it's an e-book or a paper book, use the same strategies: ask questions, make predictions, and talk about the story.
Social & Gaming
What to Expect
- Interest in multiplayer educational games: Your child might start asking to play games with classmates or siblings. These can be great opportunities for learning cooperation and taking turns in a digital space.
- Influence of peer gaming preferences: Your child will become more aware of what games their friends are playing and may want to join in.
- Requests for popular educational apps: They'll start having favorite learning games and asking for specific apps they've seen friends use or heard about at school.
- Growing interest in gaming videos: Your child might become fascinated with watching others play games on YouTube Kids or similar platforms.
- The desire for collaborative digital activities: Look for growing interest in digital projects they can do with others, like collaborative drawing apps or simple multiplayer learning games.
- Early curiosity about social features: They might ask about chat functions or ways to connect with friends in games. This is your chance to start teaching about safe online interaction.
Family Strategies
- Set age-appropriate gaming limits: Create clear, consistent rules about when and how long they can play.
- Guide safe social interactions in games: If they use multiplayer features, stay nearby and talk to them about kind online behavior. Make it a learning opportunity for digital citizenship.
- Establish clear rules about purchases: Before downloading any new apps or games, have a family conversation about what's allowed and what isn't.
- Create balanced activity schedules: Mix digital play with physical activity, quiet reading time, and creative projects. Your child should see technology as one part of a full, active day.
- Monitor and discuss peer influences: Talk openly about the games and apps their friends use. Help them understand that every family has different rules and will decide for themselves.
- Choose educational gaming options: Look for games that teach while entertaining. Puzzle-solving and word games can be fun and challenging for younger gamers.
- Slow it down. There is plenty of time in the years ahead to jump on the games and platforms that everyone else is playing. Easing kids in and establishing your guardrails will set them—and you—up for success when you're ready to take the training wheels off.
Common Challenges & Solutions
School & Digital Balance
Challenges
- Managing school-issued devices: Your child might come home with a tablet or laptop for the first time—and a new responsibility.
- Balancing digital and traditional homework: Some assignments need screens, and others need pencils. Kids and parents will need to get comfortable with both.
- Navigating different platform requirements: Each learning app or website might work differently, and your child (and you!) needs to get familiar with each platform.
- Developing basic tech competency: Simple tasks like logging in or finding assignments can be frustrating at first.
Helpful Solutions
- Create structured daily routines: Set specific times for device use, perhaps using a visual schedule that shows both digital and non-digital activities.
- Establish clear homework guidelines: Make a simple checklist: What needs to be done on the device? What needs paper and pencil? Help them learn to organize their work.
- Provide age-appropriate tech support: Teach basic troubleshooting step by step. Start with simple things like "Is it charged?"
- Guide safe platform navigation: Sit together at first as they learn to use new platforms. Have them show you how to use it so they are practicing what they learned about logging in and getting access.
- Ensure balanced learning approaches: If they've been working on a screen, suggest a movement break or hands-on activity next.
Building Independence & Safety
Challenges
- Monitoring early device use: Finding the right balance between oversight and independence can feel like walking a tightrope.
- Managing basic passwords and logins: Young children need help remembering login information while learning about keeping it private.
- Ensuring access to appropriate content: Even with safeguards, children might accidentally encounter inappropriate content.
- Teaching responsible digital behavior: It's never too early to start learning digital citizenship, but it's important to make it age-appropriate.
- Introducing privacy concepts: Young children need to understand basic online privacy in simple, relatable terms.
Helpful Solutions
- Know when to offer some space: Start with close supervision and gradually give more freedom as they show responsibility.
- Practice basic security habits: Create memorable passwords together using favorite animals or colors, while teaching why we keep them secret.
- Use child-appropriate content filters: Set up parental controls and safe search features together, explaining why they help keep kids safe.
- Model positive digital behavior: Show them how you use devices responsibly. Say things like: "I'm setting a timer for my game" or "I need to check if this information is true."
- Start conversations about online safety: Use everyday moments to talk about digital safety. If they love sharing photos, discuss what's OK to share and what isn't.
Tools & Resources
- Age-appropriate parental controls: Find tools that grow with your child, starting with stronger protections that can be adjusted as they show readiness.
- Educational app recommendations: Look for expert-reviewed apps that match your child's interests and learning needs. Common Sense Media ratings can help!
- Digital learning platforms: Familiarize yourself with platforms used by your child's school and look for additional resources that complement their learning.
- Screen-time management tools: Explore built-in device features and apps that help track and limit screen time positively.
- Family media guidelines: Create a family media plan that everyone understands and agrees to follow.
Looking Ahead: Age 7–9
Get ready for growing interest in:
- More complex digital tools and games: Your child will start exploring more sophisticated apps and games that challenge their growing skills.
- Independent device use: They'll want more freedom to use devices on their own—setting boundaries now helps later.
- Expanded social gaming features: Interest in playing with friends online will grow. Now's the time to establish good habits.
- Content creation and sharing: From digital art to simple coding projects, they'll want to make and share more content.
- More sophisticated digital learning tools: Learning platforms will become more complex, requiring greater independence.
Greater peer influence on digital choices: Friends' opinions about games and apps will become increasingly important.
Jill Murphy is Chief Content Officer at Common Sense Media. Jill joined Common Sense in January 2005, built the editorial department with founding Editor-in-Chief Liz Perle, and served as Deputy Managing Editor and later Managing Editor before becoming Editorial Director in 2010. She oversees the ratings and reviews for all media channels, including movies, TV, games, web, apps, music, and books. She's responsible for all parenting advice content, from conception to publication -- including tips, articles, and recommended lists. She has developed a variety of new content products, including our parent blog. Jill also works closely with content partners including Huffington Post, Yahoo!, DirecTV, Comcast, Netflix, and more to further leverage Common Sense Media's content library. Jill's commitment to Common Sense gives her the opportunity to help families avoid the TV shows she's devoted to (she's our resident expert on any and all reality TV). When she must, she shares the TV with her two young daughters, who watch Doc McStuffins and Word Girl; her husband, who watches sports and can't wait for more Walking Dead; and her dogs, who watch the door. Jill holds a BA from San Francisco State University in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, with an emphasis on writing and media literacy.
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