Can we design smoother transitions away from screens?

For young children, ending screen time is often hard. A new pilot study at Tilburg University explores whether better-designed media experiences can make these transitions easier.

Many parents know the scene: a child is happily watching a video, but the moment it is time to stop, everything changes. A child who seemed calm suddenly starts crying, gets angry, or even throws a full-blown tantrum. This moment can feel confusing to parents. Why is it so difficult to stop screen time?

Developmental neuropsychology can give us some answers. Young children are still learning how to shift attention, manage frustration, and move from one activity to another. These skills are part of what psychologists call self-regulation and executive functioning, which are the abilities that help us pause, switch, plan, and control impulses. In early childhood, children’s brains are not fully wired, and the above skills are still developing.

Furthermore, screens are designed to grab children’s attention and keep them watching. During screen time, bright colours, sounds, and movement activate the brain’s reward system. This involves dopamine, a brain chemical linked to motivation, pleasure, and wanting more. In other words, the screen gives the brain lots of quick rewards, and the child’s brain learns that this feels good. When the screen is turned off, children must suddenly shift from a stimulating environment to a real-world activity that is often more demanding. This sudden change can feel overwhelming.

The way screen time ends can make the transition off screens especially challenging. Many digital platforms automatically move from one video to the next, so when a parent decides it is time to stop, there is often no clear sense of closure.

Research with families of young children has shown that screen-time transitions are often easier when the platform itself provides a stopping point. There is also evidence that suggesting an offline activity afterwards can help children with the transition. A child-friendly ending and a clear plan for what comes next create predictability, helping young children feel more in control because they know what to expect. Currently, children’s media platforms are not designed to help children prepare for the end of screen time and transition smoothly to off-screen activities.

Meevee is a media app for young children that tries to address this challenge. It incorporates features designed to support smoother transitions away from screens. Instead of auto-playing one video after another, Meevee provides natural stopping points. The app also includes clear visual cues and gentle narrative transitions. Mookee, an animated monkey who accompanies children throughout the viewing experience, helps guide them towards an off-screen activity, chosen by the parent and child before the video starts. One of the app’s key features is an ending ritual, in which children are invited to help put Mookee to bed. This gives children an active role in ending the screen time, creating a sense of agency and closure rather than a feeling that the screen has simply been taken away.

Good ideas still need good evidence

These features seem like good ideas, but good ideas still need good evidence. That is why we are designing a pilot study at Tilburg University to examine whether these kinds of design choices can support smoother transitions away from screens. The findings from this pilot will help us in two ways. Scientifically, they can improve our understanding of how young children transition away from digital media. Practically, they can help Meevee continue improving its design so that screen time supports families not only while children are watching, but also when it is time to stop.

It is unrealistic to expect every transition to be perfect. Children will sometimes protest or become upset. The goal is to make the shift more understandable and more manageable for their developing brain.

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