Kennedy Warns on Youth Screen Time as Advisory Drops

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined Iowa GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday to discuss the Office of the Surgeon General initiative on youth screen time guidance. The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory was released the same day, and its report says children ages 13 to 18 have over eight hours of screen time a day.

Kennedy used the rollout to push a clearer message for families. “Today’s advisory is not just a warning, it’s a call to reclaim childhood,” he said. “We want children to spend less time scrolling and more time living.”

Surgeon General Advisory

The report was put on the Surgeon General’s website and includes a From Evidence to Action section. It says five out of 10 teenagers have experienced cyberbullying, and it projects that by 2050, about 40% of children will be myopic.

The guidance in the report is aimed at parents. It advises them to delay giving kids screen time at a very young age, have screen-free times, avoid multitasking with screens, and set healthy household rules when it comes to screens.

Kim Reynolds and Kennedy

Reynolds’ appearance with Kennedy tied the advisory to a public discussion in Iowa on Wednesday. The pairing put the federal guidance in front of parents as a set of household choices rather than a distant policy paper.

For families, the practical step is already spelled out in the advisory itself: delay early exposure, build screen-free periods into the day, and keep screens from competing with other tasks. The report’s message is aimed at changing how children use devices at home, starting now.