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Guiding Principle 3: Ensure safety and well-being
The use of ICT should be carefully considered to ensure the safety and well-being of children.
Last updated 29 May 2025
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What is Guiding Principle (GP) 3 of the ICT Guidelines?
Why is it important to apply Guiding Principle 3?
There is research evidence of the negative effects from the excessive use of ICT by children. In addition, the rapid advances of technology can pose a risk to children’s safety and well-being.
Hence, teachers must be careful in their use of ICT for teaching and learning.
The use of screens can bring potential benefits and harm to children. It is important to understand the different types of screen use and how to appropriately use screens to reduce the potential harm to children.
How can you apply Guiding Principle 3?
To apply GP3 effectively, you can:
Be aware of the advances in the use of ICT for children so as to anticipate and address possible issues related to safety and well-being
Use ICT only for teaching and learning purposes in alignment with Guiding Principles 1 and 2
Avoid background or passive screen use (i.e., children using ICT without facilitation or guidance) to keep children occupised during routines and transitions such as arrival, dismissal and mealtimes.
Ensure that safeguards such as filters, firewalls and monitoring software are put in place
Engage parents to promote appropriate use of ICT
For educators, the Early Childhood Development Centres Code of Practice Fourth Edition (2025) states that Licensees must ensure that there is no screen time for infants aged 2 to 18 months old. For children aged 18 months to 6 years old, screen time, if used, must be limited to teaching and learning purposes.
Outside school, the "Guidance on Screen Use in Children” by the Ministry of Health recommends parents and caregivers to play a more active role in helping children form healthy screen use habits.
It recommends that children 18 months to 6 years should have less than 1 hour of screen use a day outside school.
It also recommends that children aged 3 to 6 should have no more than 1 hour of recreational screen time a day. Educators can build children’s resilience towards the negative impact of excessive and inappropriate ICT use by doing the following:
Balance use of screen time and other essential activities, such as outdoor play, social interaction and hands-on exploration to nurture children’s diverse interests.
Build healthy screen time habits, e.g., taking regular screen breaks, ensuring a suitable distance between children and the screen.
Set clear and consistent rules and expectations for screen use to help children develop self-management skills.
