Is there a right way to moderate children’s screen time? One approach may rise above the rest.

As parents, teachers, and world leaders attempt to rein in the effects of excessive screen time among children, a variety of approaches are becoming more common. For some creators, such as AboFlah, hard-and-fast screen time limits are the way to go. Others, including Ms. Rachel, strive for “balance.” Creators like Casey Neistat question the link between screen time and negative mental health outcomes.

Given the breadth of mediation tactics on display, it may seem as if there is no “silver bullet” approach that works for every parent. Researchers at the University of California at Davis, however, have put that hypothesis to the test. Across a two-year, longitudinal study, the research team observed parents in South Korea as they applied three distinct screen time mediation strategies within their homes.

In total, 289 Korean families took part in the study. The researchers focused on three particular mediation strategies. Parents using restrictive mediation put hard limits on their children’s screen time. Active mediation users applied a softer touch by having their kids tell them about the types of videos they watched on platforms like YouTube. Finally, the co-viewing category covered parents who watch content alongside their kids.

After measuring children’s initial viewership data and their updated habits post-mediation, the researchers determined that two of the three strategies significantly moderated screen time. In households where restrictive mediation and co-viewing were employed, the average child reduced their screen time. For active mediation, that effect was not statistically significant.

All three approaches led to significant increases in the amount of educational content children viewed. The researchers ultimately concluded that “restrictive mediation showed the most consistent moderating effects across outcomes,” while active mediation produced the smallest effects.

Before you run off to put a hard cap on your child’s screen time, keep in mind that no solution is perfect. The researchers noted that kids who watched a lot of YouTube tended to still watch a lot of YouTube a year later, even if mediation strategies produced noticeable decreases. “This pattern suggests that parental mediation may reduce, but not fully eliminate, continuity in children’s YouTube use,” reads the report, “underscoring the need to consider both parental influences and platform design in understanding children’s media use within algorithm-driven environments.”

Platforms like YouTube change constantly, so results like these may not hold up forever. Follow-up studies will be helpful as parents figure out the best safeguards for their kids’ mental health.