The Digital Health program aims to create environments that foster healthy digital habits for children aged 0 to 5, through coordinated actions with families and communities.
The program is intended for:
All parents of children aged 0-5 who wish to learn more about the issues related to screen use in young children and to establish practices that promote digital balance in their homes.
Digital Health 0-5 consists of:
A community component that will offer a structured approach, inspired by the Icelandic prevention model, to mobilize key stakeholders in a community around an action plan promoting better digital balance among families.
A family component, consisting of four flexible and adaptable formats, to raise awareness and guide parents toward practices that promote healthy digital habits:
- The toolbox: self-contained, to be consulted at one’s own pace
- Community-based initiatives: initiatives by and for the community to promote healthy digital habits
- Awareness: two open workshops, facilitated in-person or virtually
- In-depth learning: a series of five workshops to further equip parents
The content offered is based on the following 4 pillars:
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Recognizing the place of screens in our lives
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Reconnecting parents and children
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Responsibilizing for conscious and thoughtful use of screens
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Replacing screens to make more room for interactions and enriching experiences for development
Program Objectives
Overall, the Digital Health 0-5 program aims to promote digital balance for families with children aged 0 to 5.
More specifically, its community component seeks to promote the overall well-being of children aged 0 to 5 by mobilizing the community around early, integrated, and sustainable prevention of screen exposure.
As for its family component, it will raise awareness and guide parents toward conscious and thoughtful use of screens.
Level of intervention: The Digital Health 0-5 program offers a universal, first-level intervention for parents of children aged 0-5.
Addressing Concrete Needs:
The Digital Health 0-5 program will address 10 of the recommendations from the Rapport de la Commission spéciale sur les écrans (2025), including:
- Optimizing infrastructure, improving screen-free activity offerings, and supporting youth organizations
- Monitoring screen use and its impacts
- Training practitioners on screen-related risks
- Raising awareness among parents and extended family
- Disseminating content about screen use
- Aligning with public policies and targeting vulnerable communities
- Raising awareness among young children about digital risks
Boscoville listening to field needs:
The various consultations conducted with field practitioners and parents have identified five key guiding principles that will inform the program development:
- Focus on a small-steps approach: every action taken to progressively move closer to the recommendations benefits the child
- Strengthen the parent-child relationship
- Empower parents by highlighting their expertise
- Create a common culture around screens: mobilize parents, organizations, and communities around the issue
- Consider the voice of researchers, communities, and parents: for an evidence-based program adapted to field realities