You’d planned to break out the crayons with your toddler right after dinner, but work derails your good intentions. Your husband is at a late meeting, and you have to log extra hours to finish a report due the next morning. Is it okay to plunk your child in front of the TV while you work? How much TV is too much?

Two hours of screen time per day for preschoolers is the limit recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This includes the combined screen time from television, DVDs, computers and video games.
That means you can take the hour you need to finish your work without a guilty conscience. However, most preschoolers (66 percent) average four hours of screen time per day, according to a new study. Young children’s television viewing has been associated with speech delays, aggressive behavior and obesity, says lead study author Pooja Tandon, MD, at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. If you need more than two hours to wrap up your work, consider hiring a babysitter who will engage with your kids—and forgo the electronic nanny.

Tip: Remember to ask how much screen time happens at child care.