Parents will be told to limit screen time for children under five to no more than an hour a day under new government advice, as the prime minister promises parents will not be left to battle screens alone.

Screen time for children under two should be avoided other than for shared activities encouraging interaction, families will also be advised.

In addition, the government is considering Australia-style measures to limit or ban social media for under-16s.

Keir Starmer promised the new guidance would help families to keep children safe and make sure they build healthy habits with screens.

He said: “Parenting in a digital world can feel relentless. Screens are everywhere, and the advice is often conflicting. My government will not leave parents to face this battle alone.”

Starmer added: “There will be some who will oppose us doing this. But whether it’s navigating technology, tackling the cost of living or balancing the demands of family life, I will always stand on the side of parents doing their best for their children.”

The guidance to parents on screen time for two to five-year-olds will advise them to “try to keep it to one hour a day. Less is possible.”

For the screen time that two to five-year-olds do have, families will be advised to avoid fast-paced social media-style videos and toys or tools that use artificial intelligence.

Bedtimes and mealtimes should be screen-free, with families advised instead to try background music, table games, bedtime stories and colouring.

Watching screens with children and talking and asking questions about the content is also better for a child’s cognitive development than letting them use them alone, the guidance will say.

Shared screen activities could include video calling friends and family or looking through photos together, parents will be advised.

About 98% of children are watching screens on a daily basis by the age of two, the government has previously said, and there is an impact on language development among those with the highest screen time.

The guidance was developed by a panel led by children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza and children’s health expert Professor Russell Viner.

Long periods of time spent on screens alone has an harmful impact on sleep, physical activity, creative play and interaction with parents, which are key to good development, the panel found in its review of the evidence.

However, limits on screen time should not be applied in the same way for children with special educational needs and disabilities using screen-based assistive technologies, the panel said.

It is hoped the advice on screen time will help children and families to have healthier relationships with screens, and use them in a way that does not risk holding back their readiness to start school.

Viner, who is a professor in adolescent health at University College London, said: “Too much solo screen time can crowd out the things that make the biggest difference – sleep, play, physical activity and talking with parents and carers.”

The panel also recommended in its report that parents should think about their own screen use in the presence of their children, and consider screen-free periods of the day for the whole family.