81% of doctors have detected an increase in childhood diseases associated with excessive use of screens and 95% of these health professionals agree that excessive use of screens negatively affects child development.
This is one of the conclusions of the study on the impact of overexposure to screens on children’s health and development, carried out by the Technological Institute of Children’s Products and Leisure (AIJU), in collaboration with the Crecer Jugando Foundation.
The study, which has been presented together with the 35th edition of the AIJU Guide 2025-2026, collects the perception of 65 doctors specializing in childhood and 334 families with children between 0 and 17 years old, revealing a clear concern shared between the healthcare field and the family environment.
The presentation event of this 2025-2026 edition, which took place at AIJU, brought together all the actors in the national toy sector and was attended by the Minister of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, Marián Cano; the general director of the Spanish Association of Toy Manufacturers (AEFJ), José Antonio Pastor and the president of AIJU, Sandra Gómez.
Problems related to excessive use of screens
According to the coordinator of the Children’s Research area at AIJU, Pablo Busó, during his intervention, the objective of the study is to analyze the impact of excessive screen use on the physical, cognitive, emotional and social development of childhood, from a medical and family perspective.
“The most frequent health problems detected by specialists include sleep disorders (81%), mental health (69%), obesity (63%), visual problems (63%) and postural or neuromotor alterations,” indicated Busó.
According to this study, 68% of families express great concern about their children’s screen time. In this sense, it should be noted that 98% of children between 4 and 6 years old do not meet the criterion set by the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) of zero screens before 6 years of age.
91% of boys and girls spend more time in front of screens than recommended by health experts. Furthermore, although 96% of families establish rules of use, 71% find it difficult to maintain them due to factors such as lack of time, the need for support during other tasks and conflicts with their children.
For this reason, as the coordinator of the Children’s Research area at AIJU explains, “among the measures most valued by participants to reduce exposure time to screens are informative talks for families, inclusion of the topic in school curricular content, parental control of time and content, use of public figures to raise awareness and illustrated stories.”
“This research reaffirms the need to generate screen-free play and socialization environments that promote healthy child development and that the use of technologies is active and guided by families and professionals,” Busó emphasizes.
AIJU Guide 2025-2026
The AIJU Guide 2025-2026 is a project funded by IVACE+i, through the GVA 2025 line, to enhance the capacity and activity of AIJU, as well as to develop excellence in R&D, disseminate the results of the research carried out and facilitate and promote the transfer of knowledge to companies in the Valencian Community.
It should be noted that, currently, it continues to be the only existing guide in the national context endorsed by consumer institutions in which only products that have passed pedagogical and usability studies with more than 100 hours of free play are recommended.
In this edition, several final product assessment sessions have been held with a multidisciplinary team of experts, in which 27 groups of companies and manufacturers have participated and have contributed, for study, a total of 68 products, of which 66 were selected to appear in this Guide.
To facilitate its location and consultation, the toys recommended in this guide have been classified by theme, taking into account the different insights and psycho-pedagogical aspects that they develop and within each block by age. Furthermore, as in the last edition, the AIJU Guide 2025-26 includes a category introduction with a sheet that provides data on where, how, with whom or what children play.
According to the president of AIJU, Sandra Gómez, “at AIJU we have been researching and accompanying the sector for 35 years to promote quality gaming products and experiences, adapted to the evolutionary needs of boys and girls. With this new edition of the AIJU Guide we continue to reinforce this commitment, offering families rigorous information and promoting a culture of responsible and safe gaming.”
For his part, the general director of AEFJ, José Antonio Pastor, has highlighted that “we are in a moment of change, in which screens occupy a good part of our lives, but in which families are also more aware of all the benefits that play brings to the development of children. It is not only that it contributes to their physical or psychological development, it is that playing is the main activity for today’s child to become a balanced and happy adult.”
Kidults: the new way of playing in adulthood
The Aiju Guide 2025-26 also echoes the Kidults phenomenon, which continues to grow and consolidate itself as one of the most notable trends in the toy market. More and more adults incorporate games and toys into their daily leisure, motivated by nostalgia, disconnection and interest in collecting.
According to the study carried out by AIJU on 552 consumers, the majority of Kidults players are between 25 and 44 years old and spend between 100 and 300 euros per year on this hobby. Their preferred categories are board games and puzzles (20%-15%), followed by advanced construction (14%), crafts (13%) and technological toys (8%).
Regarding the frequency of gaming, the majority of adults play occasionally (51%) or several times a month (30%) and the home continues to be the main gaming space, often shared with minors and family members, which reinforces the intergenerational bond.
The data shows that the main driver of Kidults is leisure and fun (86%), followed by relaxation and disconnection (54%) or the development of skills such as strategy and creativity (34%), among others. Benefits that confirm that the game provides both emotional well-being and cognitive stimulation and reinforcement of social bonds.