There is little evidence screen use for children is harmful in itself, guidance from leading pediatricians says.

Axar.az reports that parents should worry less as long as they have gone through a checklist on the effect of screen time on their child, it says.

While the guidance avoids setting screen time limits, it recommends not using them in the hour before bedtime.

Experts say it is important that the use of devices does not replace sleep, exercising and time with family.

It was informed by a review of evidence published at the same time in the BMJ Open medical journal and follows a debate around whether youngsters should have time on devices restricted.

Meanwhile, a separate study has found that girls are twice as likely to show signs of depressive symptoms linked to social media use at age 14 compared with boys.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), which oversees the training of specialists in child medicine, has produced the guidance for under-18s.

It said there was no good evidence that time in front of a screen is "toxic" to health, as is sometimes claimed.

While the review of evidence found associations between higher screen use and obesity and depression, the college said it was not clear if higher screen use causes these problems or if people with these issues are more likely to use screens excessively.

The recommendation that children should not use the devices in the hour before bedtime comes because of evidence that they can harm sleep.

The devices stimulate the brain, and the blue light produced by them can disrupt the body's secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin.

While there are night modes on many phones, computers, and tablets, there is no evidence these are effective, the college said.

Overall, it found the effect of screen time on children's health was small when considered next to other factors like sleep, physical activity, eating, bullying, and poverty.

It said there was a lack of evidence that screen time is beneficial for health or wellbeing.

Its guidance recommends that families negotiate screen time limits with their children based on individual needs and how much it impacts on sleep, as well as physical and social activities.

For infants and younger children, this will involve parents deciding what content they watch and for how long they use the devices.

As children get older, there should be a move towards them having autonomy over screen use, but this should be gradual and under the guidance of an adult, the college said.

Dr Davie added: "When it comes to screen time I think it is important to encourage parents to do what is right by their family.

"However, we know this is a grey area and parents want to support, and that's why we have produced this guide.

"We suggest that age-appropriate boundaries are established, negotiated by parent and child, that everyone in the family understands."