Light Projectors and Screentime in Infants

Question: Do moving light projectors (i.e. a galaxy light) have the same impact as screen time? 

Answer: Thank you for the thoughtful question! Being a parent to a newborn can bring lots of questions about what is good for their development. Birth to toddlerhood is an exciting and critical time for child development where their brains are developing rapidly and making millions of new connections per second. But this time can also be filled with exhaustion and uncertainty among parents and caregivers. Infants are working hard to build secure attachments with parents, understand and use language, and learn about their physical environment.  

Should light projectors be considered ‘screen time’? 

Unfortunately, there is no research that compares the effect of screen time on devices like tablets or TVs to light projectors or galaxy lights (devices that project lights, colors, and starry patterns onto walls or ceilings). Both involve an infant or young child watching artificially-created light (as compared to natural light), but the distance to the images, the types of images, pacing, and sound effects differ. 

When it comes to screen time on TV and devices, more time is linked with certain developmental and health outcomes such as poorer sleep during infancy, lower language development scores, and weaker social-emotional skills, especially among boys. For this reason, specifically for children under 2 years old, we encourage families to focus on helping them build positive skills through exploring their environment and meaningful interactions with adults or other children. When children under 18-24 months use screens, they often cannot fully process or learn from what they are seeing, but their behavior may quiet down because their vision is entrained on the lights and movement. If using screens in infancy, we recommend that parents focus on educational content or FaceTime with friends and family to help build connection.  

One thing to consider is how long the child is looking at the light projections – if prolonged, like screen time, it could displace other activities important to child development. If it is brief (for example, just 15-20 minutes) and just intended to settle the child before sleep or before another activity, this would not be a problem. You can also help by pointing out what shapes or pictures the child sees in the images, sing a song, or tell a story while they watch the lights.  

Light Exposure and Visual Development in Infancy   

Unfortunately, the majority of research around light exposure in infancy is with infants who are born prematurely, rather than those who reach full term. More studies are needed to determine how light exposure affects infants in general.  

One systematic review that looked at the effects of light exposure in children zero to twelve years old found that ultimately, it is important to consider the timing, color, and intensity of light when it comes to healthy child development. Some studies showed that spending time in bright, cooler-toned light (especially outdoor light) could help protect against myopia (nearsightedness) and could even improve vision, although researchers aren’t sure how strong the effect is. On the other hand, exposure to bright artificial cool-toned light, especially in the evening when children’s bodies are expecting to settle down, can lead to a suppression of melatonin (the sleeping hormone).  

It is also important to consider how infants view and process different visual stimuli as they grow older. One developmental review found that from birth to 6 months, babies look at simple geometric patterns – like those in light projectors - for short durations, and this gets even shorter after 6 months of age. At this point in development, children start to prefer more complex visuals like faces or people doing activities, which they start to look at for longer time periods. This looking is coupled with an increase in heart rate, which tells us that they are paying attention to the visual and trying to actively process what they are seeing.  

The takeaway from all of this developmental science is: infants may be more attentive to light projections earlier in infancy, and in typically-developing infants, this will decrease over time as they start to be more interested in people or objects.  

Recommendations for Parents 

• Watch how your child responds to different lighting and stimuli and make adjustments based on their reactions. Every child is different so they will respond and react differently. Some children may be soothed by looking at light projections the way they would a mobile over their crib, while others may not focus on it long.  
• Avoid exposure to bright light as it gets close to bedtime. Bright light exposure, especially in the evening, can break up children’s natural wind-down processes and make it more challenging to fall asleep. 
• Keep time spent with projectors to short periods. Light projections should be used for brief soothing periods, not last for hours each day. 
• Engage with your baby. Infants learn best from interactions with you – singing, talking, or snuggling – rather than screen-based or artificial light stimuli. 
• Spend time outdoors. When children are a little older, make sure technology is not crowding out times for outdoor play. Not only is physical activity good for children, but the natural light is beneficial for them.  
• To learn more about infants and screen time, check out this previous portal response.  

References 

• Christakis, D. A. (2010). The effects of infant media usage: What do we know and what should we learn? Acta Paediatrica, 99(1), 8–16.   
• Eirich, R., McArthur, B. A., Anhorn, C., McGuinness, C., Christakis, D. A., & Madigan, S. (2022). Association of screen time with internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in children 12 years or younger: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 79(5), 393–400.  
• Janssen, X., Martin, A., Hughes, A. R., Hill, C. M., Kotronoulas, G., & Hesketh, K. R. (2020). Associations of screen time, sedentary time and physical activity with sleep in under 5s: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 49, 101226.  
• Hernández, A., & Rueda, J. (2023). The role of sleep in emotional regulation: A comprehensive review. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 69, 101773.   
• Madigan, S., McArthur, B. A., Anhorn, C., Eirich, R., & Christakis, D. A. (2020). Associations between screen use and child language skills: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 174(7), 665–675.   
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families. (2025, June 12). Supporting early brain development: Building the brain. HeadStart.gov.  
• Williams, E., & Radesky, J. S. (2025). The 5Cs approach to digital media: Empowering families and professionals to foster healthy screen use for young children. International Journal of Birth & Parent Education, 12(2), 20.   

Age: 0 - 2  

Topics: Infants, light projectors, galaxy lights, screen time, moving light projectors 

Role: Parent