The Children’s Media Monitor 2026 provides a comprehensive look at the media habits and everyday lives of 4- to 13-year-olds in Germany. 

Published by Egmont Ehapa Media, RTL Deutschland and Panini Verlag, the representative market media study covers around eight million children – offering insights into everything from ChatGPT and smartphones to streaming, gaming, reading and leisure activities. 

AI: Help yes, deception no 

One of this year’s key topics is artificial intelligence – and children are already drawing their own boundaries around how it should be used. 

More than two-thirds of 6- to 13-year-olds are familiar with ChatGPT, rising to 91 per cent among 10- to 13-year-olds. And their views on acceptable use are surprisingly clear: 

• 71 per cent say secretly using AI during an exam is not acceptable. 

• 69 per cent are happy to use it for ideas for a story. 

• 66 per cent think asking ChatGPT for help with an assignment they do not understand is completely acceptable. 

• 57 per cent reject having AI write an entire text and submitting it as their own. 

• 56 per cent say AI use should not be hidden from teachers. 

Among children familiar with ChatGPT, 60 per cent describe AI as smart and 50 per cent as helpful. Almost a quarter even perceive it as being somewhat like a real person. 

Usage is growing quickly, too. Last year, almost half of 10- to 13-year-olds who knew ChatGPT did not use it. Today, that figure has fallen to just one quarter. 

AI at home – but less so in the classroom 

For now, ChatGPT is much more common outside school than inside it. Among children who know the technology, 45 per cent use it in their leisure time, 36 per cent for school-related topics or homework and just 13 per cent during lessons. 

Smartphones face similarly clear boundaries at school. One third of 6- to 13-year-olds are not allowed to bring a phone at all, while another 31 per cent can bring one only if it stays switched off until the school day ends. 

And many children are comfortable with those rules: among pupils who own a mobile phone, 59 per cent rate their school’s policy as good or very good. 

Watching, listening, reading – and gaming 

Children’s media habits are broad rather than dominated by a single format. At least several times a week: 

• 📺 92 per cent watch programmes, series or videos on TV, streaming services or YouTube. 

• 🎧 90 per cent listen to music, radio, audio dramas, audiobooks or podcasts. 

• 📚 65 per cent read books, magazines, comics or manga. 

• 🎮 58 per cent play games on a console, smartphone, tablet or PC. 

For viewing, Kika (60 per cent) and Toggo (57 per cent) have the broadest reach. Among 10- to 13-year-olds, YouTube (78 per cent) and Netflix (63 per cent) lead. 

The bigger picture? New media are not simply replacing established formats. As children get older, they add more channels to their media mix and move between them depending on the situation. 

Digital lives, offline activities 

More screen time does not mean offline activities are disappearing. Children’s leisure time remains distinctly hybrid. 

Drawing and crafts are a regular activity for 62 per cent of 4- to 13-year-olds – exactly the same proportion that regularly watches YouTube. Meanwhile, 57 per cent regularly do sports and 56 per cent play with building toys and play sets. 

Preferences change with age. 80 per cent of four to five-year-olds regularly draw or do crafts, while sport takes the lead from age ten, reaching 66 per cent. 

Gaming sees the biggest shift: regular gaming rises from just 21 per cent among four-year-olds to 80 per cent among 13-year-olds. 

Reading holds its ground 

Books, magazines and comics continue to play a significant role in children’s media lives. 

59 per cent of 4- to 13-year-olds read books at least several times a week, while 43 per cent regularly read magazines, comics or manga – up five percentage points compared with 2025. 

That puts reading well ahead of regular use of TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat (27 per cent) and podcasts (13 per cent). 

Children also have considerable influence over what they read: 96 per cent are allowed at least some say in choosing their books and magazines. 

Children’s magazines reach the whole family 

The Children’s Media Monitor 2026 also provides representative audience figures for 24 print magazines. 

The numbers show substantial reach: 

• 4.54 million children aged 4 to 13 – or 56.8 per cent – read at least one of the measured titles. 

• The same magazines reach 5.88 million parents, equivalent to 73.5 per cent. 

In other words, children’s magazines reach well beyond their young readers and into millions of family households.