Screen time limits that actually work for us

Dec 61 min read

We finally cracked it after like 6 months of chaos. Here's what worked:

No screens before 8am (even on weekends)
1 hour max on school days (he can choose: gaming, YouTube, whatever)
2 hours on weekends but has to pick ONE activity (can't jump between YouTube, TikTok, games)
Screen-free dinner and 1 hour before bed
Built-in task reminders using a basic dry erase board by the TV

We use Apple Screen Time for enforcement but honestly the predictability was bigger than the tech. My 10yo actually stopped complaining after 2 weeks because he knew what to expect.

Everyone's different obviously, but if you're pulling your hair out, maybe try structure first before just blocking everything?

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Comments(11)

JJames H.RegularDec 7

How old is your kid? Wondering if the 1 hour limit works for older kids or if that's just elementary school age

JJosh E.RegularDec 8

Wait you're saying you let him CHOOSE between gaming and YouTube instead of limiting each app separately? That's actually genius. Our rule was always 'no more than 30 min gaming' but he'd just switch to YouTube and loop hole us. Let me try this

RRyan G.RegularDec 7

We tried the 1 hour max thing and our kid just hoards it. Like he'll sit there at 6:55pm just... sitting with the controller waiting to see if anything else happens. The choice between gaming and YouTube actually helped though because he has to think about what he wants instead of defaulting to TikTok.

RRyan M.RegularDec 8

6 months of chaos feels accurate lol. How old are your kids when you started this? Asking because our oldest is 7 and our youngest is 4 and I don't think the same limits work for both.

AAllen K.RegularDec 8

The no screens before 8am thing is what changed everything for us too. Mornings were chaos when he could just grab a tablet. Now we actually have time to eat breakfast and he's not in a weird mood all day

MMatt S.RegularDec 9

The no screens before 8am thing is genius and I never thought of it. Do you enforce that even on like Saturday when everyone wants to sleep in? Feels like that would be the first thing to crack.

FFrank T.RegularDec 9

This is solid but what about during school breaks? That 1 hour seems like it'd cause actual riots when they don't have school structure. Do you bump it up or stick to it?

WWes B.RegularDec 9

This would never fly with my 16yo but I'm saving this for when my 7yo gets older. Right now he gets like 45 min on weekends and doesn't even ask for more which is wild compared to my older son

RRandy S.RegularDec 9

the consistency is really the hardest part IMO. we did the no screens before 8am for like 2 weeks, worked amazing, then we were late for stuff one morning and let him have his tablet 'just this once' and now that exception is the rule again lol

MMark A.RegularDec 8

Did you have to enforce the 2 hour weekend thing pretty strictly at first or did they accept it? My kids are currently acting like weekends should be unlimited screen time

KKent R.RegularDec 9

The 2 hour weekend thing is way more generous than I expected but honestly that makes sense. If you go too restrictive on weekends kids just get weird about it and it becomes this forbidden thing. Sounds like you found the balance.