Screen time for kids: sensible guidelines by age

Why "one number for everyone" doesn't work

Every child is different — and context decides: what is used, when, with whom and instead of what? An hour of creative making or a video call with grandparents is something entirely different from an hour of endless scrolling right before bed.

Rough orientation by age

• 0–3 years: as little as possible, ideally together and guided.
• 3–6 years: up to about 30 minutes a day, with carefully chosen content.
• 6–9 years: about 30–45 minutes, with steady rituals for structure.
• 9–12 years: about 45–60 minutes, increasingly with the child's input.
• 13+ years: fixed minutes matter less — now it's about negotiating rules together.

These figures are reference points, not laws. More important than sticking to the minute is staying in conversation.

Quality beats quantity

Ask less "how long?" and more "what and how?". What matters is the content, the time of day (think sleep) and whether media crowds out other important things like exercise, friends or homework.

From limit to conversation

Bans alone tend to get bypassed rather than understood. When children grasp why a limit exists, they're more likely to carry it. That's exactly where Digital Mastery comes in: it reveals how you both experience media use — a fair basis for a conversation as equals.