Compare a child's daily screen time against age-based limits.
Common guidance limits recreational screen time to about one hour for preschoolers and roughly two hours for school-age children, with very limited use before eighteen months. Comparing today's minutes against that number shows how far off the line the household is. Excess screen time crowds out sleep, outdoor play and face-to-face conversation, so a visible limit gives families a concrete negotiation point rather than an endless argument.
Screen Time Limit
Guideline: under 18 months avoid screens, ages 2-5 about 60 minutes, school-age about 120 minutes
Limits are suggestions; educational content and co-viewing are treated differently by experts.
Guideline: under 18 months avoid screens, ages 2-5 about 60 minutes, school-age about 120 minutes Common guidance limits recreational screen time to about one hour for preschoolers and roughly two hours for school-age children, with very limited use before eighteen months. Comparing today's minutes against that number shows how far off the line the household is.
Excess screen time crowds out sleep, outdoor play and face-to-face conversation, so a visible limit gives families a concrete negotiation point rather than an endless argument.
This calculator takes 2 inputs: Child age (years), Current daily minutes. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.