Screen Time Budget Planner
Turn the screen-time argument into a plan. See how much genuinely free time your child has after sleep, school, and activities — and how a sensible screen budget fits inside it.
Screen-time budget
About 2 h/day of recreational screens fits an age-appropriate budget.
How the budget is built
The planner begins with all 24 hours and takes away the non-negotiables: sleep first, then school or childcare, then the everyday commitments — homework, meals, chores, and outdoor play. What remains is your child’s real free time, and that is the pool a screen budget should be drawn from.
Against that it sets an age-based recommendation for recreational screens and shows what share of free time it would use and what is left over. Seeing screens as a slice of free time — rather than an open-ended default — makes the limit feel fair to kids and easy to hold to as parents.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much screen time is appropriate?
Common pediatric guidance suggests avoiding screens (other than video chat) under about 18 months, roughly an hour a day of high-quality content for ages 2 to 5, and consistent, reasonable limits for school-age kids — often cited around a couple of hours of recreational screens once sleep, school, activity, and family time are protected. The number is a guide; the content and context matter just as much.
Does this count school and homework screens?
No — the recommendation is for recreational screens. School work, video calls with family, and creative or educational use are generally treated separately. This planner focuses on the leisure screen time that competes with sleep, play, and downtime.
Why start from sleep and activities?
Because screen time is really a question of what it displaces. By subtracting sleep, school, and daily commitments first, you can see how much genuinely free time your child has — and decide how much of it screens should take, rather than letting them fill whatever is left.
My child needs more or less than the guideline. Is that wrong?
Not necessarily. Every family is different, and a rainy sick day looks nothing like a summer Saturday. Use the number as an anchor for a consistent routine, and adjust for content quality, your child's temperament, and what the screens are replacing.
A planning aid based on general guidance, not medical advice. Content quality and your family’s context matter as much as the number of hours.