Screen time contract for kids: build your family's rules

The short answer

A screen time contract is a one-page agreement between parents and kids about when, where and how screens are used. Keep it short: screen-free meals and bedrooms, screens off an hour before bed, a daily limit that fits your child's age, safety rules, what happens when a rule is broken, and signatures from everyone, grown-ups included.

Screen time rules for kids by age

The contract starts with rules that fit your child's age. This is where they come from:

For every age, the AAP recommends screen-free times such as family meals, screen-free places such as bedrooms, and no screens in the hour before bed. The starting limits are our suggestion for families who want a number; change them in the form.

How to make a screen time contract that works

1. Pick the age group. The builder ticks about ten rules that fit it. Untick what does not suit your family and tick others.
2. Write it together. Read each rule out loud and let your child suggest changes. Edit the wording right in the box so it sounds like your family.
3. Keep it short. Families who choose a long list of rules find them hard to remember and enforce; the AAP's own plan now suggests starting with a few areas.
4. Agree what happens both ways. One calm consequence when a rule is broken, and something to look forward to when it is kept.
5. Include the grown-ups. Rules for parents, like phones away at meals, make the deal feel fair and model the habit.
6. Sign it and set a review date. Print one page, sign it, stick it on the fridge and look at it again in a month.

What to put in a screen time contract

The rules are grouped the same way as the AAP Family Media Plan: screen-free times and places, balance, choosing good content, using media together, privacy and safety, and kindness online. A good contract covers at least three of them, not just a number of minutes.

• When and where: meals, bedrooms, the hour before bed, homework time.
• How much: a daily or weekly amount of fun screen time, and what comes first.
• What: who approves new apps and games, in-app purchases, age ratings and social media.
• Safety: what not to share, and a promise that telling a grown-up never gets them in trouble.
• Kindness: what they post and send about other people.

A phone contract for a first phone

If your child is getting a first phone, pick 10 to 12 or 13 to 17 and keep these rules ticked: phones charge outside bedrooms, passwords shared with parents, asking before downloads, no meeting people from online, and the telling-a-grown-up rule. Add your own lines for costs, such as who pays if the phone breaks.

For the full age-by-age reasoning, research and tips on keeping the rules, read our guide to screen time rules for kids. To see what your family's hours add up to, try the screen time calculator; for teens and adults who want a break from feeds, the social media detox tracker helps. Adults can start with how to reduce screen time, and the phone and screen time hub has everything else.

Frequently asked questions

What should be in a screen time contract?

Rules for when and where screens are used (meals, bedrooms, the hour before bed), how much fun screen time is allowed, who okays new apps and games, online safety and kindness, one consequence and one reward, a review date and signatures. The builder groups rules the same way as the AAP Family Media Plan.

How much screen time should a child have by age?

The AAP advises no screens except video calls under 18 months, shared high-quality shows at 18 to 24 months and up to 1 hour a day of high-quality programs at 2 to 5. From 6, it sets no fixed number of hours; families set consistent limits so screens do not crowd out sleep, activity, homework and time together.

At what age should kids sign a screen time contract?

From about 6, when children can understand and remember a few rules; before that it works as a family plan the grown-ups sign. A contract matters most when a child gets their own tablet, game console or first phone.

Should parents follow the screen time contract too?

Yes. Children copy what grown-ups do, and the AAP's plan includes rules for adults. The builder adds a grown-ups rule, phones away at meals and during play, and a signature line for each parent.

What if my child breaks the screen time contract?

Use the consequence you agreed on, calmly and the same way every time, then move on. If a rule keeps breaking, it may not fit: talk about why and change it together at the review date rather than adding more rules.

Can I use this as a phone contract?

Yes. Choose 10 to 12 or 13 to 17 and keep the rules about charging outside the bedroom, shared passwords, asking before downloads, not meeting people from online and telling a grown-up. Add your own lines about costs or breakage.

Is my contract saved or sent anywhere?

It stays in this browser on this device, including names and rules. Nothing is sent to our server and there is no sign-up. Print it or save the image to keep a copy.

Sources and evidence

1. AAP Council on Communications and Media (2016): Media and young minds — For children under 18 months, avoid screen media other than video chatting; at 18 to 24 months choose high-quality programming and watch it with your child; at 2 to 5 years limit screen use to 1 hour a day of high-quality programs.
2. AAP Council on Communications and Media (2016): Media use in school-aged children and adolescents — Families should follow a Family Media Use Plan with consistent limits, keep devices out of bedrooms at night, avoid screens for 1 hour before bedtime and set media-free times and places such as dinner and bedrooms.
3. Munzer et al. (2026): Digital ecosystems, children, and adolescents, AAP policy statement — The AAP's 2026 policy moves beyond fixed screen time limits toward content quality, caregiver engagement and family media plans.
4. Moreno, Radesky, Walsh and Tomopoulos (2024): The Family Media Plan — The AAP Family Media Plan groups rules into media balance, communicating about media, kindness and empathy, digital privacy and safety, screen-free zones and times, choosing good content and using media together; a trial of the first version found families picked so many rules that they were hard to keep, so the plan now suggests a few areas at a time.
5. World Health Organization (2019): Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 — Sedentary screen time is not recommended for children under 2; for 2 to 4 year olds it should be no more than 1 hour a day, and less is better.