planner
Screen Time Planner
Builds a realistic daily screen plan for each child, based on age, school and sleep, that protects sleep, homework and family time.
What you will need
- Child's age (years): Guidance changes a lot with age.
- Usual bedtime on school nights (time (HH:MM)): Screens should go off before this.
- Usual wake-up time on school days (time (HH:MM)): Used to check whether sleep is long enough.
- Time home from school or aftercare (time (HH:MM)): More detail.
- Homework time needed (minutes): More detail.
- Does the child have their own phone? (yes/no): More detail. Shapes the online-safety tips.
How it works
recommended_sleep_hours: age 3-5 = 10-13; 6-12 = 9-12; 13-18 = 8-10 (widely used paediatric sleep guidance; verify). actual_sleep = wake_time - bedtime (overnight). IF actual_sleep < lower bound: flag 'bedtime may be too late for this age'. screens_off_time = bedtime - 60 minutes. Recreational screen allowance on school days: age < 2 = 0 (video calls with family only); 2-4 = up to 60 min, with an adult, quality content; 5-12 = family decides, suggested starting point up to 2 hours after homework; 13-18 = agreed with the teen, protecting sleep, homework and one screen-free family time. available_window = from (home_time + homework_minutes) to screens_off_time; IF allowance > available_window: allowance = available_window. Always include: devices charge outside bedrooms overnight, screen-free meals, parental controls and age-appropriate settings, what to do if something online is upsetting (tell an adult, screenshot, block, report). IF own_phone == yes AND child_age < 13: add note that most major social media apps set 13 as the minimum age.
What you get
- Screens off at
- Suggested recreational screen time on school days
- Sleep check
- Your family screen plan
What it means
- Your child may not be getting enough sleep, and moving screens-off earlier is the quickest fix.
- Homework and sleep leave limited free time on school days, so weekends may need to carry more of the screen time.
- This plan fits common health guidance; review it together every school term.
Next step: Want help interpreting this? If screens are causing big fights or your child cannot cut down, a Cleared Mind counsellor can help: call 0800 212 146.
Runs on the device. Nothing is saved unless the member chooses.