How much screen time is generally appropriate for your child’s age? This free screen time calculator shows commonly cited pediatric guidance by age range.
Use decimals for under 2 (e.g. 1.5 for 18 months).
This reflects commonly cited general pediatric guidance, not individualized medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician for guidance specific to your child.
How the Screen Time Calculator Works
This tool looks up commonly cited pediatric guidance on screen time based on a child’s age, since recommendations shift noticeably as children move from infancy into school age. Enter an age and the calculator returns the general guideline for that age range.
Formula: This is a lookup, not a numeric calculation: age under 1.5 years → Avoid (except video chatting with family); age 1.5 to under 2 years → Very limited (only high-quality programming, watched together); age 2 to under 6 years → 1 hour per day of high-quality, ideally co-viewed programming; age 6 years and older → Consistent limits set by parents to protect sleep and activity, rather than a fixed hourly number.
- Age (years) — your child’s age, entered in years, with decimals allowed for children under 2 (for example, 1.5 for 18 months)
Example Scenarios
| Child’s Age (years) | General Guideline |
|---|---|
| 1 | Avoid (except video chatting with family) |
| 1.5 | Very limited (high-quality programming, co-viewed) |
| 3 | 1 hour/day |
| 5.5 | 1 hour/day |
| 6 | Consistent limits (parent-set) |
| 10 | Consistent limits (parent-set) |
Screen Time Calculator FAQ
Why does the guideline say to avoid screens entirely under 18 months?
General pediatric guidance suggests avoiding screen media for children under 18 to 24 months, aside from video calls with family, because very young children learn best through direct interaction rather than screens. This calculator reflects that commonly cited guidance.What counts as “high-quality programming” for toddlers?
It generally refers to educational, age-appropriate content without fast-paced editing or excessive advertising, ideally watched together with a caregiver who can help the child understand what they are seeing rather than viewed alone.Why does the 1 hour/day guideline stop applying after age 6?
Commonly cited guidance shifts away from a single fixed hourly number for school-age children and toward consistent, parent-set limits that protect sleep, physical activity, and face-to-face time, since screen use patterns become more varied at that age.Does this calculator account for educational versus entertainment screen use?
No. It returns a general age-based guideline only and does not distinguish between educational apps, video calls, passive video watching, or entertainment use, all of which can affect how appropriate a given amount of screen time is.How should I enter my child’s age if they are 18 months old?
Enter the age using decimals, so 18 months would be entered as 1.5 years. The calculator accepts half-year increments to capture the finer age bands used for children under 2.Is this guideline the same for every child regardless of individual needs?
No. This reflects general, commonly cited pediatric guidance for typically developing children, not individualized medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician for guidance specific to your child’s needs and circumstances.Related Calculators
Screen time habits also tie closely into rest and eye health, so you may also want the screen time eye strain calculator to check for digital eye strain risk, the sleep calculator to plan healthy bedtimes, or the sleep debt calculator to see how lost sleep adds up.