Screen time by age checker: how your child compares

Pick your child's age bracket and their typical daily screen time. Two brackets have an actual published limit (AAP, WHO); the rest don't, so you get a comparison to national averages instead of a made-up cutoff.

How it compares

Guidance for this age

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The guidance, by age

Age	Guidance	Source
Under 18 months	Avoid screen media other than video-chatting with family	AAP, 2016
18 to 24 months	If introduced: high-quality programming, watched together, no set hourly limit	AAP, 2016
2 to 4 years	No more than 1 hour a day of sedentary screen time; less is better	WHO, 2019
2 to 5 years	No more than 1 hour a day of high-quality programming	AAP, 2016
6 to 17 years	No official hourly limit; "consistent limits" that protect sleep, activity and family time	AAP, 2016

For reference, actual use runs well above an hour for most older kids: 8- to 12-year-olds average 5 hours 33 minutes of entertainment screen use a day, 13- to 18-year-olds average 8 hours 39 minutes, and half of US 12- to 17-year-olds report 4 or more hours a day outside schoolwork. See average screen time by age for the full breakdown and sources.

Why this tool doesn't force a verdict past age 5

A lot of "screen time by age" tools quietly invent an hourly number for teenagers that no pediatric body has actually published, because a clean "you're over the limit" result is more satisfying than "there isn't one." The AAP's own position is that a single number stops making sense once kids are old enough for screens to carry schoolwork, socializing and entertainment at once — what matters is whether screens are crowding out sleep, movement and people, not a stopwatch.

If the number feels high

Check what's actually eating the time. An endless feed (Reels, Shorts, For You) runs longer than messaging or a single video by design — see what is doomscrolling.
Remove the feeds, not the apps. Stillfeed is a free iPhone browser for Instagram and YouTube that removes Reels, Shorts and Explore before they load, so there's less pulling a session past where it should've ended.
Set a family media plan together, including screen-free times and places, rather than a number handed down.

Sources

American Academy of Pediatrics, Media and Young Minds (Pediatrics, November 2016) — under-18-months, 18-24-months and 2-5-years guidance.
World Health Organization, Guidelines on Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep for Children Under 5 Years of Age (2019).
CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Daily Screen Time Among Teenagers: United States, July 2021–December 2023 (NCHS Data Brief No. 513, 2024).
Common Sense Media, The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021.

Common questions

What are the official screen time recommendations by age?

Under 18 months: avoid screen media other than video-chatting (AAP, Media and Young Minds, 2016). Ages 2 to 5: no more than 1 hour a day of high-quality programming, watched with a parent where possible (AAP 2016; the WHO sets the same 1-hour ceiling for ages 2 to 4, and recommends none for under 2). For 18 to 24 months and for ages 6 and up, neither body sets a specific hourly limit — see the next question.

Why isn't there a number for ages 6 to 17?

The AAP deliberately stopped short of one for school-age kids and teens, recommending "consistent limits" set by each family instead, with the priority being that screens don't crowd out sleep, activity and in-person time. This tool shows your number against national averages (CDC, Common Sense Media) for that age group instead of inventing a cutoff that doesn't exist.

What about 18 to 24 months?

The AAP says parents who introduce digital media at this age should choose high-quality programming and watch it together, without giving a specific daily limit. Treat it as the same spirit as the under-18-months guidance: minimal and co-viewed, not a number to hit.

Is my child's data stored anywhere?

No. Nothing you enter leaves your browser or is saved anywhere.