Screen Time Budget Calculator
Build a realistic daily screen-time budget by subtracting sleep, school or work, meals and activities from the 24-hour day.
How it works
Free = 24 − sleep − school − essentials − activities · Screen budget = free × screen%
Instead of guessing at a screen-time limit, this builds it from the day that is actually left. Subtract the non-negotiables — sleep, school or work, meals and hygiene, and the homework and active play you want to protect — from 24 hours to see how much free time genuinely remains. Then decide what share of that free time goes to screens; the rest stays for reading, play and family time. Framing it this way keeps sleep and activity first and treats screens as a slice of what is left over.
Worked example
A child with 9 h sleep, 7 h school, 2.5 h for meals and chores, and 2.5 h homework and play has 24 − 21 = 3 hours free. Giving 60% of that to screens is a 1 h 48 min daily budget, or about 12.6 hours a week, leaving 1 h 12 min of offline free time.
Frequently asked questions
How much screen time is healthy?
Pediatric guidance focuses less on a single number and more on protecting sleep, physical activity and school first. This tool follows that logic: it fixes those essentials, then lets screens use a share of whatever free time is left, rather than setting an arbitrary cap.
Does schoolwork on a device count?
Most guidance separates required educational screen use from recreational use. Keep homework in the "activities" line here so it is protected time, and budget only leisure screens — games, video, social — from the free-time slice.
How do I enforce the budget?
Built-in tools like Screen Time (iOS), Family Link (Android) and console family settings can set daily limits matching this number. Agreeing the budget together and keeping screens out of bedrooms at night tends to work better than limits alone.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.