# How limits are set, ages 6-12

**How should we set screen time limits for ages 6 to 12?**

How you set screen rules for school-age children: fixed minutes, weekday and weekend rules, rules about content and context, or letting the child regulate.

In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Fixed daily minutes; Weekday and weekend split, or "earned" time; Content and context rules, no clock; Child self-regulates. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: school age.

- Area: Screens, phones and digital life
- Evidence: Your call
- Best settled: School age
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/screens-phones-and-digital-life--how-limits-are-set-ages-6-12

## How limits are set, ages 6-12: what are the options?

1. **Fixed daily minutes**: The child gets a set number of minutes each day.
2. **Weekday and weekend split, or "earned" time**: Limits differ between school days and weekends, or the child earns time through chores or reading.
3. **Content and context rules, no clock**: You set rules about what and where, and do not time it.
4. **Child self-regulates**: The child manages their own screen use.

## How limits are set, ages 6-12: what does the evidence say?

**Your call.** No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide.

86% of parents have rules; 42% say they could do better

Sources:

- [Pew](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/10/08/how-parents-manage-screen-time-for-kids/)

## What else is worth knowing?

At this age screens include schoolwork, games and videos, so a single number is harder to apply. Families use fixed minutes, different weekday and weekend rules, or rules about content only. Whatever you choose works better when both of you enforce it the same way.

## Questions to ask each other

- What kind of rules fit our family: minutes, times, or what and when?
- How much say will our child have?
- What would we do when rules are broken?

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General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=screens-phones-and-digital-life&topic=screens-phones-and-digital-life--how-limits-are-set-ages-6-12