How much screen time is reasonable for my child?

As orientation, the BZgA passes on the guide values of the paediatric societies: no screen media below the age of three, at most 30 minutes a day for 3- to 6-year-olds, at most 30 to 45 minutes for 6- to 9-year-olds and at most 45 to 60 minutes for 9- to 12-year-olds. The World Health Organization likewise recommends at most one hour of sedentary screen time for 2- to 4-year-olds. The important qualifier from the BZgA is that these are guide values: the right amount can differ even at the same age. From around twelve, a jointly agreed weekly budget is usually more workable than a fixed daily limit.

Why do I need a schedule in the router when times are already set on the device?

Because the two levels close different gaps. A time limit on the device can under some circumstances be switched off, worked around or defeated by switching accounts. The router, by contrast, decides independently which device may join the home network and when, and it also covers devices that have no parental controls of their own - an older console, for instance. The other way round, the router has no effect on a mobile network. Only together do device and router create a framework that holds up day to day.

How do I handle homework and learning videos without using up the media time?

Run learning time as its own time slot that does not count against media time. In practice that means an approved block in the afternoon during which learning apps and the school platform are reachable while games and short videos stay blocked. Approve individual learning videos as one-offs rather than permanently, so that the exception does not become a second helping of media time. In the router this slot can be stored as its own section of the weekly schedule.

What do I do about visiting children's devices?

That is what the guest network is for. Visitors' devices get online with a password of their own but cannot reach photos, printers and files in the main network. It is also the simplest way to close the afternoon detour where a blocked child's device goes online via a guest's phone: your schedules apply in the guest network too if you set it up accordingly. It is best to switch the guest network on only when you actually have visitors.

Do you come to our home to do the setup?

Yes. We come to you, set up child accounts on phones, tablets, computers and the TV, create device profiles and a weekly schedule in the router and add kids profiles in the services you actually use. We work out the weekly plan together with you and your children and then show you how to approve exceptions and adjust times. The home visit flat rate is 79 euros including VAT (up to 60 minutes), travel within 10 km is included. In the Hildesheim and Leine valley area.

Parental Controls at Home: Managing Screen Time Well

In short and in plain language

How long may my child use a screen? This question often leads to arguments. This post shows how technology can back up clear rules.

You can set limits on the device, in the router and in the services. A router is the box for your home internet. Only together do they give a good frame.

The device should have its own account for the child. There you set times, what is allowed and a block on buying things.

Technology has limits. Tracking your child should be open, not secret.

We set this up for you in your own home.

Once the summer holidays are over and the new school year starts, the same question lands on the kitchen table in many households: how much screen time is actually reasonable - and how do you put that into practice technically without renegotiating every afternoon? The discussion usually begins at the kitchen table and ends at the router, because rules that exist only as a verbal agreement rarely survive everyday life. The other way round, the most sophisticated setting achieves little if nobody knows why the day ends at 8 pm. The figures show how early the topic begins: 46 percent (KIM study, mpfs) of 6- to 13-year-olds already own a smartphone of their own, and 72 percent (KIM study, mpfs) of that age group use the internet. At the same time, 55 percent (KIM study, mpfs) of parents whose child has their own smartphone use no time controls whatsoever. This guide sets out the three levels that have to work together - device, network and service -, explains where technology reaches its limits, and gives age-graded guide values with the source. If you would rather not handle the setup yourself, we set up technology for families in your home.

Key takeaways

Screen time can be managed in three places: on the device, in the router and in the individual service. Only together do they create a framework that holds up day to day.
The device is where usage times, age ratings, app approvals and a purchase lock belong - in a child account of its own, not in a shared parent account.
In the router, device profiles and schedules make sure the rule still applies when something has been changed on the device itself.
The BZgA publishes guide values by age group, but stresses that they serve as orientation only and that the right amount differs from child to child.
Location tracking and usage logs interfere with privacy. Discussed openly and limited to specific situations, they typically work better than being switched on in secret.

Why the screen time question comes up now

At the start of the school year daily routines shift, and media times shift with them. Anyone who spent summer afternoons outdoors is now sitting over homework - and often in front of a screen afterwards. The surveys by the Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest show how usage develops across the age groups. Among 12- to 19-year-olds with their own smartphone, the daily screen time read off the device was most recently 231 minutes (JIM study, mpfs); a self-estimated time online is no longer reported by the study series since the switch to this measurement. The gap between year groups is considerable: 12- to 13-year-olds came to 166 minutes (JIM study, mpfs) a day, 18- to 19-year-olds to 278 minutes (JIM study, mpfs). Usage is growing noticeably among younger children too - among 8- to 9-year-olds who are online, the share using the internet daily rose from 23 to 40 percent (KIM study, mpfs). And the device travels into the bedroom: 58 percent (KIM study, mpfs) of children with their own smartphone take it to bed with them. That is exactly where it is decided in the evening whether there is another negotiation or whether an agreed rule applies.

Minutes alone do not decide it

A time figure is a practical anchor, but not a measure of quality. The German Federal Centre for Health Education points out explicitly that its guide values serve as orientation only and that the right amount differs from child to child even at the same age (BZgA). No clock can decide whether half an hour of watching together, a video call with the grandparents or a learning video for a maths test should count the same as an hour of short videos alone in a bedroom. What makes sense, then, is a framework that distinguishes between learning time, shared time and free media time - and that allows for exceptions instead of banning them.

Three levels that have to work together

Many families try out a setting, discover after two weeks that it is being bypassed, and give up in frustration. That is rarely down to the child and usually down to the fact that only one of three levels was covered. Level one is the device: this is where usage times, age ratings, app approvals and a purchase lock are set. Level two is the network: the router decides which device is allowed online at all and when - regardless of what has been set on the device. Level three is the service: media libraries, video platforms and gaming platforms come with kids profiles of their own that filter content, keep the history separate and thereby change the recommendations too. The technical basis has long been in place: 99 percent (KIM study, mpfs) of households with children aged six to 13 have an internet connection, and 98 percent (KIM study, mpfs) have at least one smartphone. Tackle only one place and you move the problem; align all three and there is barely anything left to argue about. For how comfort and safety in the house can be organised alongside this, see our article on the smart home for families.

Level 1: device

Usage times per weekday, age ratings, approval for individual apps and a lock on purchases - set up in a child account of its own.

Level 2: network

Device profiles and schedules in the router determine when which device may go online. That applies even if something was changed on the device.

Level 3: service

Kids profiles in media libraries and video platforms filter content, keep the history separate and thereby change the recommendations as well.

Level 1: usage times and approvals on the device

The device level is the obvious starting point because it offers the finest control. What matters, though, is that the child gets an account of its own rather than sharing the parent account. Only then can time slots, age ratings and approvals for individual apps be assigned separately, and only then does the setting survive when a device is handed on later. The statutory age ratings help with the classification: German youth protection law defines five labels - no age restriction as well as ages 6, 12, 16 and 18 and over (JuSchG). On many devices these levels can be set directly as a limit, so that content above the chosen rating is filtered out before it appears. Agreements within the household are common in practice: 76 percent (KIM study, mpfs) of families have agreements on how long television and streaming may run. Far fewer of them are backed up technically - which is where a look at the settings pays off. If you would like support setting up the devices, we take care of that as part of our device setup services.

Create a child account of its own instead of letting the child use the parent account.
Set usage times per weekday and distinguish school days from the weekend.
Apply age ratings following the levels of German youth protection law and raise them with age.
Allow new apps only after approval, so that installations are discussed beforehand.
Set a purchase lock and remove payment details from the child account.
Enter a fixed quiet period in the evening that also covers messages and games.

One account per child - and a parent account with its own password

The most common reason time limits come to nothing is a shared password. If the child can lift the limit itself, it is not a rule but a reminder. So set up a parent account with a password that is not used anywhere else in the household, and create a separate profile for every child. On shared devices such as the family tablet, switching profiles makes more sense than a single setting for everyone - otherwise the youngest child's rule applies to all, or no rule does.

Level 2: schedules and device profiles in the router

The second level is the one most often underestimated. The router sees every device in the household and can define per device when it is allowed online. That makes it possible to enforce rules which could be bypassed on the device itself - for instance if a time limit is switched off or an account is swapped. In practice you create a profile in the router for each child's device, assign it a weekly schedule and set a night pause. In addition, the German Federal Office for Information Security recommends changing the router's preset password, switching on automatic updates and putting visitors' devices as well as smart home devices on a separate guest network (BSI). How to tidy up your home network as a whole is described in our article on securing your router and home network. And if the signal in the children's rooms fluctuates, schedules appear unreliable even though they are set correctly - in that case a home Wi-Fi optimisation helps.

Name every device in the router so tablet, console and phone can be identified unambiguously.
Create a separate profile for each child's device instead of one rule for the whole network.
Set a weekly schedule that distinguishes school days, Friday and the weekend.
Set a night pause that begins around an hour before bedtime.
Set up a guest network for visitors' devices so other people's phones do not end up in the main network.
Review the plan together after two weeks and adapt it to the actual daily routine.

The guest network is more than good manners

A separate guest network serves two purposes at once. Visitors' devices get online without gaining access to photos, printers and files in the main network - a separation that is recommended for smart home devices as well (BSI). And it closes the classic afternoon detour where a blocked child's device goes online via a friend's phone. Give the guest network a password of its own, keep it separate from the main network, and switch it on only when you actually have visitors.

Level 3: kids profiles in media libraries and services

The third level sits inside the service itself. Video platforms, media libraries and gaming platforms come with kids profiles of their own that filter content by age, keep the history separate and thereby change the recommendations as well. This is the point many people overlook: a child watching in the adult profile then gets suggestions drawn from exactly that history - the recommendation logic learns along the way. A separate profile breaks that feedback loop. Rules for this already exist in many families: 62 percent (KIM study, mpfs) of households have agreements about the use of online video services. You should also keep an eye on the platforms' own minimum age - many social networks require users to be 13, and that limit is frequently circumvented (KIM study, mpfs). Providers can also meet their duty of care by making their offerings readable for recognised youth protection software (JMStV); a profile setting does not replace that. On the television it pays to create the kids profile right at setup - our page on setting up TVs and streaming shows how this works alongside apps and external players, and the streaming overview gives you a picture of the wider landscape.

Feature	Device	Router	Service
Time slots during the day	very precise, even per app	per device, at night too	usually not provided
Content by age	age ratings under youth protection law	coarse filter lists	kids profile with filter
Preventing purchases	purchase lock in the child account	no effect	depends on the provider
Effect on visitors' devices	only in your own account	via the guest network	only in your own profile
Effect on mobile networks	yes, independent of Wi-Fi	none, home network only	yes, in the relevant profile

Where technology reaches its limits

No setting replaces an agreement. As soon as a child leaves the house the router no longer applies, and on a mobile network only what is stored on the device takes effect. The route via a friend's device also stays open - 96 percent (KIM study, mpfs) of children with their own smartphone have it with them when they meet up with others. On top of that, restrictions lose their effect with age: what works as a clear boundary at eight becomes a sporting challenge at fourteen. It is telling how parents assess the situation themselves - 23 percent (KIM study, mpfs) of parents feel their child spends too much time with the smartphone. Technology can make that impression visible and hold a framework in place; it cannot take over the negotiation. The combination therefore works best: a jointly agreed weekly plan, backed up technically, with a fixed date for readjusting it. Because children and teenagers also come across scams, a look at phishing and fake calls belongs in the same conversation.

The most important principle

Technical limits are an aid, not a substitute for parenting. They spare the family the daily negotiation because the rule has already been agreed and stored - but they do not replace the conversation about why it exists. In our experience a plan the child helped draw up lasts considerably longer than a block that takes them by surprise on a Tuesday evening.

Age-graded guide values and how to use them

There are public reference points for the question of the right amount. The World Health Organization recommends no sedentary screen time at all for children under two years and at most one hour (WHO) of it per day for 2- to 4-year-olds, with less being better. The German Federal Centre for Health Education passes on the guide values of the paediatric societies: no screen media below the age of three, at most 30 minutes (BZgA) of screen time a day for 3- to 6-year-olds, at most 30 to 45 minutes (BZgA) for 6- to 9-year-olds and at most 45 to 60 minutes (BZgA) daily for 9- to 12-year-olds. From the age at which homework and friendships run through the phone anyway, a weekly budget is more practical than a rigid daily limit: it allows for a long Saturday without the week getting out of hand. The important addition is that these are guide values and that the right amount can differ even at the same age (BZgA). Programmes watched together count differently from short videos alone in a bedroom - and if the dialogue gets lost on family evenings, our article on clear TV sound helps.

Under three years: no screen media (BZgA), and look at picture books together instead.
3 to 6 years: at most 30 minutes of screen time a day (BZgA), ideally watched together.
6 to 9 years: at most 30 to 45 minutes a day, 9 to 12 years: at most 45 to 60 minutes daily (BZgA).
12 years and over: instead of a rigid daily limit, a jointly agreed weekly budget with fixed breaks.
For every age group: no screen device in the child's room overnight and a break before bedtime (BZgA).

Homework and learning videos do not belong in the same budget

When school and free time happen on the same device, every time limit comes under pressure. A clean separation has proved its worth: learning time runs as its own approved time slot and does not count against media time. To stop that becoming a blank cheque, a clear agreement helps - learning videos are approved individually rather than permanently, and learning time ends when the homework does. It is also advisable to let the screen rest around an hour before bedtime (BZgA); stored as a night pause in the router, it no longer needs discussing in the evening.

Data protection: location and logs in due proportion

Many child accounts offer more than time limits: location sharing, usage reports, logs of individual apps. These functions are useful, but they interfere deeply with privacy, and their benefit falls with age while the damage to trust rises. The legal framework is clearly marked out: under the General Data Protection Regulation, children in Germany can only give valid consent themselves to the processing of their data by information society services from the age of 16 (GDPR); below that age it is for those with parental responsibility to decide. That does not create a right to seamless observation, but a responsibility to handle it sparingly. What has proved effective is announcing location tracking openly and limiting it to specific situations - the walk to school in the first week, the way home from sports club - instead of leaving it running permanently. If you want to know what data connected devices in the household collect otherwise, our article on data protection in the smart home explains the connections. And for staying in touch with grandparents, which needs none of these functions, the guide to setting up a tablet for video calls helps.

The best setting is the one that was talked through beforehand. Technology holds the framework so that nothing has to be renegotiated every evening - and it is not meant to do any more than that.

Technik daheim

How we set this up in your home

You do not have to work through menus on five devices. We come to your home, look at which devices are actually in use, and set up all three levels so they work together: child accounts with usage times and age ratings on phones, tablets, computers and the TV, a weekly plan with device profiles and a night pause in the router, and kids profiles in the services you actually use. We work out the plan together with you and - depending on their age - with your children, so that everyone supports it and it is not being bypassed two weeks later. On request we set up the guest network for visitors' devices and check the coverage in the children's rooms at the same time; if dead spots are causing trouble there, a home Wi-Fi optimisation is part of the job. Afterwards we show you, calmly, how to approve exceptions and readjust the plan yourself when school hours or hobbies change. What a home visit costs is set out transparently on our page about our pricing, and everything else around technology for families can be found on the relevant service page. You can arrange an appointment through our contact page.

Agree a weekly plan

We moderate a plan everyone supports: learning time, media time and night pause per weekday - written down and put up where it is visible.

Create child accounts

Separate accounts on phones, tablets, computers and the TV, with usage times, age ratings, app approval and a purchase lock.

Set up the router

Device profiles and schedules in the router, plus a night pause and, on request, a separate guest network for visitors' devices.

Explain readjusting

We show you how to approve exceptions, adjust times and let the plan grow with your children - patiently and without jargon.

Sources and Studies

This article is based on data from mpfs (KIM study and JIM study), the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI); legal details are drawn from the German Youth Protection Act, the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media and the General Data Protection Regulation. The figures quoted refer to the status at the time of the respective publication.

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