How it works
A day's screen time becomes a handful of tokens, each worth a few minutes (15 to start with; change it in Settings). Tap a token and it starts its timer. Tap another while it runs and the timer gets 15 more minutes. When time is up, a bell rings and the tray shows what's left. Tokens come back every day, or every week if you prefer, and unused ones can carry over.
This page can't see screens. It works like the token jars many families make from paper: the child holds the allowance, chooses when to spend it, and can see it shrink. The page adds the clock and the count.
We start you at four 15-minute tokens because 15 minutes is a common size on printable token systems. It isn't a recommendation. For children under five, the World Health Organization's 2019 guidelines say screen time isn't recommended under age 2 and should be no more than an hour a day at 2 to 4, "less is better". In January 2026 the American Academy of Pediatrics replaced its earlier advice with a policy statement that looks beyond time limits, to what children watch, with whom, and what it crowds out.
Everything stays on this device.
Questions people ask
- How much screen time should a child have?
- For children under five, WHO's 2019 guidelines say screen time is not recommended for babies under one or for one-year-olds, and no more than 1 hour a day at ages 2 to 4, "less is better". The American Academy of Pediatrics' January 2026 policy statement replaced its earlier advice and says children's media use can't be seen "solely through the lens of individual child behaviors or screen limits alone".
- Can this page see how long my child is on the tablet?
- No. A web page can't see other apps, other devices or the TV. It counts the tokens spent here and times each one, like a token jar with a clock.
- What happens if my child stops early?
- The token is spent: the rest of its minutes aren't returned, as with paper tokens. Starting a token by mistake can be undone for a few seconds after the tap.
- Can unused tokens carry over?
- If you turn it on for that person. Unused tokens then move to the next day or week, up to one period's allowance. Some families' token systems carry tokens forward, as in Active For Life's weekly exchange.
- Can my child change the settings?
- Not while it's locked: "Lock for a child" hides everything except the tokens and the timer, and unlocking takes a 3-second hold.
Sources
- WHO: To grow up healthy, children need to sit less and play more (April 24, 2019)
- AAP: American Academy of Pediatrics calls for creating a child-friendly digital world (January 20, 2026)
- Contemporary Pediatrics: AAP calls for system-level changes (January 29, 2026)
- AAP 2016: Media and Young Minds (Pediatrics, November 2016), now replaced
- Teach Beside Me: printable tech time tokens
- Active For Life: the tech token exchange