KIRO

Screen time

What it is

How long, and when, a child is on a device. Less about a magic number of hours and more about what the time replaces — sleep, meals, homework, time with people in the room.

What it looks like on your child's phone
  • The blue glow under the blanket after "lights out"
  • Irritability or arguments specifically when asked to put the phone down
  • Eating meals with a screen instead of a conversation
  • Grades or sleep slipping at the same time screen use goes up
What to do tonight
  1. Pick one hard stop: 60 minutes before bed, phone charges outside the bedroom
  2. Make one meal a day screen-free, for everyone at the table
  3. Change gradually, not all at once — sudden bans usually get worked around
What the law says in India

This is mostly a household habit, not a legal one. Where it does touch the law: the DPDP Act, 2023 restricts platforms from showing certain ads or tracking to users registered as children, which is part of why age-appropriate settings exist at all.

General information, not legal advice.

Still not sure what to do?

Talk it through with Vaani, in your own language.