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🌙 For parents

How much screen time is healthy?

A short guide from what India's paediatricians and the World Health Organization recommend, and how to make the minutes count.

The short answer, by age

  • Under 2No screensTalk, sing, read and play together instead.
  • 2 to 5 yearsUp to 1 hour a dayIn short sittings of 20–30 minutes, with a grown-up nearby. Less is better.
  • 5 to 10 yearsLess than 2 hours a dayCounting everything, homework on screens included. Less is better.
  • 10 and olderNo fixed numberScreens shouldn't push out sleep, play, school or family time.

From the Indian Academy of Pediatrics guidelines (2022). The WHO (2019) agrees for the under-5s: no screens before 2, and no more than 1 hour a day for 2 to 4 year olds.

What matters more than the minutes

  • What they watch or play. Choose things that are educational, made for their age, without violence, and interactive: a game where they think and answer beats a video that plays on and on.
  • Doing it together. For children up to 10, sit nearby or play along. Ask them to show you what they learned; that's where the learning sticks.
  • When. No screens at meals, and screens off at least 1 hour before bed: screen light makes it harder to fall asleep.
  • Where. Keep bedrooms, the dining table and the car screen-free.
  • Not as a soother. Try not to use a phone to calm a crying child, to get them to eat, or to fill every bored moment. Boredom is where play begins.
  • One screen at a time. No TV in the background while they play on a tablet.

The rest of the day matters too

  • Ages 2 to 5: at least 3 hours of active play spread through the day, with 1 hour of running-about, out-of-breath play. Sleep: 10 to 14 hours, naps included.
  • Ages 5 to 10: at least 1 hour of active, energetic play every day. Sleep: 9 to 12 hours.
  • Reading together, drawing, building, helping in the kitchen and playing outside all count. Screens should be one small part of a full day.

What a healthy day can look like (age 4)

  • Morning: school, then outdoor play.
  • After a snack: 20 minutes of a learning game, with you nearby. Ask them to show you their stars.
  • Evening: a walk, a story, a worksheet or drawing together.
  • Screens off an hour before bed.

How BrainSprout helps you stick to it

  • A daily limit you choose for each child, from 10 minutes to 2 hours. When time's up, they finish their level and see a friendly break screen.
  • Breaks every 15, 20 or 30 minutes: a short look-far-away-and-stretch, always between levels.
  • Bedtime and school hours when games stay closed.
  • Short levels, no ads, no autoplay and no streaks to lose, so stopping is easy.
  • A report card that shows what the minutes were spent learning: every Nursery, LKG and UKG skill marked Can do, Practising or Not yet.

Our suggestion for ages 2 to 5: 20 to 30 minutes a day, a break every 20 minutes, and no games after 7:30 pm. For ages 5 to 8: 30 to 45 minutes a day.

Set it up on your free parent dashboard (under each child, choose Set screen time). New here? Create a free account or start with the free 5-minute level check.

This is general guidance, not medical advice. If you're worried about your child's screen use, sleep or development, talk to your paediatrician.