Screen Time Family Contract
Nine steps that write nine sections: who is in the family, weekday and weekend limits, device-free zones and times, approved content, how screen time is earned, what happens when the agreement is broken, and what the adults are signing up to. The hour sliders start at a round figure for each age and you set the final limit. Free and printable.
Family Setup
How the contract is put together
Nine steps, in a fixed order, and each one writes its own section of the document: who is in the family, weekday limits, weekend limits, device-free zones, device-free times, approved content, how screen time is earned, what happens when the agreement is broken, and what the adults are signing up to. The contract at the end is your answers laid out for signature — nothing is scored.
One thing the tool does do with the age, so it is worth being plain about it. The weekday and weekend sliders start at 1 hour a day for a child of 5 or under, 1.5 hours for 6 to 12 and 2 hours from 13, so that a slider has somewhere to begin. Those three figures are our own round numbers, not a medical guideline, and no published guideline is precise enough to hand out per child without knowing the child. Move every slider to what your family agrees; the contract prints whatever you set. The wording does not change between a six-year-old and a fifteen-year-old.
What the page does have an opinion about is the process. Every section is written to be filled in with the child in the room, and the ninth step exists because an agreement where only the children have obligations is the kind that lasts a fortnight. Adults sign it too. Everything you type is printed straight from the page, and there is no account.
Every figure above was read out of the code that runs on this page. Where a number is our own judgement rather than a published one, the note says so and cites nothing. Method last checked 21 August 2026.
Why an agreement works better than a rule
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests about an hour a day of high-quality programmes for children aged 2 to 5, and for older children asks families to set consistent limits rather than naming a number. That leaves most parents choosing the figure themselves — usually while a child insists "everyone else gets to."
A family screen time contract works because it shifts the dynamic from "parents saying no" to "rules we all agreed on." When children help write the rules, they have a stake in keeping them.
Many families add earned screen time — extra minutes for finished chores, homework or time outside. The contract has a step for it, and whether it suits your children is your call.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age group is this for?
What topics does the contract cover?
Is this enforceable?
Related Tools
Fair Chore Split Calculator
Calculate a fair chore split for your household. Add members, assign tasks with time estimates, and get an equitable distribution everyone agrees on.
Roommate Agreement Generator
Create a comprehensive roommate agreement covering chores, quiet hours, guests, expenses, and more. Step-by-step wizard generates a printable PDF contract.
Cleaning Schedule Generator
Generate a personalized cleaning schedule for your home. Select your rooms, household members, and preferences to get a daily, weekly, and monthly plan.
Manage family screen time with Homsy
Homsy helps families set boundaries and track screen-free achievements together.