Setting Screen Time Limits for Tablets and Video Games

Question: My daughter wants to play more with the tablet and video games such as Roblox for more than 1 hour. Can you help me to explain why it is important to set limits? 

Answer: Thank you for this question! You are correct that screen time limits will help your child prioritize healthy, non-screen activities like reading, physical activity, imaginative play, and sleep. These activities are the bedrock of mental health, attention span, and a strong sense of self. Helping your child understand the reasons for screen limits is also a great opportunity to support their self-regulation skills as they build insight into their relationship with technology and develop a love for other non-screen activities. Every kid needs a range of activities that they love to do and help them feel calm and competent.  

What Research Tells Us: Video Games and Self-Regulation 

One study of children ages 9-10 compared “video gamers” who played 3+ hours per day to children who did not play video games at all. This study found the video gamers had slightly faster reaction times, but these increases were too small to meaningfully affect their day-to-day behavior. At the same time, the video gamers in this study had significantly higher attention problems, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms than those who didn’t play at all.  

Another separate study looked at children ages 7-11 and found that playing video games for more time each week was linked with more behavior challenges and trouble getting along with peers. The benefits seemed limited: children’s reaction time improved only up to about one hour of play per week, then leveled off. Because of the way the studies are designed, it is hard to tell the direction of effects. Video games may influence behavior – for example, through aggressive role modeling in the game or arguments when kids are asked to stop playing – and it’s also possible that kids with pre-existing behavior or attention challenges use video games for longer. Parents may use video games as a way to keep hyperactive kids occupied, for example. It’s usually a two-way street, with behavior and video gaming shaping each other.  

These early school years are also an exciting, industrious time for children to build skills in self-regulation and responsibility. Defining and adhering to family screen time limits is a great opportunity to practice these skills! Consistent accountability to time limits can help them take ownership of their habits and learn how to manage them more independently.  

According to a review of 150 studies on children’s self-regulation, exercising these skills in the early school years (age 8) was positively related with later academic achievement and protective against many negative outcomes, including depressive symptoms, obesity, unemployment, substance use, and aggressive or criminal behavior.  

With screen time specifically, a nationally representative survey of Canadian youth ages 12-17 found those who adhered to screen time guidelines routinely (2 hours in this case) were more likely to report better mental, academic, physical, and overall well-being. 

If you’re struggling to get your child to adhere to time limits, a few practical strategies include: 

• Use parental controls to set time limits in which the video game software shuts down when time is up 
• Make a rule in which, if your child can turn off the TV or game without complaining, they can earn points toward a treat at the end of the week (e.g., going out for ice cream) 
• On an unstructured day like a weekend or when you are stuck inside due to snow, heat, or air quality, make a visual schedule where you show what activities will happen and around what time. This helps kids look forward to other activities once games are done.  

Conversation Starters for Screen Time Limits 

The research described above describes why limits are important, but having those conversations with your child can feel hard or frustrating without a plan for how to approach them. The key is to be open-minded, listen to your child, and guide them without shame and blame. Some things you could say might be: 

• “It is important to make sure we spend time doing lots of different activities that help you to grow strong and healthy, like reading, moving your body, using your imagination, being creative, and getting lots of sleep.” 
• “I’ve noticed it’s hard for you to stop playing video games sometimes. What does your brain feel like when that happens?” 
• “How does your brain and body feel after playing your game for a long time? If you aren't sure, let’s try to check in next time right after – Does your brain feel fuzzy, excited, or tired? What words would you pick to describe how video games make you feel?" 
• “Sometimes when we spend too much time on our tablet, it can crowd out other things we want to do. What are some other things you love doing that we should try to do every day?" 
• “What’s your plan for using the iPad today? What’s your plan for doing other things too?” 

You can also ask your child to share their observations of your own habits – it can help them reflect on their own in the process and helps address feelings of hypocrisy. This is also a chance to define new limits collaboratively that you can both follow. Some questions to ask could be: 

• "What do you think of my phone use habits? What could I do better?" 
• "Are there times that are important to you for me to be present and not on a device or phone?" 
• “I am going to put my phone away for the night so we can have time together.” 
• "I sometimes have a hard time not checking my phone or feeling the need to respond to texts or emails. I'm working on how to be better about my own boundaries. Let's help each other find a good balance." 

If you try to talk to your child and it doesn’t go well, take a deep breath! It’s okay not to “win” an argument right at that moment. Remember that you have more experience feeling big things. If you’re frustrated, they probably are too. Take a 15-minute “cool down” break and then come back together to try again. Remind them that you’re there to help, not to punish them, and this is something you can figure out together.

Additional Tips and Resources for Parents

• Healthychildren.org recommends creating a Family Media Plan to facilitate discussion around safe and practical media use that works for your family’s specific needs.    
• Consistent boundaries can help motivate self-regulation. For example, if they follow the time limits appropriately, then the tablet or video game can remain an option to them in the future, but if they can’t follow the limits, then you might decide to take a break from the game or device for a while. Maintaining consistent, clear boundaries helps scaffold their self-regulation skills by providing predictable opportunities to take ownership of their habits.  
• Transitions are hard, and the technologies are designed in ways that encourage continued use and make it difficult to put them down. For example, many ways of earning in-game currency in Roblox rely on spending more time on the platform, often by playing games that incorporate real-world gambling mechanics. Many of the games don’t have clear stopping points (compared to TV shows, for example, which have a clear beginning and end), so it might be harder for your child to transition away. Our previous portal response on Using Roblox and YouTube For Extended Periods Of Time offers some suggestions for supporting the transition to other activities.  
• Check out our previous portal responses on Screen Time Limits for Young Children and Information About Roblox for Parents. 

References: 

• Brunton, C., Boco, E., Facette, T., & Pinault, L. (2026). Does screen time make a difference? A longitudinal study of youth screen time and well-being. Statistics Canada.  
• Chaarani, B., Ortigara, J., Yuan, D., Loso, H., Potter, A., & Garavan, H. P. (2022). Association of Video Gaming With Cognitive Performance Among Children. JAMA Network Open, 5(10), e2235721.  
• Munzer, T., Parga-Belinkie, J., Milkovich, L. M., Tomopoulos, S., Ajumobi, T., Cross, C., Gerwin, R., Madigan, S., Psych, R., & Council on Communications and Media. (2026). Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Policy Statement. Pediatrics, 157(2), e2025075320.  
• Pujol, J., Fenoll, R., Forns, J., Harrison, B. J., Martínez-Vilavella, G., Macià, D., Alvarez-Pedrerol, M., Blanco-Hinojo, L., González-Ortiz, S., Deus, J., & Sunyer, J. (2016). Video gaming in school children: How much is enough? Annals of Neurology, 80(3), 424–433.  
• Robson, D. A., Allen, M. S., & Howard, S. J. (2020). Self-regulation in childhood as a predictor of future outcomes: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 146(4), 324–354.  

Age: 2-11 

Topics: Screen Time; Setting Limits; Tablets, Video Games (Roblox) 

Role: Parent/Caregiver