Choose the moments that matter
Protect sleep, school, meals and family time first. A short predictable rule is easier to follow than several different limits nobody can remember.
BASTIONHOST / SCREEN TIME & STOPPING
SCREEN TIME & STOPPING
Make stopping part of the plan, not the argument.
Stopping is harder when a game is busy, a video is unfinished or the child did not know the end was coming. Agree the routine first, then use device controls to support it.
START HERE
Set the boundary before you test it.
Begin with the family routine, not a number copied from another household. Decide when screens need to stop, what still needs to work and how a child can ask for a few extra minutes without turning every limit into a negotiation.
Make the ending visible
Use a timer, device warning or spoken reminder before the limit. Where possible, let the child finish a level or save progress rather than stopping at a random second.
Keep useful functions available
Check whether calls, messages, homework apps, alarms or music should still work during downtime. Restrict the distraction without accidentally removing a safety route.
PRACTICAL SETUP
Work through the real account and device.
Do not rely on what a parent dashboard appears to show. Apply the control, then check the result while signed in as the child.
Agree the routine in plain language
Write down the few times screens should be away, such as meals, homework and the hour before bed. Explain the reason and decide where devices will charge overnight.
Use the child's own device account
Connect Screen Time, Family Link or the console family controls to the child's account. A limit on one device will not control another device signed into a different account.
Set bedtime or downtime first
Create the broad offline period before adding lots of app limits. Keep essential communication or homework tools available only if the child genuinely needs them.
Add limits to the problem apps
Use App Limits, daily limits or console play-time controls for the games and video apps that are hardest to stop. Avoid restricting every app simply because the setting exists.
Choose how extra time is requested
A request should come to an adult and should not reveal the control passcode. Decide when a small extension is reasonable and when the original stopping point must stand.
Use the router only as a second layer
A Wi-Fi schedule can support bedtime, but it will not stop mobile data, downloaded games or another network. Keep the device account controls and family routine in place.
Test the end of the limit
Run the child's device up to a short temporary limit. Confirm the warning appears, the app blocks, approved contacts still work and the child cannot extend the time without permission.
TEN-MINUTE TEST
Check what your child actually sees.
- The child can explain when screen time normally ends
- A warning appears before the limit
- The restricted app actually stops on the child's device
- Essential calls or messages work as intended
- The adult passcode is not known to the child
- Devices have a clear overnight charging place
The family rule
We agree the stopping point before play begins. When the warning appears, finish the current safe stopping point, save the game and put the device in its usual place.
What the settings cannot promise
Timers do not teach self-control on their own. Children can move to another device, use mobile data or find a different account. Keep the routine visible, review reports calmly and change the setup as schoolwork and maturity change.
Current official instructionsApple Screen Time guide ↗Google Family Link supervision ↗PlayStation parental controls ↗Nintendo parental controls ↗
Written by Kevin Turnbull. Last reviewed 21 August 2026. Services, settings and menu names change. Check the current official instructions while applying this guide. This is practical parent-to-parent guidance, not emergency safeguarding advice. Find UK help and reporting services.
PARENT-WRITTEN GUIDANCE
Use the setting to support the routine.
A predictable ending is easier for everyone. Keep the rule short, give a warning and check the device really behaves the way the parent screen claims.
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