If you're formalizing a parenting plan — whether through mediation, a lawyer, or a DIY agreement — screen time is increasingly something families are asked to address directly, rather than leaving it as an unwritten assumption. Here's how to actually write a clause that holds up.
This is general information, not legal advice — check with your mediator or family law attorney about how to formalize anything in your specific parenting plan.
Why vague language fails here
A clause like "parents agree to reasonable limits on screen time" sounds fine and means almost nothing. "Reasonable" to one parent might be an hour a day; to the other, unlimited on weekends. Vague language in a parenting plan doesn't prevent conflict — it just moves the argument to a later date, usually right when you can least afford one.
What good clause language actually specifies
The more specific and concrete the language, the less room there is for disagreement later. Strong clauses typically define:
- A specific time limit, by age or grade if your children span multiple ages, rather than one blanket number.
- What counts as screen time — explicitly excluding or including school-related device use, video calls with the other parent or extended family, etc.
- A device curfew time, not just "before bed."
- How new devices or accounts get approved — many disputes start when one parent buys a phone or approves a social media account without the other's knowledge.
- A review point — a stated time (e.g. annually, or at a certain age) when the clause gets revisited, since a rule written for a 9-year-old won't fit them at 14.
Example clause language
Something like the following gives a mediator or attorney concrete language to adapt rather than starting from nothing:
"The parties agree that [child] will be limited to [X] minutes of recreational screen time on school days and [Y] minutes on non-school days, with all personal devices to be turned off or placed outside the child's bedroom by [time] each night in both households. Screen time related to schoolwork or communication with either parent is excluded from this limit. Either party must notify the other before providing the child with a new personal device or approving a new social media account. This clause will be reviewed no later than [date/age]."
What a clause can't do on its own
Even well-drafted language depends on both parents actually following it day to day — a parenting plan isn't monitored in real time. The clause sets the standard; whether it's followed comes down to the same trust and communication issues as everything else in co-parenting.
That's usually where a simpler, working document alongside the formal plan helps — something both households keep visible day to day, rather than a clause that only gets referenced when there's already a dispute. If you want a starting point for that companion document, our Two Houses One Rule Agreement is built to sit alongside a formal parenting plan, not replace it.