Time bank & ledger
How kids earn screen time: the time bank, the ledger and the rules
Updated · For parents
The short answer
An earned screen-time system treats minutes like money in a bank: your child starts with a daily allowance, adds minutes by completing tasks, spends minutes when they play, and can see every change in a ledger. Clear rules for approvals, a daily maximum, borrowing and deductions keep it fair.
The time bank
Think of screen time as a balance rather than a timer. A timer runs whether or not your child chose to start it; a balance only goes down when they decide to spend it. That small shift puts the decision — when to play — in your child's hands, inside limits you set.
A typical day looks like this:
| Time | Event | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| 7:00 AM | Daily allowance | 60 min |
| 3:45 PM | Homework approved | 80 min |
| 4:30 PM | Played for 28 minutes | 52 min |
| 5:10 PM | Put clothes away | 62 min |
Earning
Each task has a fixed value you choose — for example, +5 for making the bed or +20 for a homework session. Some tasks can be self-reported; others can wait for your approval. For ideas, see chores for screen time.
Spending
Your child starts play when they're ready. The balance counts down while they use the apps you've chosen, and at zero those apps pause until more time is earned, borrowed or added by a parent. Everything else — calls, family messages, school apps you've allowed — keeps working.
Borrowing
Sometimes the game ends five minutes after the balance does. Optional borrowing lets a child take a small advance against tomorrow's allowance. Tomorrow starts a little lower, and the trade-off becomes real — a first, low-stakes lesson in credit. You decide whether it's on and how much can be borrowed.
Deductions and earning back
If you use consequences, a restorative approach keeps them constructive: a parent deducts a few minutes for a specific behavior, and the child sees exactly why and what task can earn it back. Nothing is automatic, and the reason is always visible.
The ledger
The ledger is what makes the whole system trustworthy. Every minute earned, spent, borrowed, repaid or adjusted is a line item with a time and a reason. When a child says "that's not fair," you can both look at the record together. It turns disputes into arithmetic.
Limits that still apply
Earning doesn't replace your family's overall limits. A daily maximum caps how much recreational time can be used in a day, and screen-free times — such as meals and the hour before bed, which the AAP highlights as good places to start (AAP) — stay screen-free regardless of the balance.
How Sprigtime helps
Sprigtime is a time bank for your child's iPhone:
- Daily allowance, earned minutes and a daily max you control.
- Start play / Stop play: kids choose when to spend; apps you pick pause at zero.
- A readable ledger of every change, for both parent and child.
- Optional borrowing against tomorrow, repaid automatically.
- Behavior deductions with earn-back, added only by a parent.
- Parent PIN on every parent control.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a screen time bank?
A screen time bank is a balance of minutes a child can spend on recreational screens. It starts with a daily allowance, grows when the child completes tasks, shrinks when they play, and is recorded in a ledger.
Do unused minutes roll over to the next day?
That's a family decision. Many families let only the daily allowance reset so kids can't stockpile hours for a weekend binge. A daily maximum keeps usage in range either way.
Is borrowing screen time a good idea?
In small amounts, with clear repayment, it can help children learn about trade-offs. Keep the borrowing limit low and let the repayment happen automatically the next day.
Sources
This page is general information for parents, not medical advice. Talk with your child’s pediatrician about your family’s situation.