Apple Screen Time and Family Link Set Limits. Here's How to Let Kids Earn Screen Time Instead
Apple Screen Time and Google Family Link are free, built into the devices you already own, and genuinely good at limits: daily allowances, downtime, app and content restrictions. If you only need a hard stop, they may be all you need.
What they don't do is the part that changes the mood at home: giving kids a way to earn their screen time. A kid can ask for more time (or a parent can grant bonus time), but there's nothing that says "finish your reading and your chores, and the screens are yours." That's the gap.
What the built-in controls do (and don't)
| Earnimals | Screen Time / Family Link | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily time limits | Family screen hours + each kid's earned balance | Yes — per device and per app |
| Earn time with chores/reading | Yes — the whole point | No; parents can grant extra time by hand |
| Morning routine before screens | Yes — screens unlock after the checklist | No |
| Shared family device | Built for one shared iPad, many kids | Each child needs their own account and device |
| Monitoring | None | Limits, app approvals; Family Link adds location |
| Price | $29.99/yr per family after 14 days free | Free, built into the OS |
The setup that works
- Keep the OS limits as the hard boundary. Bedtime downtime, content restrictions and app approvals stay in Screen Time or Family Link.
- Make earning the way in. Kids earn minutes for reading, play, homework and chores — and you decide what pays more.
- Routine first. No screens until the morning checklist (teeth, bed, backpack) is done. It's not a rule you enforce; it's just how the day goes.
- Make the balance visible. When kids can see what they've banked, "five more minutes" stops being a negotiation.
That's what Earnimals does. It runs on a shared family iPad (and parents' phones), so it works even for younger kids who don't have their own device yet — and for the shared screens the built-in tools can't see at all, like the family TV or the Switch.
Add the earning part — free for 14 days
Earnimals turns all of this into a system your kids run themselves. They earn screen minutes by reading (reading pays double), doing chores, and finishing their morning routine — then the family TV or console unlocks. No monitoring, no nagging, one plan for the whole family. Brain food first, screens after.
Want to start on paper? Grab the free printable earn-screen-time chart.
Frequently asked
- Can kids earn screen time with Apple Screen Time?
- Not by doing chores or reading. Apple Screen Time sets time allowances, schedules and content limits on a child's own device, and a child can ask a parent for more time — but there's no built-in way to earn time by completing tasks.
- Can kids earn screen time with Google Family Link?
- Not automatically. Family Link sets daily limits, app limits and downtime on a child's own Android or Chromebook device, and a parent can grant bonus time by hand — but it isn't tied to chores, reading or a routine.
- Do I have to replace Screen Time or Family Link to use Earnimals?
- No. Keep your OS-level limits as the hard boundary. Earnimals decides how much screen time each kid has actually earned — by reading, chores and their morning routine — and works on a shared family iPad, even for kids who don't have their own device.