Set screen-time limits, and what your child sees when they hit one
For parents who want the app to end the session, not the other way around.
What you're setting
Three limits, per child, counted in minutes on the app per day. The first two are nudges. The third one stops the app and stays stopped until a grown-up types the PIN.
They start at 15, 20 and 30 minutes. A full day is six subjects at 2 to 4 minutes each, so most kids finish everything before the first nudge. The limits exist for the child who keeps tapping around the store after they're done.
Changing them
- Open the grown-up area and scroll to the child. The panel is called "Screen time today" and it shows how many minutes they've used so far.
- Under it are three rows: "Soft nudge", "Medium nudge" and "Hard limit". Each has a minus and a plus. Every tap moves that limit by 5 minutes.
- That's it. There's no save button. Each tap saves on its own.
The three stay in order on their own. Push the soft limit up past the medium one and the medium and hard limits move up with it. Pull the hard limit down and the other two drop under it. The hard limit won't go below 15 minutes and nothing goes below 5.
Each child has their own three numbers. A first grader and a seventh grader in the same house don't have to share a setting.
How the minutes are counted
One minute of on-app time adds one minute, and only while the app is actually on the screen. A tab left open in the background doesn't count. Minutes add up across everything in the child's area: their home page, the questions, the store, the closet. The count resets every day.
What your child sees
At the soft limit, a reminder appears once. It tells them to wrap up and go do the real work, and they can dismiss it.
At the medium limit, a stronger one. Full screen, once, telling them they've done their time here today and to go read, do their offline tasks, get moving.
At the hard limit, the app pauses. The screen says the limit is reached and offers one thing: an "Unlock more time" box that takes your PIN. Nothing else works until a grown-up types it. Unlocking gives them roughly as many extra minutes as your soft limit, then the hard limit comes back.
Common questions
Why would I want the app to kick my kid off?
Because the point is a short daily habit, not time in an app. The session is built to end. The limits are there so a child who finishes in eight minutes and then wanders the store for twenty gets nudged off. BrightStep is a quick check-in. The real learning happens off the screen.
My child says the app locked them out and they weren't done.
Check the "Screen time today" panel for that child. If the hard limit is set lower than a full day takes them, bump it up 5 minutes at a time. In the moment, tap "Unlock more time" on their screen, type your PIN, and they get some extra time to finish.
Do the limits apply to the grown-up area too?
No. The minutes count only inside the child's area. You can sit in the dashboard as long as you like without adding to anyone's total.
Still stuck?
Email goes straight to a person, usually answered within a couple of days. Include the email you signed up with so we can find your account.
Email ervin@brightstepchild.com