How Schedules and Limits Work Together

Kidsee offers several powerful tools to manage your child's screen time. It's helpful to think of them as layers of rules that work together. This guide explains how Schedules, Screen Time Limits, and Custom Limits interact to give you flexible control.

Here's the most important rule to remember: Schedules always have priority over Limits.

1. The Foundation: Screen Time Limit

This is the main "time budget" for your child's day.

  • What it does: You set a total amount of time (e.g., 2 hours) that your child can spend on their apps daily. Once the time is up, the apps are blocked.
  • What it applies to: By default, this limit applies to all non-essential applications on the device.
2. The Specific Rule: Custom Limits

‍This feature allows you to set a specific time budget for a single app or a group of apps.

  • What it does: It lets you be more restrictive with certain apps. For example, your child might have a general limit of 2 hours, but you can use a Custom Limit to allow only 30 minutes of TikTok within that total time.
  • How it works: A Custom Limit works within the main Screen Time Limit. It does not add extra time.
3. The Master Rule: Schedules

‍This is your most powerful tool. It blocks apps during specific periods of the day, like "Homework" or "Bed Time".

  • What it does: When a Schedule (e.g., "Homework" from 16:00 to 18:00) is active, it blocks all restricted apps, no matter how much time is left on the Screen Time Limit or Custom Limits.
  • Think of it as: A time-based lockdown that overrides the daily time budget.
The Exception to All Rules: Always Allowed Apps

‍Any app you add to your Always Allowed list will be available to your child at all times. These apps ignore all Schedules and Limits. The only way to block them is by using the manual "Block Now" button.

Putting It All Together: A Real-Life Example

‍Let's imagine you've set up these rules for your child, Alex:

  • Screen Time Limit: 2 hours per day.
  • Custom Limit: The game "Minecraft" is limited to 45 minutes.
  • Schedule "Homework": All entertainment apps are blocked from 16:00 to 18:00.
  • Always Allowed: The "WhatsApp".

Scenario A: It's 16:30. Alex has only used 1 hour of his daily limit and has 30 minutes of "Minecraft" time left.

What happens?

Even though Alex has plenty of time left on his limits, the "Homework" schedule is active. Therefore, "Minecraft" and all other entertainment apps are blocked. He can still use the WhatsApp because they are on the "Always Allowed" list.

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Scenario B: It's 15:00, an hour before the "Homework" schedule begins. Alex has been very active on his device and has already used his full 2-hour Screen Time Limit for the day.

What happens?

All of Alex's restricted apps are blocked immediately because his time budget is empty. It doesn't matter that the "Homework" schedule hasn't started yet; the first rule to be met (the limit running out) is the one that takes effect.His 2-hour limit will be fully restored at the beginning of the next day, ready for him to use again.