Screen Time at Home: The Rules Akshay, Kareena, Shilpa and Twinkle Say They Follow

What screen time rule does Akshay Kumar follow with his daughter?

A timer. On Aap Ki Adalat, Akshay Kumar said his own social media use is about 15 to 20 minutes a day, and when asked how, he said: "Have a timer. I have done the same for my daughter. She has a time. She cannot see more than this much." He added that he worries children "don't play outdoors anymore", as reported by The Indian Express.

Rule 1: set the limit before the screen goes on. A timer ends the argument for you. The device stops, not the parent.

Do Taimur and Jeh have phones?

No, according to their mother. Speaking at an Expresso event in September 2026, Kareena Kapoor Khan said her sons "do not have access to phones", and joked that one of them insists his nanny's phone is his. She said she is "hyper" about devices and keeps a close eye on the games they play, while Saif is more relaxed, as the Times of India reported.

Rule 2: shared devices, not personal ones. A family tablet that lives in the living room is much easier to manage than a phone in a child's pocket. And yes, one parent is usually stricter than the other. That's normal.

What do Shilpa Shetty and Twinkle Khanna say about kids and screens?

Shilpa Shetty's rule is less about minutes and more about knowing. On Safer Internet Day in 2026 she posted about raising "digitally aware children, not digitally addicted children", with pointers that included: "Learn what your kid is coming across and scrolling on the Internet", "parental controls are important, but trust is more" and "Monitoring for 16 years is care, not control", according to The Indian Express.

Rule 3: watch with them, then talk. Sit through one episode or one game. You'll learn more in ten minutes than in ten lectures.

"I cry, if that helps. I stand at the doorstep and cry." Twinkle Khanna, on managing her children's screen time.

And if you find all of this hard, so does Twinkle Khanna. At the launch of her book Mrs Funnybones Returns, she was asked by a parent in the audience how she manages screen time. Her answer: "I cry, if that helps. I stand at the doorstep and cry." She said she once tried telling her children the wifi had crashed, then realised that wasn't a long-term plan, as reported by PTI via News18.

Rule 4: be honest. Children notice when we scroll too. Saying "this is hard for me as well" makes the rule feel fair instead of handed down.

How much screen time is okay for kids, according to doctors?

The Indian Academy of Pediatrics published its screen time and digital wellness guidelines in 2021. The main numbers:

• Under 2 years: no screens.
• 2 to 5 years: a maximum of one hour a day, supervised.
• 5 to 10 years: less than two hours a day.
• Every age: no screens during meals, within one hour before sleep, or during surface travel.

The IAP also asks parents to be role models, make a family media plan and plan regular "digital fasting" breaks. The World Health Organization's guidelines for under-fives say much the same, and suggest reading and storytelling with a caregiver when a child is sitting still. The American Academy of Pediatrics puts the focus on quality as well as quantity, and on screen-free times and places like family meals.

What can replace screen time at home?

Rule 5: give the screen a rival. Every one of these parents is really saying the same thing: something else has to fill the time. A basket of books by the sofa, a reading lamp, a park after school. Our guide on how to raise a reader has practical ways to build the habit, and the meal-time version of this battle is in our post on feeding a picky eater without phone screens.

Almost missed this Phones parked in one spot overnight, charging outside the bedroom, cover two IAP rules at once: no screens in the hour before sleep and parents setting the example.

How we can help

We think a child's own shelf of books is one of the gentlest ways to win back an hour from a screen. A book with their name inside feels like theirs, and gets picked up more often. Our book labels turn a small pile of picture books into a reading corner they're proud of.