Last game

1. Before playing, agree the stop together: a time, or a number of matches. Add what happens after.
2. Let the player press Start. Warnings at 10, 5 and 1 minutes are optional: keep them if they help, turn them off if they don't.
3. When time is up, don't quit mid-match. Finish the one you're in, don't queue again, then tap Match finished.
4. The wrap-up gives a short checklist and says what's next.

Keep this page open on a phone or tablet near the screen. Up to 10 matches; up to 4 hours by time.

Stopping is easier at a natural break. In a small diary study of families with young children, screen time was easier to end at a natural stopping point, like the end of a game, and when it was part of a routine (University of Washington, 2016 (opens in a new tab)). Many games have no clear stopping point, which makes switching away harder (American Academy of Pediatrics (opens in a new tab)).

Warnings aren't magic. That same study found a parent's two-minute warning came with more upset, and a research review notes that advance notice helps most when the hard part is not knowing what's coming, less when it's stopping something you love (Brewer et al., 2014 (opens in a new tab)). So the plan is agreed first, and the AAP's tip is built in: remind them of the plan before play, and if warnings help, let your child set the timer themselves (HealthyChildren.org (opens in a new tab)).

• When "five more minutes" keeps ending in an argument.
• On school or work nights with a hard stop.
• For online games where you can't pause, so stopping mid-match would let your team down.