Somewhere out there, a kid is not fighting their parent about screen time, because their government already had that fight for them.
Other countries have tried bans, curfews, fines, and flat out limits. Here is what they landed on, and what you can actually steal from it.
Why It Helps to Look Beyond Your Own Living Room
Every country on earth is having some version of the same argument about kids and screens. The difference is that a few of them turned the argument into actual policy.
Looking at what those countries did will not solve tonight’s tablet meltdown. It will give you some real, tested ideas instead of just more guilt.
Some of these policies come from strict cultures, others from famously relaxed ones. That range alone tells you there is no single right level of screen time, only choices that fit a particular family or system.
France Sends Phones to the Locker
France banned mobile phones in primary and middle schools back in 2018, so kids roughly ages 3 to 15 cannot carry them into the building. In 2024, the country expanded a “digital pause” pilot program that has students check their phones into a locker or pouch the moment they arrive.
A government appointed commission on children and screens also released recommendations in 2024, suggesting no screens at all before age 3, no personal device before age 11, and no internet connected smartphone before age 13. It is a stricter timeline than most American families use, but it shows where a lot of the research is pointing.
French teachers have reported that lunch periods feel different once phones are out of pockets, with more kids actually talking to each other. That is the kind of shift that is hard to legislate directly, but easy to notice once it happens.
The Netherlands Clears Devices Out of the Classroom
Starting in January 2024, Dutch schools banned phones, tablets, and smartwatches from classrooms for students in both primary and secondary school. Teachers can still use devices for lessons, but the default is off and put away.
Early reports from Dutch schools described calmer hallways and less social pressure around who has the newest phone. That is anecdotal, not a controlled study, but it matches what teachers in other countries tend to say once phones disappear from the school day.
The ban applies during class time and breaks, not just instruction, so students are not simply trading a lecture for a hallway scroll. Dutch officials framed it as giving kids their attention back, not punishing them for owning a phone.
Sweden Puts a Number on It
Sweden has moved toward formal screen time guidance for young children, generally recommending very little to no screen time under age 2. For kids ages 2 to 5, the general suggested cap hovers around one hour a day.
That timeline lines up closely with the World Health Organization’s broader guidance for children under 5, which also points toward very limited screen time in the earliest years. Sweden generally trusts parents to make their own calls, so the fact that it put a specific number on paper at all is notable.
Swedish officials were careful to frame the guidelines as a starting point for conversations with pediatricians, not a strict legal cap. Even so, having an actual number gives parents something concrete to aim for, instead of a vague sense that less is probably better.
China Limits Kids to an Hour, Only on Weekends
China requires video game companies to limit players under 18 to about one hour of play on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, with no gaming allowed the rest of the week. Popular short video apps in China also run a built in youth mode that caps daily use and shuts off overnight for younger users.
It is one of the strictest screen policies in the world, and it works largely because it is baked into the software itself rather than left to a parent’s willpower. Most families outside China will never have that kind of built in backup, which is worth remembering before you try to copy it exactly.
Chinese regulators have said the goal is protecting kids’ eyesight, sleep, and mental health, concerns that show up in research from many other countries too. The method China chose, direct control at the platform level, is simply not available to parents anywhere else.
Taiwan Holds Parents Accountable
Taiwan passed a law in 2015 that allows authorities to fine parents or guardians if a child under 18 uses electronic devices for what the law calls an excessive, unreasonable length of time. The law does not spell out an exact number of minutes, which makes it more of a general warning than a strictly enforceable rule.
In practice, it rarely results in an actual fine against anyone. What it did do was start a national conversation about device use that many countries still have not had at the government level.
Taiwan’s law also asks parents to model reasonable use themselves, not just police their kids. It is one of the earliest examples of a government treating screen habits as a family wide issue, rather than only a kid problem.
Japan’s Local Push for a One Hour Rule
Japan has no national screen time law, but Kagawa Prefecture passed a local ordinance in 2020 asking parents to limit kids’ smartphone and gaming time to about 60 minutes on school days. There is no fine attached, it is guidance rather than enforcement.
The ordinance was controversial even inside Japan, with some parents arguing it was government overreach into family decisions. It is a useful example of how far a well meaning rule can go before it starts to feel like surveillance instead of support.
Other Japanese prefectures watched Kagawa’s experiment closely before deciding whether to follow suit. So far, most have stuck with softer public health messaging instead of writing anything into local law.
Australia Raises the Age for Social Media
Australia passed a law in 2024 requiring social media platforms to take reasonable steps to stop kids under 16 from holding accounts, with the rule taking effect in December 2025. Platforms, not parents, carry the legal responsibility for enforcing that age limit.
It is the first law of its kind at this scale, and other countries are watching closely to see whether it actually works or just pushes kids toward apps that are not covered. Either way, it signals a real shift in who governments think should be responsible for keeping young kids off social media.
Critics of the law point out that determined teenagers usually find workarounds, from fake birthdates to alternate apps. Supporters counter that raising the bar, even imperfectly, still buys families more time before social media becomes part of daily life.
Finland Trades Screens for the Outdoors
Finland does not lead with bans. Its national school schedule builds in regular outdoor breaks throughout the day, often around 15 minutes of outside time for every 45 minutes of instruction.
Finnish early childhood education also leans heavily on free play rather than structured screen based learning, an approach that groups like NAEYC point to when they talk about what young children actually need from their days. The rule, in other words, is mostly just less time indoors in the first place.
Finnish teachers describe the short outdoor breaks as essential to keeping kids focused once they are back at their desks, rain or shine included. Snow pants stay by the door for exactly this reason.
The UK, Germany, and Norway Nudge Phones Out of Schools
The UK issued national guidance in 2024 encouraging every school in England to ban phones during the school day, though it stopped short of a legal mandate. Many schools had already banned phones on their own before the guidance ever showed up.
Norway and several German states have taken a similar path, publishing recommendations rather than passing hard laws. The pattern across all three is the same, let individual schools work out the details, but make it very clear which direction the government wants them to go.
None of these three countries rely on one dramatic gesture. Instead they lean on steady, repeated guidance from national health and education bodies, the kind that gradually shifts what feels normal in classrooms and at home.
What These Countries Have in Common
None of these countries eliminated screens entirely, and none of them claim to have solved the problem. What they share is a willingness to put a specific number or a specific rule on paper instead of leaving every family to figure it out completely alone.
Groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics take a similar approach here in the United States, offering age based guidance rather than one blanket rule for every child. The details differ by country, but the underlying idea does not, kids tend to do better with some structure around screens, not zero screens and not unlimited screens.
What This Actually Means for Your Family
You do not need an act of parliament to borrow what is working elsewhere. Most of these policies boil down to a few ideas, phones out of the bedroom and classroom, more built in outdoor time, and clear limits instead of vague ones.
Research from Common Sense Media has tracked how much time American kids actually spend on screens, and the trend tends to climb steadily through the elementary and middle school years. Knowing that ahead of time makes it easier to set expectations early instead of trying to walk them back later.
Small Ways to Borrow These Ideas at Home
You can copy France’s approach without a law, simply by keeping a basket by the front door where devices land the moment your kid walks in from school. You can copy Sweden’s approach by picking one honest number for your child’s age and sticking to it more days than not.
If your household is just getting started with any of this, our screen free parenting beginners guide walks through the basics without judgment.
For specific age ranges, our AAP screen time guidelines by age post breaks down what pediatricians actually recommend. And if today already feels like it is falling apart, our screen time meltdown tips can help you get through the next ten minutes.
If you want to try a bigger reset at some point, our screen free week guide walks through how to plan a week with fewer screens without turning it into a fight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do any countries completely ban screens for kids? No country bans screens outright, most rely on age based limits, school rules, or platform requirements instead.
Is China’s one hour gaming rule actually enforced? Yes, it is built into the login systems of major gaming platforms, so kids are automatically locked out once the weekly limit is reached.
Could a law like France’s school phone ban work in the United States? Some individual states and school districts have already passed similar bans on their own, even without one single national law.
What age do most experts agree screens should start? Most guidance points toward avoiding screens before 18 to 24 months of age, aside from video chatting with family.
Do these countries agree with each other on the right amount of screen time? Not exactly, but nearly all of them recommend less screen time for younger kids and more structure as kids get older.