What to do after screen time: 25 simple activities by age

Why what comes next matters

A young child lets go of something more easily when they have something to move towards. A concrete activity, named before the end, shifts attention from what is ending to what is starting. We wrote more about that moment in what to do when your child cries as you take the phone away.

How to pick the right activity

• It can start straight away. If you need ten minutes to find materials, the gap comes back.
• One option, not a menu. “Let’s build a tower” works. “Do you want to draw, build or go out?” opens a negotiation.
• The first few minutes with you. You start it, then let them carry on alone.
• Matched to their energy. After an exciting game, something with movement. In the evening, something calm.

Right away, no preparation

1. Build a tower from whatever is to hand: blocks, boxes, cushions.
2. Colour hunt: “Find five red things in the house.”
3. Statues: play music, and when you stop it everyone freezes.
4. Kitchen helper: washing vegetables or setting out the cutlery.
5. A short trip outside, to the letterbox or down the stairs.

For ages 3–4

6. Sock pairs: mix them up and let them match.
7. Play-dough or modelling clay.
8. Bath time for toys in a bowl of water.
9. Chalk drawing on the pavement or balcony.
10. A picture book where they show you what they see.

For ages 5–6

11. A 24–48 piece puzzle.
12. A fort made of blankets and chairs.
13. “I spy something that is…” or simple riddles.
14. Baking something together, like muffins or biscuits.
15. Watering the plants or a small pot garden.

For ages 7–8

16. Lego, from instructions or invented.
17. A short board game, 10–15 minutes.
18. A four-panel comic they write and draw.
19. A simple experiment: the baking soda and vinegar volcano.
20. A ride on a bike or scooter.

In the evening, before bed

21. Bath time, with a favourite toy.
22. A book read together.
23. A small puzzle on the rug.
24. “Three good things from today”: everyone names three.
25. Quiet drawing with coloured pencils.

Where Pauzi helps

At the end of a session, Pauzi doesn’t just switch the screen off: it tells your child what comes next and suggests a concrete activity. With Premium you can write the activities yourself, and Pauzi speaks them to your child by name, in its calm voice. The ideas on this list can become the endings of their sessions.

If you also want to know how long a session should be, we collected the guidance in how much screen time is right at 3, 5 and 8.