MJ Kids
Parents & screens
Screen time by age: how much is healthy from 2 to 8
Up to 1 hour a day of high-quality content for ages 2 to 5, says the AAP. Here is the table by age and a way to make limits stick without tears.
Author
Marcos Andrade
Junior's dad and creator of MJ Kids
Marcos Andrade is the dad of Marcos Junior, age 4, and the creator of MJ Kids. He has worked in technology for more than 30 years as a software developer and solutions architect, in Brazil.
MJ Kids started when he got tired of watching his son download one game after another and spend more time watching ads than playing. He built a video game where the hero is Junior himself, wearing his favorite number 19 shirt, with a voice that calls him by name and not a single ad. Narrated bedtime stories came next.
Today he makes personalized games and stories for other families, in Portuguese and English, and writes here about screen time, advertising to children and ways to make technology work for childhood.
Articles by Marcos Andrade
Parents & screens
Screen-free Christmas activities for families with young kids
The holidays often turn into a screen marathon. Here are 10 family activities and a simple way to agree on gaming time.
Stories
A personalized Christmas story with your child as the hero
Imagine your child helping Santa deliver the presents. A Christmas story with their name and character, narrated, to listen to on Christmas Eve.
Parents & screens
Online Safety Act and kids' games: what parents should know
Since July 2025, UK platforms must keep harmful content away from children. In the US, the updated COPPA rule applies from April 2026. Here is what it means for games, and what it doesn't fix.
Guides
How to tell if a game is safe for your child
Before you hand over the phone, play the game yourself for 5 minutes. This checklist shows what to look for: age rating, ads, purchases, chat and time controls.
Gifts
A creative Christmas gift for kids ages 3 to 8
At Christmas, kids get piles of toys. A game where they're the hero, with their own name, is the gift they'll show everyone at the table.
Guides
A personalized video game with your child's name: how it works
A character that looks like your child, a voice that says their name and a link that becomes an icon on the phone. Here is how MJ Kids makes your child's game, step by step.
Stories
A personalized bedtime story with your child's name
Kids pay attention when they hear their own name. Here is how to use personalized stories at bedtime to teach routines, while keeping screen time in check.
Gifts
A creative gift for kids: a game where they're the hero
Toys end up at the bottom of the closet within a week. A game where the child is the hero becomes a keepsake. Here is how it works as a gift and when it makes sense.
Parents & screens
Ads in kids' games: what COPPA says and how to protect your child
Since April 2026, apps covered by COPPA need a separate parental consent before sharing a child's data for targeted ads. Here is what changed, what didn't and what you can do today.
Our story
Ad-free games for kids: why I built MJ Kids
My 4-year-old spent more time waiting for ads to end than actually playing. Here is what I learned about ads in kids' games and why I built a game just for him.