[boplicity]

When I was young (late eighties, early nineties), we had a device that controlled power to the TV. You had to type in a code to be able to turn it on; each kid in our family had a code, and each code had a certain amount of time allowed per week. Sounds similar -- but for a different era!

[lilyball]

I had one of these too! Though parents could override it if needed (which was generally done if e.g. we had a friend over, so we could play games together without using up all our weekly time).