I have two eight year olds. They come home from school and do homework. Eat then shower. After they have eaten and showered we watch a movie together then it’s creative fun. Overall our household watches about three hours of tv a day.
30 mins isnt a lot of time at all, if it works for you guys then i dont see why he would want to change it
As long as my kid listens to me during the day and cleans up his toys, he is allowed to watch his TV from 6 30 until bed time at 8:30-9… he is almost 4 BUT… IF HE THROWS A FIT WHEN TOLD ITS TIME TO BE TURNED OFF, he isn’t allowed TV for 3 days. Then we try again. Very rarely does he need it to be taken away because he learned any bad behavior during the day or when screen time is over I will take it away and he doesnt like that so he is very well behaved. I use to put the TV on cartoons and leave it there all day but he started having behavior issues anytime we changed it or went somewhere they didn’t have what he wanted to watch so I put my foot down and now restrict it to only evenings after dinner and bath. His behavior has changed because I dont give in and just let him anymore. And he doesnt act out so bad since restricting it. I also have parental controls and can shut off the TV and tablet with my phone and his kid google account allows me to monitor EVERYTHING and set timers that also allow me to type in. Code that locks everything down in power off mode if needed. He was only given his tablet so he can advance easier with speech therapy due to his cleft. Him and his therapist use it at every session and she is the one who recommended it and showed me how to set it up for just his speech.
My kids are 12 and 13. I’ve always said if their homework is done, they’ve eaten, done their chores, and are clean then they can play their games or be on their phones till bed lol I don’t see any harm in it but that’s me. To each is own.
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I agree kids today spend to much time on screen time BUT this is a future. As long as they play out side, can communicate with people and don’t put a fuss at bedtime. Seems like they are ok. I don’t see what the problem is. Good luck 
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Also depends on what u consider ‘screen time’ because there are always TV’s on in my house. We even have the living room tv on while we’re at the dining room table, it’s just normal for us to always have something on in the background. My 2.5 yr old has an old iphone 4 he uses as a tablet, usually just plays with the calculator or watches youtube kids. He learned his colors, numbers and alphabet I would say 60% from just those videos. Productive screen time. My daughter (8) gets home around 530, showers, eats and usually watches about 1-2 hours of tv while playing with her brother until they both go to sleep around 830. It’s kind of wind down time for both of them cause they hang out in her bed watching YouTube and cuddling or playing. As long as their not watching or playing CRAP I dont see an issue with it. In my opinion
My daughter gets an hour and can earn extra time but I encourage reading, drawing, creating and playing before technology use.
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My 13 year old goes to school, comes home and does homework, her chores, eats dinner, then pretty much has screen time until bed which she has no problem going to sleep on time. Its been this way for years, she used to play outside but doesnt play anymore. Twice a week she will hang out with friends until about 6, then start homework, chores, dinner etc and will have almost no tv time.
I think as long as the kids do what they need to do, and go to bed without argument, there’s no real reason to limit screen time. This isnt 1987 anymore, times are progressing and so is technology. We ourselves arent limited on screen time, and 80% of jobs require it at least a little. (Even if it’s just a register screen). If she starts slacking off on her chores or homework/grades, then screen time and other privileges get limited, until then, shes good. But consider what their life as adults will be like, technology knowledge will be required. Strictly limiting that may hinder them in the future.
What if one of your kids has the potential to turn into a technology wiz, a computer scientist, and that’s hindered because of a 30 minute limit… for what?
My kiddos are 12,11&10 and they hang outside/ inside whatever but I turn off their wifi at 9pm every night. They do what they have too, chores, homework whatever needs done anyway.
30 mins is crazy depending on what your using for screen time u wouldnt be able to really do much 
i think 30 mins is way to short but maybe figure out how long they get now and come to a middle ground on the time limit.
Is their screen time monitored (no bad sites), are they keeping their grades up & not rushing through their homework? Are you spending time together as a family each night? Do you each have one-on-one time with each child? Be sure you have time to talk to each about their day & that they are not just turning to screens to self soothe or distract them from addressing concerns.
Are they involved in sports or other extracurricular activities? Do they help with chores? Do your kids read? Maybe pick a library book & read it together. Pass the book around & each child reads a number of sentences based on their age & ability.
What is your husband’s reasoning for cutting back their screen time? Is this so you don’t have to deal with them between 6:30 and bed time? Be honest! 
How much time are they on a screen vs. time spent on other activities?
Maybe find a way to compromise as you are now a parenting team. Can you cut back a bit in favor of something fun as a family? Either a little each night or cut out one night all together in favor of face-to-face activity.
For example, reading as a family, taking a walk together, working on a puzzle, playing a card or board game, putting on music & dancing with each other (pick wildly different styles of music), a cooking project with everyone participating, having a family meeting to be thankful and make requests, phoning a family friend or relative on speakerphone/face time and catching up (OK, technically screen time).
Do a craft project or learn a new skill: make a paper airplane, sew on a button, hammer a nail in a block of wood, bake a cake, make bath salts, check the oil in a car, do a mani-pedi, learn what to do to take out stains & see if they work on a scrap of cloth, make a flower arrangement, take care of plants, set a formal table, braid hair, learn the phases of the moon & what they’re called. Bonus if you can alternate with each family member learning something & teaching it to the rest. Or do it in teams of two.
The older they get, the more time homework and other activities will take out of their free time and the less time you will have to have fun with each other instead of with devices. Take advantage of the time you have now to make family memories and traditions vs. isolating each other. It IS exhausting when you’re already tired but so worth it.
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I have a 9 year old boy and had gotten him one of the Amazon kids tablets. It is set to have certain limits. So every day he has to do 15 minutes of reading (in addition to the reading he does with homework), 30 minutes of educational game play (which he just thinks are games but they make him think and problem solve) and then it unlocks for him to do whatever he wants (it has a content restriction so only age appropriate stuff) he is limited to 30 minutes of internet access (which is normally spent watching pbs videos). I have 2 teenage daughters that both have jobs, and the 9 year old is not at a point where I want to leave him home alone, so when we have to pickup or drop off the girls, he brings his tablet with him, so on those days he gets more screen time. If we don’t have to go anywhere, he usually gets about 3 hours of screen time in the evenings. Plus about 20 minutes in the morning as I use it as an incentive to get up and get ready and do all the morning things and if he has spare time before the bus comes, he gets to play Xbox or tablet.