A family screen agreement: a template you can fill in together

A family screen agreement is a short written list of the rules you have agreed on together: how much time, where, with which apps and people, what gets bought, and what happens when a rule is broken. Fill it in with your child rather than for them. Children keep rules they helped make far more often than rules handed down. Put it somewhere everyone can see it, and review it every few months.

The template below is one page long. Copy it, fill in the blanks, and sign it together. The screen time limits guide explains how to set each rule on the devices themselves. The age sheets give starting numbers for each age.

The template

Our family screen agreement

Why we have it. We want screens to fit around sleep, school, friends, family time and the things we love doing. This agreement helps us do that. It can change, and we'll review it together on ______ (a date, every three months is a good start).

1. Time

• On school days, free-time screens are allowed for ______ minutes after homework and chores.
• On weekends, we have about ______ hours total, and we plan it together.
• Screens stop at ______ pm on school nights and ______ pm on weekends.

2. Places and times with no screens

• Meals: no devices at the table.
• Bedrooms: devices charge in ______ (the kitchen, a parent's room) at night.
• Car, outings and visits: we agree on each one as it comes up.
• Other: ______

3. Apps, games and videos

• Apps are approved by a grown-up before they are downloaded. We ask first, and the answer is yes, no, or "not yet."
• Videos and games should suit our age ratings. If something feels wrong or scary, we stop and tell a grown-up. No one gets in trouble for telling.
• Favourite apps right now: ______

4. People and messages

• We can message and call people from our approved list: ______
• We don't share our address, school, or photos of ourselves with people we don't know in real life.
• If someone online asks for a secret, a photo, or to move to a different app, we tell a grown-up.

5. Money

• Purchases and downloads need a grown-up's approval.
• In-game money and subscriptions count as real money, so we check with a grown-up first.
• Allowance can be spent on ______ (a prepaid card or cash, if you use one).

6. If a rule is broken

• First time: a reminder and a talk.
• Next time: no bonus time that day.
• After that: the device is paused for ______ hours, and we talk about what happened.
• We don't argue about the consequence in the moment. We discuss it later.

7. Earning more time

• Ways to earn extra minutes: ______ (chores, reading, outdoor time, helping with dinner).

8. Our promise as grown-ups

• We'll check in with you each week, and tell you what we see.
• We won't read your messages in secret. If we're worried, we'll say so and talk first.
• We'll change the rules when you have earned it, or when you're ready for more.

Signed:

Child: ______ Date: ______

Grown-up: ______ Date: ______

How to fill it in together

Set aside fifteen minutes with the whole family, away from the devices. Start with the first section and let your child answer first. Their numbers will often be higher than yours. Meet in the middle, and write down the reason for any rule you don't agree with yet. The reasons matter more than the exact figures, and they give you something to return to later.

Keep the agreement short. If it runs past one page, most children stop reading it. Move detailed device settings to the settings guide, and keep this page as the promise everyone can read.

Make it stick

• Put it where the devices are. A copy on the fridge or the kitchen noticeboard works well.
• Refer back to it, don't repeat it. When a rule comes up, point to the page: "We agreed on that." It sounds less personal than a new lecture.
• Change it when life changes. A new school year, a move, a new sibling, or a birthday are all good reasons to reopen it.
• Keep the consequences boring. Predictable and short beats dramatic and long.

When the agreement isn't working

If a rule breaks every week, ask why before you add a harsher one. Usually the rule is too tight for the child's age, the timing clashes with something they care about, or the device is doing something the rule didn't expect, such as autoplay or a game that rewards staying on. Change the rule, or change the setting that makes it hard to follow, before you change the consequence.

If your child is being bullied, is being contacted by someone they don't know, or is upset after time online, take it seriously and talk with them directly. A written agreement isn't the right tool for that. Reach out to your child's school, your pediatrician, or a helpline your country provides for young people.

Peabody

Peabody is a reading and learning app with games and a library of stories. Its games are free through the end of 2026, with no sign-up. You can write Peabody into section 1 of your agreement like any other app: a set number of minutes, after homework, and before bed.

Sources

• American Academy of Pediatrics, media and young minds guidance (2016), and its Family Media Plan tool, which covers much of the same ground in a longer format.
• Common Sense Media, family media agreement resources, for a second model to compare with this one.

This template is a starting point. Change any section to suit your family, and treat the numbers as suggestions rather than rules.