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The family agreement

One page everyone signs.

Your family’s screen rules in one place: when, where, and where the devices spend the night. Not rules handed down, a deal you write together, so everybody knows what was agreed before the argument starts.

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Guided Childhood
THE GUIDED DIGITAL PATHWAY
Our family deal

Tablet and gaming · Alex's deal

Alex and their grown up agreed this together. On the fridge so everyone can see it.

Bloop
What we promised each other
When screens go off at night7pm on school nights, later at weekendsWhy: Sleep is the single biggest thing screens take. This one clause protects it.
Where devices sleepEvery device charges in the kitchen overnightWhy: A device in the bedroom overnight gets used overnight. Grown ups follow this one too.
New apps and gamesWe look at a new game or app together before it is downloadedWhy: Asking first is not about permission, it is about choosing together.
Spending in gamesOne gift card a month, agreed together, and never topped upWhy: In game shops are built to catch kids. This clause takes the pressure off.
How screen time is earnedJobs earn stars, stars buy screen timeWhy: Time that is planned together is time nobody argues about. Jobs make it automatic, and a small core is always theirs.
How the stars work
1You do jobsReal world jobs and quests your grown up sets, like tidying up or reading.
2Jobs earn starsEvery quest gives you stars. One star is worth 5 minutes of screen time.
3Stars buy screen timeYou choose when to use them. A good amount of screen a day is about 75 minutes.
The timer rule

Alex asks first, then starts the timer. When it rings, the screen goes off.

✓ Agreed together on 1 November 2026

The jobs that earn stars
🧺 Tidy my room2 stars · 10 min
🌳 One hour of outside play4 stars · 20 min
📖 Read for ten minutes2 stars · 10 min
Saving up for
A new football
30 stars to get there.
Why we agreed this
  • Where devices sleep is the promise that does most of the work. A device in the bedroom at night roughly doubles the odds of too little sleep, even when it is not used. (Carter and colleagues, JAMA Pediatrics 2016, 125,198 children)
  • Real money arrives at this age, a full stage before the phone: 53 percent of UK children who play online games spend money in them, and a third of recent spenders often regret it. (Ofcom, Children's Online Experiences 2026)
  • Structure beats willpower. On unstructured days, sleep, movement and screen habits slide in about four studies out of five, which is why the deal names when, not just how much. (Brazendale and colleagues, the structured days hypothesis, 2017)
✓ Alex
Alex · signed
✓ Grown up
Grown up · signed

We sit down and look at this again together on 1 December 2026

Keeping the balance: offline strong, online safe. Digitally educated, AI literate, ready by 16.
guidedchildhood.com
A real sheet from the builder, with example rules.

How it works

From a blank page to the fridge

  1. Choose the kind of deal

    Five, one for each stage, from first screens at 4 to 7 up to nearly independent at 16. The builder starts on the one for your child’s age.

  2. Pick your rules

    Ready made lines for when screens go off, where devices sleep, asking first and what happens when something goes wrong. Keep them, change the words, or write your own.

  3. Sign it together

    You and your child both sign, on paper or in the app. It shows on their side too, and they can ask to change a rule rather than break it.

  4. Print it for the fridge

    One A4 page. A review date is printed on it, so the deal changes as your child grows.

One for every stage

A deal that grows with them

  • First screens Ages 4 to 7

    TV and tablet basics: when, where and what happens when time is up.

  • Tablet and gaming Ages 8 to 10

    Games, YouTube and the first taste of independence, with the habits set early.

  • First phone Ages 11 to 12

    The big one. What having a phone means, and what it never means.

  • Social media ready Ages 13 to 15

    Which apps, on what terms, and how we stay on the same side.

  • Nearly independent Age 16 and up

    Less rules, more trust, and the door always open.

One thing to try tonight

Pick one spot outside the bedroom where every device charges overnight, yours included. It makes a good first line for the page.

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