Family Technology Agreement

Who is this agreement between?

These names appear at the top of your printed agreement.

Family name

Child's name

Parent name(s)

Review date

Ownership & Purpose

Why this device exists in our home, and who it really belongs to.

This device belongs to our family. It is a tool I am trusted with, not something I own outright.A phone is a privilege that grows with trust, not a right that comes with a birthday.My parents pay for this device and its service, and can pause or take it back at any time.If the device is lost, broken, or damaged through carelessness, I will help pay to repair or replace it.I will keep the device charged, protected in a case, and not leave it lying around where it can be lost.I will hand the phone over when asked, without arguing or stalling.I will not lend my phone to friends or let anyone else use it under my accounts.

Time & Place

When and where screens belong — and when they don't.

Content, Apps & Games

What we say yes to, and what stays off our devices.

Communication & Kindness

How we treat people through a screen is how we treat people.

Safety & Boundaries

The non-negotiables that protect our child.

Privacy & Parent Access

What oversight looks like in our home — clearly, so it isn't a surprise.

My parents may look at my device, messages, photos, and history at any time.My parents have all passwords and passcodes, and I will tell them when anything changes.I will not delete messages, history, or photos to hide them from my parents.My parents will tell me when they check, and will talk with me about what they find rather than only reacting.Monitoring or screen-time software stays installed and active on my device.New accounts are set up with a parent present, using an email address my parents can access.As I show consistent trust, my parents will check less often and give me more room.

Trust, Mistakes & Consequences

What happens when this agreement is broken — decided calmly, in advance.

Coming to my parents first, before they find out, always makes it go better.First break: a conversation and a short device break (24 hours).Repeated breaks: a longer break from the device, and rebuilding trust step by step.Safety violations (explicit content, strangers, hidden accounts) mean the phone comes home immediately while we sort it out together.Mistakes do not mean I am a bad kid. They mean we are still learning together.Trust is rebuilt by choices over time, not by promises or apologies alone.Sneaking, lying, or hiding is treated more seriously than the original mistake.Consequences will be explained, not shouted - and once they are served, we move forward.

What Parents Promise

This agreement runs both directions.

Your family's own rules

One rule per line. These print in their own section.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." — Proverbs 22:6

What it is saying: Proverbs is wisdom literature: it describes how life generally works under God, not a guarantee He signed. The call is to train — to actively form a child in step with who they are — rather than only to restrict. It does not promise that good parenting produces a certain adult.

For our digital life: So in this house we teach and hand over responsibility in stages instead of only locking things down — and we hold the outcome in God's hands rather than our own.

We will train, not only restrict — and we will trust God with who you become.

"I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless." — Psalm 101:3

What it is saying: Psalm 101 is David's pledge of integrity as a king: what he will look at, what he will welcome into his house, and what he will refuse to tolerate among those closest to him. It is about the ordering of a whole life and household before God.

For our digital life: The psalm says nothing about screens. But David's question — what am I willingly setting before myself, and what am I letting into this home? — is exactly the question a family with devices has to keep asking.

We will pay attention to what we welcome into our home and onto our screens.

"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely... think about these things." — Philippians 4:8

What it is saying: Paul is not issuing a content filter. He is telling an anxious church where to aim the mind — toward what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and commendable — as part of a whole life being kept in the peace of Christ.

For our digital life: Our devices place things before our attention hundreds of times a day. So the question is not only 'is this allowed?' but 'what are these repeated hours cultivating in us — what are we coming to want, admire, envy and fear?'

We will ask what our attention is forming in us, not only whether something is allowed.