GUIDE

Family AI rules that actually stick

Why co-created household rules outlast imposed ones — and how to build them.

Rules kids help write, kids keep

The research on family media rules is consistent: agreements made with children are followed far better than rules handed down. Involvement creates ownership.

A few principles

  • Fewer, clearer rules beat a long list nobody remembers.
  • Shared spaces and off-times (no AI at bedtime, used in common rooms) do a lot of quiet work.
  • No-punishment reporting is the rule that makes every other rule safer.
  • Revisit as they grow — a 9-year-old's agreement isn't a 15-year-old's.

Make it real

Write it down, sign it together, and put it somewhere visible. Our Agreement Builder turns your choices into a printable family agreement in a couple of minutes.

General parenting guidance, not clinical advice.