Digital Life Contract and Your Child's First Mobile Phone
My son recently graduated from 8th grade, and with that, we reached another milestone: his first mobile phone. If you've been following this space, you know that his first device was a smartwatch. ([Read the article here.])(https://www.hirespruce.com/post/a-smart-watch-should-be-your-childs-first-device)
My wife and I always knew this time was coming, but we weren't prepared. We knew that we would need some ground rules for using the phone — we already have some in place for smartwatches and iPads — but phones are next level, so we started thinking about what those should be.
At the same time, I was talking to my sister about this, as she is doing the same thing with her daughter. She told me that she was drafting a phone use agreement to go with the phone. It became obvious that we needed one as well.
My wife and I wrote up a few ideas, she ran it through ChatGPT, and we had the workings of a first draft. But something felt incomplete. The document was titled "phone use agreement", but what we were really talking about was my son's digital life.
Enter the "digital life agreement". Rather than just regulating phone use — which is arguably the most important part of this — it also covers other devices, including computers. Perhaps just as importantly, it talks about how to behave online, how to treat internet strangers respectfully, and what to do if a stranger contacts you online.
The document we wrote is what I would consider a "living document". We intend to review it every 6-12 months and make changes as our lives (and the digital world) change.
I've included an excerpt below. You can also get a copy of the full document here:
Feel free to use it and adapt it to your needs. I would love to hear your experience with your child's first mobile phone as well.
