The Raising Digital Citizens agreement is a flexible tool that you can print out and adjust as needed to help you remember and implement the habits, rules, and values you want in your family.
We have included 10 clauses on the form to get you started, which you can keep or remove. You can either print the Raising Digital Citizens Agreement first to discuss it with your child and decide on any changes, or wait to print it until after you have agreed on and amended it together.
How?
How you make an agreement with your child matters a lot. Being aware of your child’s age, maturity, communication style and abilities will make a tremendous difference in the kinds of digital freedoms and guidelines you agree on and this is individual for each family. Children who feel heard, included and taken seriously are far more likely to take the agreement seriously.
Keep it simple!
This agreement should not be long and complicated! This is about solidifying your family values and some basic guidelines around digital citizenship, but it shouldn’t be long.
Brainstorm together
Have an open brainstorming session together where everyone has a voice on the proposed rules. Encourage your child to come up with their own ideas and input for guidelines and discuss the pros and cons together. Every family is unique so make sure to personalize your approach and stay flexible.
Include yourself in the agreement
By agreeing to follow some of the same guidelines, it shows your commitment to mutual respect. The more we are able to hold ourselves to similar standards, the better. If some rules apply only to your child (which is normal), take the time to explain why they are different for kids and adults.
Decide together how to be supportive and handle breaches
Discuss how your child would like to be reminded of the rules and supported in keeping them. Often, kids don’t oppose the rules but may feel frustrated by how they’re enforced. For example, what would be the best way to remind them when screen time is almost over? If you discuss how to handle these situations when you make the agreement, it’s easier to address them calmly in the moment.
Complete the document, print it and sign it
Once everyone has agreed on all the rules, type them into the Raising Digital Citizens agreement, print it out, and sign it together.
