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When should my child get a phone?

Screen time, first phones, and digital responsibility. Limits you can defend and actually hold.

Questions we have answered

How much screen time is reasonable?
About 1 hour a day
For ages 2 to 5. Under 2, avoid screens other than video chat. From 6 up there is no official figure.
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When should my child get a phone?
There is no correct age.
Ask what problem the phone solves, and decide the apps separately.
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Coming to this section

Written and sourced properly, or not at all. These are the questions queued next.

How do I set social media rules that hold?Not written yet

Calculators for technology

Screen time by age

See a suggested recreational screen ceiling for your child's age against what children that age typically do.

The stages where this matters most

10–12, Tweens

The answers are free.

Now here’s the system to actually do it.

Run the family. In development

Family Command Center

Turn everyday family chaos into a system that actually works.

For house rules that are written down once and held, screens included.

For: Ages 3 to 12
The problem: Routines, chores, schedules, and responsibilities are hard to keep consistent.
What changes: Run mornings, homework and bedtime from a routine instead of from memory
Give every household job an owner, so it stops being your job to remember
Keep a weekly plan that survives a bad week