Technology Agreement – Helping Your Child Follow Your Rules for a Safe Digital Experience
If you know me or visit this website regularly, you already know that I’m a mom of five. I speak to you from a standpoint of practicality, experience and expertise. You know that the editorial team here at Yoursphere Media, Inc. is dedicated to providing practical, easy-to-understand, family-friendly solutions that allow the entire family to enjoy technology and social media.
What you may not know is that, in my home, there are three laptops, one desktop, one iPad, two iPod Touches, two Wii’s, one Xbox 360, four smartphones, one non-smart cell phone, one Netflix account, one landline and two TVs. All of our digital devices and services are safety-enabled and family-friendly. And to top it off, all of my children have signed technology agreements.
If you’re a frequent Yoursphere for Parents reader, then you know that we’re not about saying “no” to technology; we’re about saying “yes”, but with the appropriate education, parental involvement, communication and oversight.
While it’s an absolute necessity that parents safety-enable all digital devices, and here we show you how, it’s equally important that you clearly outline the family rules for responsible technology use to your children. Clear rules, follow-through and consequences are absolutely necessary. I’ve experienced firsthand that not only do technology agreements provide you the opportunity to candidly talk to your child about what’s safe use and what’s not, they’re also a great way to create boundaries for our children.
Here’s the agreement that I use with my children, and I invite you to use it with yours. Parents, it’s important to remember that while constant communication and a mutual understanding of the agreement’s terms are critical, nothing is as important as follow-through if the rules are broken.
Click here to download and print.
Mary Kay is a nationally-recognized Internet safety expert and the founder of 
