A digital contract can be a really great way of working collaboratively with your child to help them achieve a balance in their use of technology. Here are some things to bear in mind when creating a digital contract.
-Make it a fun activity: Obviously the reasons you are creating a digital contract as a family are serious, but the creation of the contract can be a fun process that can involve both the children and the adults in your house.
-Choose a few key topics: It is tempting to make the contract pages long! It’s best to focus on a few key areas, like screentime, times and locations that digital devices are allowed to be used and the importance of digital detox. Having too much information as part of the digital contract will make it harder to implement and stick to.
– Include online safety tips in your digital contract: It is a good idea to include a reminder of the importance of practical ways to stay safe online as part of your contract. For example, the Stop, Block Tell Rule is a good place to start. This rule focuses on what your child can do as a first step, if they encounter something online that upsets them.
– Make sure everyone signs the contract: The brilliant thing about a digital contact is that both the adults and the kids in the house sign up to it and agree to stick to it. When children see that the adults in their life also committing to what is the contract it is a great encouragement to implement the content of the contract.
– Agree to regular reviews: As a way to make sure that the digital contract is working for everyone agree to regularly sit down together to talk about what is and isn’t working about it. It is important to be flexible about adding and removing things from it to make sure that it is working.
Best of luck creating your digital contract!