Skip to content
Project KirkProject Kirk

Tools

Free, printable, and useful whether or not you use Kirk.

No signup. No email address. Print any of this and take it to the kitchen table.

Family phone agreement

A one-page agreement both people sign. Cross out what does not fit, write in what does — the signing matters more than the wording.

  • Phones stay out of bedrooms overnight, and charge in a shared room.
  • If someone online makes you uncomfortable, you can tell me and you will not lose your phone for it.
  • We both put phones away at meals. This one applies to me too.
  • You ask before downloading a new app, and I will give you a real answer, not an automatic no.
  • If I need to change a rule, I tell you why first.

Child's signature and date: ________________________

Parent's signature and date: ________________________

Conversation starters

Questions for talking about online life, grouped by age. Ask one, then stop talking.

Ages 6–9

  • What is your favourite thing to do on a tablet or phone?
  • Has anything online ever made you feel funny or scared?
  • Who would you tell if something confusing happened on a screen?

Ages 10–12

  • Is there anyone online you talk to who I have never met?
  • What do you do if someone asks you a question that feels too personal?
  • What is one thing adults get wrong about being online?

Ages 13–15

  • What is the pressure like to reply to things quickly?
  • Has a friend ever shown you something they wished they had not seen?
  • What would make it easier to come to me with a problem?

Ages 16+

  • What would you want me to do if you told me something serious?
  • How do you decide who to trust online?
  • What do you wish I understood about your phone?

Is my child ready for a phone?

Reflective questions, not a score. There is no total at the bottom, because readiness is not a number.

  • Can they tell you about a problem before it becomes a crisis?
  • Do they manage a routine — homework, chores, sleep — without you rebuilding it every week?
  • How do they respond when you say no to something they want?
  • Do they understand that anything sent can be kept and forwarded?
  • Have you agreed what happens if a rule is broken, before it is broken?
  • Are you ready for the conversations a phone will start, not just the logistics?

Screen time reality check

Age-banded guidance with its sources named, so you can go and read them yourself.

Ages Under 2
Video calls with family aside, screen media is not recommended. Source: World Health Organization guidance on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 (2019).
Ages 2–5
About one hour a day of sedentary screen time, less is better, ideally watched together. Source: WHO (2019).
Ages 6–12
No single correct number. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends agreeing consistent limits as a family and protecting sleep, activity and homework first. Source: AAP Family Media Plan guidance.
Ages 13+
Focus on what is displaced rather than the total. Sleep, movement and in-person time are the measures that matter. Source: AAP Family Media Plan guidance.

If something has already happened

Practical steps, in order. Your reaction in the first minute decides whether they tell you the next time.

  1. Stay calm and say out loud that they are not in trouble for telling you.
  2. Do not delete anything yet. Screenshot messages, profiles and usernames first.
  3. Block and report the account inside the app it happened on.
  4. Write down dates and times while they are fresh.
  5. If there is any threat to your child's safety, contact your local police. Kirk does not contact emergency services.

US helplines and reporting

These organisations are not affiliated with Project Kirk. We link to them because they are useful.

Setting up a child's phone safely

Operating-system steps worth taking whether or not you ever install Kirk. Menu names shift between versions; the settings are in the same neighbourhood.

iPhone

  1. Settings → Screen Time → turn it on and set it up for a family member.
  2. Content & Privacy Restrictions → set age ratings for apps, music and web content.
  3. Require a Screen Time passcode that is different from the unlock passcode.
  4. App Store purchases → Ask to Buy for children in your Family Sharing group.
  5. Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → review which apps have access.
  6. Messages → Communication Safety → on, for sensitive image warnings.

Android

  1. Install Google Family Link and link the child's account.
  2. Play Store → Parental controls → set content rating limits and require approval for purchases.
  3. Settings → Digital Wellbeing → review app timers and bedtime schedule.
  4. Settings → Location → review which apps have permission and revoke what is unnecessary.
  5. Chrome → Settings → Safe Browsing → Enhanced protection.
  6. Turn on SafeSearch in the Google app.

In an emergency

Project Kirk does not contact emergency services. If your child is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.