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Idea · Not yet testedField card 29

Make a family media plan together

Screen rules handed down from above get dodged; rules everyone helped write, including the adults, have a fighting chance. In 45 minutes you make a family media plan together and stick it on the fridge.

Dad Field Manual editors · Drafted with AI help · Published Oct 15, 2026
Tested on: not yet. When a dad tries this, his name, the date, the place, and the kids' ages go here.

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Time
45 min
Cost
$0
Ages
5 to 17
Where
Kitchen table

01What you need

  • A laptop or tablet open to the AAP Family Media Plan on HealthyChildren.orgFree
  • A big sheet of paper and markersHave
  • A basket or box where phones and tablets go during screen-free timesHave
  • SnacksHave

Where: Everyone at the table, with one laptop or tablet open to the AAP tool and some snacks.

Before you start

  • Pick a calm day. Not right after a fight about screens, or it feels like a sentence instead of a plan.
  • Start with bedrooms and meals. The AAP suggests screen-free bedrooms and mealtimes as a first step, especially the hour before bed.
  • One rule that never changes: if anything online scares them, or someone asks for photos or secrets, they tell you, and they don't lose the device for telling.
  • Keep kids' details private if you save the plan online. First names or nicknames are enough.

02Steps

  1. Look it over first

    DadBefore the meeting, open the AAP Family Media Plan on HealthyChildren.org and click through it for ten minutes. Write down two things you'd like to change about your own screen use. You'll go first.

  2. Call the meeting

    DadSnacks on the table, devices in the basket. Say, "We're making our family's screen rules together, and they include me. Nobody's in trouble."

  3. Start with what's good

    TogetherFive minutes. Go around: "What's one thing screens are great for in our family?" Video calls with grandparents, a show you watch together, a game. Write each one on the paper. These stay.

  4. Pick the places and times

    TogetherFifteen minutes, with the tool open. Choose screen-free places (the dinner table, bedrooms) and screen-free times (meals, homework, the hour before bed). Let kids argue for their side. Write down only what everyone can live with.

  5. Everyone commits to one thing

    TogetherGo first: "My phone goes in the basket at dinner, and I won't check it at bedtime stories." Then each kid picks one commitment of their own. Write every name on the paper with their commitment.

  6. Post it and set a review date

    TogetherPrint it or copy it onto the poster, and put it on the fridge. Pick the review date now: the start of the school year, summer break or a holiday break. Everyone signs it.

03If it stalls

  • If kids treat it like a trap, start with your own commitment and invite them to call you on it.
  • If a teen won't engage, ask what rule they'd write for you, and for their younger siblings. Then ask for one for themselves.
  • If it turns into a fight, settle one thing only, the dinner table, and come back to the rest next week.
  • If someone breaks it the first week, especially you, say so: "I had my phone out at dinner. Putting it back in the basket."

04Variations

Ages 5–8

Keep it simple and visual: draw where screens "sleep" at night and the no-screen spots on the poster. One commitment each.

Ages 9–17

They help run the tool and argue for their side, and they write their own commitments. With teens, treat it as a real negotiation and check in monthly, not just at the review date.

Two homes

If your kids split time between houses, share a copy with the other house. The rules don't have to match to be useful.

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05Sources

  • How to make a family media plan. The AAP suggests setting screen-free zones and times, like the dinner table, homework time and bedtime, making a plan for every member of the family including yourself, and reviewing it at the start of each school year or during summer and holiday breaks. American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) Checked Oct 15, 2026
  • The free AAP tool; bedrooms and mealtimes first. The AAP calls the Family Media Plan a free tool to set boundaries around digital media that fit your family. It suggests starting screen-free zones with bedrooms and mealtimes, especially an hour before bed, and putting your own phone down during meals and bedtime. American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) Checked Oct 15, 2026
  • AAP Family Media Plan tool. The AAP's interactive tool for creating a personalized family media plan. American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) Checked Oct 15, 2026

Filed under: Screens

Dad Field Manual · Field card 29 · ScreensIdea · not yet tested

Make a family media plan together

Screen rules handed down from above get dodged; rules everyone helped write, including the adults, have a fighting chance. In 45 minutes you make a family media plan together and stick it on the fridge.

Time
45 min
Cost
$0
Ages
5 to 17
Where
Kitchen table

What you need

  • A laptop or tablet open to the AAP Family Media Plan on HealthyChildren.org
  • A big sheet of paper and markers
  • A basket or box where phones and tablets go during screen-free times
  • Snacks

Before you start

  • Pick a calm day. Not right after a fight about screens, or it feels like a sentence instead of a plan.
  • Start with bedrooms and meals. The AAP suggests screen-free bedrooms and mealtimes as a first step, especially the hour before bed.
  • One rule that never changes: if anything online scares them, or someone asks for photos or secrets, they tell you, and they don't lose the device for telling.
  • Keep kids' details private if you save the plan online. First names or nicknames are enough.

Steps

  1. Look it over first. Preview the AAP Family Media Plan alone and write down two changes for your own screen use.
  2. Call the meeting. Put devices in the basket and say: "We're making screen rules together, and they include me."
  3. Start with what's good. Each person names one thing screens are great for in your family. Write them down.
  4. Pick the places and times. Use the tool to choose screen-free places and times together. Write down what everyone agrees to.
  5. Everyone commits to one thing. Dad commits to one change first. Then each kid picks one. Write names next to them.
  6. Post it and set a review date. Post the plan on the fridge, have everyone sign it, and set a review date.

If it stalls

  • If kids treat it like a trap, start with your own commitment and invite them to call you on it.
  • If a teen won't engage, ask what rule they'd write for you, and for their younger siblings. Then ask for one for themselves.
Days we kept the dinner table screen-free
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date

dadfieldmanual.com/plans/family-media-plan · Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org)