Week 5 — Setting Household Digital Boundaries

Learning objectives

Co-create a family agreement on AI use that both parents and teens actually accept.
Distinguish boundaries that need controls from boundaries that need conversation.
Identify red-flag scenarios that warrant immediate adult involvement.

Core concepts

Boundaries fail when they’re imposed without buy-in. This week is the most collaborative of the course. The goal isn’t a parental rulebook — it’s a household agreement that both sides sign because both sides helped write it. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Family Media Plan is a useful scaffold; adapt it for AI specifically.

Discussion prompts

What are AI uses that feel clearly fine to both of you? Clearly off-limits? In the grey zone?
School and homework: when does using AI count as a tool (like a calculator), and when does it count as cheating? Where does your school draw the line — and do you agree?
AI companions and emotional support: under what circumstances, if any, is it healthy to use one? When does it become a substitute for real connection?
What do each of you want from the other? (Teens: what do you want parents to stop doing? Parents: what do you want teens to start doing?)
What’s the “call a human” rule — situations where you’d both agree to stop, close the app, and talk to a real person?

At-home activity: “Draft your household AI agreement”

Use a single shared document. Build five short sections together:

What we use AI for (homework help, recipes, brainstorming, image edits, etc.)
What we don’t use AI for (e.g. personal photos uploaded to image generators, sharing real names or addresses, replacing a real friend or counsellor)
What we always disclose (e.g. “if I used AI on a school assignment I’ll tell the teacher if asked”; “if I edited a photo with AI before posting I’ll say so”)
Time and place rules (e.g. no AI companions after 10pm; phones out of bedrooms overnight; one screen-free meal a day)
The call-a-human list — specific situations where you stop using AI and talk to a real person (mental health questions, medical symptoms, legal trouble, anything that scares you)

Both sign and date it. Put it somewhere visible. Agree on a review date in 90 days.

Parent resource list

American Academy of Pediatrics — Family Media Plan — customisable template, easy to adapt for AI.
AAP Healthy Digital Habits Toolkit — broader campaign resources for families.
Common Sense Media — Parents’ Ultimate Guide to ChatGPT — practical guidance on school and homework boundaries.
Center for Humane Technology — Family resources — frameworks for understanding attention-capture design.

Reflection

Sign the agreement. Take a photo of it together.