Screen Time Contract for Teens (Free Printable Template)

A screen time contract works when it says what comes first, what happens when it doesn't, and what the parents owe in return. This one does all three, and you can print it.

Below is a printable screen time contract for teens and tweens that ties phone access to chores and homework, sets screen-free times and places, spells out what happens when a chore is late, and includes a section most templates leave out: what the parents agree to. Scroll to it, print it, fill in the blanks together. The rest of this post explains why most contracts stop working by week two, and how to build yours so it doesn't.

Why most screen time contracts stop working

Contracts are popular because the conversation is useful. Sitting down and agreeing on rules beats announcing them. The trouble comes afterwards, and it usually looks like one of these:

• The rules have no trigger. “Chores before screens” doesn't say which chores or by when, so every afternoon is a negotiation about whether now counts.
• The consequence is a sentence, not a condition. “Lose the phone for a week” turns every slip into a trial. The kid argues about the punishment instead of doing the chore.
• A parent is the enforcement. The contract only exists when you notice. Miss one day and it's a piece of paper.
• It only binds the kid. A contract with nothing in it for the other side isn't an agreement, and teens can tell.

The scale of the argument is worth naming. In Pew Research Center's 2024 survey of U.S. teens and parents, 38% of parents and 38% of teens said they at least sometimes argue about how much time the teen spends on their phone, and 10% of each said it happens often. Those aren't families without rules. They're families whose rules need a parent in the room to work.

What to put in a contract that holds up

Five sections. Everything else is optional.

1. What comes first. Named chores with a due time, and a homework cutoff on school nights. Specific enough that “done” isn't debatable.
2. Where and when screens are off. The table, the bedroom overnight, the morning until ready. These are the rules that protect sleep, and the American Academy of Pediatrics' Family Media Plan is built around exactly these screen-free zones and times if you want a second opinion on them.
3. What happens when a chore is late. A condition, not a punishment: these apps lock until the chore is done. Repairable in ten minutes.
4. What the parents commit to. One reminder, not five. Prompt approvals. No surprise chores at 8 pm. Phones away at the table too.
5. A review date. Four to six weeks out. It tells your teen the rules aren't forever and gives you a low-stakes place to fix what's not working.

The contract

Print it with the button below, or copy the sections into your own document. The blanks are meant to be filled in together; a contract one person writes is a memo.

Print this contract

How to fill it in

Pick three or four chores, not ten. The ones that cause actual arguments in your house. You can add more at the review. Our age-appropriate chore list has realistic options by age if you're starting from scratch.

Set due times at the time it actually matters. If the dishwasher needs emptying before dinner, the due time is 5:30, not “after school.” A due time nobody believes is a due time nobody meets.

Let your teen write section 5. Hand them the pen for the parent commitments. They'll be fairer than you expect, and they'll take the whole document more seriously once part of it binds you.

Name the apps in section 4 together. The block only works if it locks something they'd miss. Games, the feed, YouTube. Leave messaging and music alone unless there's a specific reason.

Making section 4 real without becoming the enforcer

The contract says apps lock when a chore is late. Someone or something has to make that true. If it's you, you're back to noticing, checking, and flipping settings, which is the loop the contract was supposed to end.

On iPhone and iPad, this is the part taskr was built for: screen time that depends on chores, not on you noticing. You put the same chores and due times from section 2 into the app, and pick the same apps from section 4. If a chore goes overdue, those apps lock automatically through Apple's Family Controls. Your kid takes the photo, you approve it from wherever you are, and the apps unlock. The contract and the app say the same thing, and the app is the one that remembers. It's free to try, and the setup takes about five minutes.

If you'd rather do it by hand, Apple Screen Time's App Limits and Downtime can enforce the times-and-places section well. They just can't tell whether a chore got done, which is the gap the contract lives in. See taskr vs. Apple Screen Time for the honest split.

Adjusting by age

Under 10: Cut it to sections 2, 3 and 4, read it aloud, and let them draw next to their signature. The photo step is a hit at this age; they like showing the work.

11 to 13: Use the whole thing. This is the age where “that's not fair” starts, and section 5 is your answer to it.

14 and up: Fewer chores, firmer due times, and a real conversation about section 3. Overnight phone-in-the-kitchen is the rule teens fight hardest and benefit from most. Expect to renegotiate it at the review, and hold it anyway.

What to do the first time it's broken

Nothing extra. The apps lock, the chore gets done, the apps unlock. The urge to add a lecture is exactly what the contract is there to remove. If the same chore is late three days running, that's a review conversation about whether the due time is wrong, not a bigger consequence. Our 7-day plan to stop screen time fights covers the first week in more detail.

FAQ

What should a screen time contract for teens include?

Five things: what has to happen before screens (chores, homework), the times and places screens are off (table, bedroom overnight), what happens when a rule is broken, what the parents commit to in return, and a date to review it. Most templates skip the last two, which is why they get ignored.

At what age should you use a screen time contract?

Any age with a device. For kids under 10, keep it to three or four rules and read it aloud together. From about 11 up, let them draft the parent section themselves. Teens take a contract far more seriously when they've written the part that binds you.

Should the consequence for breaking the contract be losing the phone?

It should be losing the part of the phone they actually care about, for as long as it takes to fix the problem, not a fixed punishment. “Games lock until the dishes are done” is short, specific and repairable. “No phone for a week” is a fight about the sentence instead of the chore.

How do you enforce a screen time contract without nagging?

Make the consequence automatic. If the contract says apps lock when a chore is late, use a tool that actually locks them at the deadline and unlocks them when the chore is done, such as taskr on iPhone. Then you never have to be the one who noticed.

Do screen time contracts actually work?

The paper doesn't. The conversation while writing it does, and a consequence that happens without a parent enforcing it does. Treat the contract as the record of an agreement, and put the enforcement somewhere that isn't your memory.

Can I print this template?

Yes. Use the print button above the contract, or your browser's print command. The contract prints on its own without the rest of the article.