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Calm, practical help with family screen decisions
Family Decisions is a free set of tools for Australian parents. It helps you decide on screens, phones and family routines, starting with what matters most to your family.
Who's behind it
Family Decisions was created by Barry Morris, a registered psychologist in Queensland. Barry has spent more than 20 years working with children, young people and families across child protection, youth justice, residential care and mental health services. He began his career as a frontline Child Safety Officer.
He built these tools because the same question kept coming up with families: not just "how much screen time?", but "how do we make rules that actually stick in our house?"
Values first, then the limits
Rules work better when children understand why they exist. So every tool starts with your family's values, such as rest, connection or real-world friendships, and only then sets limits. The limits come from Australia's national guidelines, and the agreements come from what you care about.
Sources and how we calculate
- Screen time, sleep and activity figures come from the Australian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines.
- Information on the under-16 social media rules comes from the eSafety Commissioner.
- Daily allowances are upper limits for recreational screens, not targets. Schoolwork isn't counted.
- On weekdays with three or more hours of after-school activities, the planner suggests 30 minutes less, to protect homework, rest and family time.
- Every page shows the date its sources were last checked, and we recheck them every January.
Our promises
What this site is, and isn't
Family Decisions provides general educational information. It isn't a clinical or counselling service, and it can't assess or diagnose a child. If you're worried about your child's wellbeing, talk to your GP. If a child is in danger, call 000.
Contact
Questions or corrections are welcome. Email us at [email protected].