Rules that are written down and agreed once hold far better than rules improvised during an argument. Copy the agreement below, adjust the blanks, and have everyone sign it — including the adults.
The agreement
1. Whose account. The student uses their own ChatGPT account, created with their real age so the 13-17 teen experience applies, with a parent's permission. We do not share an adult's account.
2. Where. ChatGPT is used in shared family spaces, not behind a closed bedroom door.
3. When. Between ____ and ____ on school nights, inside the quiet hours set in parental controls.
4. What it is for. Explaining things we do not understand, practice questions, feedback on work we already did, and creative play.
5. What it is not for. Writing anything we hand in as our own, answering graded work, or replacing a conversation we should be having with a person.
6. Privacy. We never type our full name, address, school name, phone number, passwords, or photos of ourselves or our friends.
7. Verification. Anything factual gets checked somewhere else before we rely on it. OpenAI itself says ChatGPT can be wrong and can invent citations.
8. Feelings. If a conversation turns to something upsetting — self-harm, bullying, anything frightening — we stop and tell an adult. A chatbot is not a counsellor.
9. Honesty. If we used AI for school work, we say so.
10. Talking, not surveillance. Parental controls do not let a parent read chats. So instead of reading them, we talk about what ChatGPT has been used for every ____ weeks — with no punishment for anything shared in the first conversation.
11. If a rule breaks. We talk about what happened before anything is removed. Hiding a mistake is treated more seriously than making one.
Account settings the adults handle
- Parental controls linked, quiet hours set.
- "Improve the model for everyone" switched off in Data Controls; Temporary Chat used for anything sensitive.
- Memory reviewed and cleared of personal details.
What parental controls do and do not do
They let a linked parent manage selected settings and quiet hours. They do not provide access to the teen's conversations, and they do not verify anyone's age. If a teen creates a second, unlinked account, none of it applies — which is exactly why the conversation matters more than the control panel.
Reviewing the agreement
Revisit it each term. What is right for a 13-year-old is patronising for a 17-year-old, and rules that stop matching the child stop being followed.
Related: ChatGPT age guide · ChatGPT for homework · Is ChatGPT safe for kids?
Frequently asked questions
What age should we start a family AI agreement?+
As soon as a child has any independent access — realistically at 13, when an eligible ChatGPT account with parental permission becomes possible.
Can we just read our teenager's chat history?+
Parental controls do not give parents access to a teen's conversations. Ask the teen to show you a session voluntarily, and build the agreement around open conversation rather than surveillance.
Should our teen use a parent-owned account so we can see everything?+
No. Account sharing conflicts with OpenAI's terms and strips out the teen protections that apply to a correctly-aged 13-17 account.
What if the school's rules differ from ours?+
The stricter rule applies for schoolwork. Schools own academic-integrity policy; families own home use.
Sources & verification
Verified against primary sourcesLast checked August 24, 2026- 1.Parental controls in ChatGPT (opens in a new tab) — OpenAI Help Center
- 2.Introducing ChatGPT for Teens (opens in a new tab) — OpenAI
- 3.Terms of Use (opens in a new tab) — OpenAI
- 4.Data controls (opens in a new tab) — OpenAI Help Center
- 5.ChatGPT accuracy and limitations (opens in a new tab) — OpenAI Help Center
Vendor policies change frequently. Links point to the vendor's own documentation so you can confirm the current wording before making a family or district decision.
Recommended next steps
For parents
Start with the Free 30-Minute Family AI Safety Course
Learn the essential steps every parent should know to make safer, more confident decisions about the AI tools their children use, including ChatGPT. Free course includes the Family AI Safety Starter Pack.
Want the deep dive? Get the Complete AI Safety Blueprint — $29
For schools
Govern AI tools district-wide with School Pro
Unlimited full evaluations plus the K-12 workspace — tool registry, approval workflow, monitoring, and a downloadable audit log.
