Delay social media, protect sleep, and use the new age laws
The single highest-leverage things you can do for your child's online wellbeing — backed by health authorities and, increasingly, the law.
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Delay the first smartphone and social accounts
A common, evidence-informed framing (e.g., Jonathan Haidt's 'four norms'): no smartphone before ~14, no social media before ~16, phone-free schools, and more independence offline. Delaying is easier when your child's friends' families delay too — coordinate with other parents.
Protect sleep above all
Sleep is where most screen harm lands. Keep all devices out of the bedroom overnight and off for the hour before bed. Use a cheap alarm clock so the phone never needs to be a bedside device.
Lean on the new age-limit laws
Australia set a social-media minimum age of 16 (passed 2024), and several U.S. states and other countries have enacted or proposed similar limits. 'It's actually the law for your age' can take the social pressure off your family's 'not yet'.
Defuse the engagement traps
Turn off autoplay and notifications, set the feed to grayscale, and enable app timers and the platform's teen/parental supervision. These remove the 'just one more' mechanics that are engineered to be hard to resist.
Replace, don't just remove
Screens win when there's nothing else to do. Protect daily unstructured play, movement, in-person time with friends, and a hobby. The goal isn't a screen-free childhood — it's a childhood that isn't organized around a feed.