Screens off without a fight. Dinner with talking in it. Kids who sleep.
A 7-day reset with the exact words to say when your children push back — written with their names in them. For parents of 3–16s. No bans, no guilt. Not every night. Most nights, which is enough.
Made for your family: your family name on the cover, your children's names and ages inside. A real paperback, printed locally and posted to you in the UK, Ireland, the US and Australia.
“By the end of the week, homework was smoother and dinner actually felt calm.”
Amazon.com book review · United States
What if the book that ends your children's screen battles had your family's name on it?
Free preview · nothing is saved
Does this sound like your house?
Your child can't get through breakfast without a screen. And you're tired of being the bad guy every single day.
What's at stake isn't just the evening.
In a US CDC survey of 12–17-year-olds, half reported four or more hours of screen time on a typical weekday, excluding schoolwork. Among them:
Associations, not proof of cause. But you don't need proof to know which side of four hours you'd rather your child be on.
The hours are the part you can change — and the thirty seconds after the screen goes off are where it starts.
See what changes ↓Source: CDC/NCHS, US data from July 2021–December 2023, published October 2024. US survey; the pattern is the reason to act, not a claim about your child or about this book.
What changes in your house
Not every night. Most nights — and that is enough to change how your evenings feel. Our words first; under each one, what readers said in their own.
“Time's up” stops being a fight.
You have the sentence for that child, at that age, ready before the screen goes off.
“The conversation scripts were a lifesaver I could handle pushback without yelling or getting frustrated.”
They ask for screens less.
Something to do next is decided before the screen goes off, so there is nothing to negotiate.
“By Day 4, my kids had stopped asking for their tablets.”
“I have definitely noticed a decrease in screen time requests.”
Dinner has talking in it again.
Screen-free places and times, written down and signed by everyone — you included.
“Dinner actually felt calm… Our family is laughing together again, having real conversations.”
Bedtime becomes a bedtime. Mornings stop being a battle.
The evening routine has a shape, and the words for the hard moment in it.
“The sleep improvements alone were noticeable within days — bedtime became calmer, and mornings didn't feel like a battle.”
Nobody is the bad guy.
One rule, both parents, every signature on it — so the agreement does the arguing for you.
“When my 9-year-old tried to negotiate more screen time on Day 2, I just pointed to the agreement — her own signature — and that was that.”
It sticks — and nobody feels guilty.
No bans. Movie night and the video call with grandma stay. Screens go back to being something you use, not something that runs the evening.
“It's been two months since we finished the reset, and we've stuck with most of the changes. Dinner is device-free. Bedrooms are screen-free zones. And my kids actually play together again.”
“Without making us feel guilty about still using the screen from time to time.”
What fills the time instead is ordinary: sleep, playing outside, building something, reading, talking with you. That is the healthy relationship with screens we're after — not none, but screens in their place.
I want this for my familyQuotes are verbatim from Amazon.com and Gumroad reviews; first names only. Individual experiences vary.
The right words for each child — not one script for all of them
Most parenting advice gives one answer for every age. But the words that calm a 6-year-old make a 14-year-old roll their eyes — and a teenager's kind of deal goes straight over a 6-year-old's head. When the words don't fit the child, they don't get used.
Same moment, two ages — real lines from the book:
When the screen goes off · Emma, 6
Kneel down, calm and quiet: “You're really upset, Emma. It's hard to stop something fun. I'm right here. When your body calms down, we'll pick what's next — blocks or bikes?”
Short, calm, and a simple choice — what a young child can take in mid-meltdown.
When the rule kicks in · Mia, 14 — “This is SO unfair!”
“You're allowed to hate the rule. You don't have to like it for it to matter. … When you've cooled off, tell me which part feels most unfair — and at the weekly review, if something needs adjusting, we'll adjust it together.”
Respect and a real say — what a teenager needs before they'll listen.
Your copy does this for every child you list. Try it with yours:
Add each child's first name and age — nothing is saved.
Emma, 6ages 3–8
How a script reads in your copy — your child's name, in words that fit their age.
Example family shown — add your children above to see your own.
That's why this copy gets used, not left on the shelf: every page already fits the children at your table. See what your copy looks like ↓
Why it works when rules alone didn't
A rule on the fridge fails at one moment: the thirty seconds after the screen goes off, when nobody has the words. The 7-day reset covers that moment three ways.
The words, for each child's age. What calms a 6-year-old makes a 14-year-old roll their eyes. Each script is written for the age — and in your family's edition, with their names in it — so it gets used, not argued with.
Somewhere to go next, decided in advance. “Time's up” lands differently when the next thing is already chosen — 50+ ideas sorted by age, so there is nothing to negotiate.
One agreement, every signature. Yours too. When the rule is on the wall with their name under it, you point instead of arguing — and both parents are keeping the same rule.
The seven days give it an order, one step a day. You bring what you know about your children. Inside:
- Day-by-day action plan — a step for each day, so you don't plan the week yourself.
- 12 conversation scripts — bedtime requests, car rides, "all my friends have it", "it's for homework".
- 50+ screen-free activities — indoor and outdoor, sorted by age from 3 to 16.
- A printable family agreement — daily limits, screen-free zones, and a signature line for each of you, parents included.
What your copy looks like
Real lines from the book, with your names in them. Type your family name and your children above and these update.
Conversation script · when the screen goes off
Emma, 6ages 3–8
Your child's name, in words that fit their age.
Family screen agreement
The Harding Family Screen Agreement
- When screens go off, and what we do next
- Our screen-free places and times
- What happens on a hard night, and the weekly check-in
A line to sign for each of you. Parents too.
Example family shown. Nothing you type is saved; you give us the names at checkout.
What readers say on Amazon
“By the second day, my kids were asking for screens less, and by the end of the week, homework was smoother and dinner actually felt calm. The conversation scripts were a lifesaver I could handle pushback without yelling or getting frustrated. … Our family is laughing together again.”
Amazon.com book review · United States
“This isn’t a preachy ‘throw all devices away’ approach. It’s structured, compassionate, and doable. The sleep improvements alone were noticeable within days — bedtime became calmer, and mornings didn’t feel like a battle.”
Amazon.com book review · United States
“It doesn’t ask families to eliminate screens entirely. … By the end, the focus shifts naturally toward better sleep, better conversations, and a calmer home environment. A helpful read for parents who want balance, not battles.”
Amazon.com book review · United States
Selected excerpts from Amazon.com reviews of the book, including Kindle and paperback editions. Individual experiences vary. Rating checked 1 November 2026: 5.0 out of 5 from 31 global ratings.
Make tomorrow evening different
Screens off without a fight. Dinner with talking in it. A bedtime that is a bedtime. The 7-day reset as a paperback, printed locally and posted to you — the standard edition, or your family's own edition with your children's names inside. The illustrated 50 Screen-Free Activities ebook comes with both.
Your family's edition
The words for your 7pm, with your children's names in them — the copy that gets used.
- Everything in the standard paperback
- Your family name on the cover — a copy made for one family
- Your children's names in the scripts, with words matched to each child's age
- Your family's edition as a PDF by email first, so you can start before the book arrives
You give us the names and ages at checkout. Printed to order — allow 2–3 weeks.
Standard paperback
The same 7-day plan and the words for every age, in a book that lives on the kitchen table.
- The complete 7-day reset: 12 scripts, 50+ activities by age, the family agreement
- Printed locally and posted to your door, delivery included
- The 50 Screen-Free Activities ebook by email straight away
- Printed to order — allow 2–3 weeks
Quick questions
About the author
Lawrence Martin is a father of three who wanted more connection around his own dinner table. After months of trial and error at home, he developed the approach behind Screens Down, Family Up.
He writes about family connection and finding balance with technology. His kids still ask for more screen time. The goal is a better way to handle those conversations—and more time together.
You have two choices
Keep doing what you're doing: the same fight at 7pm, the same quiet dinner, the same tired feeling of being the bad guy.
Or take seven days and give your family the words. Printed to order and posted to you, delivery included.