My First Phone

Most kids get their first phone with one instruction: be careful with it. My First Phone fills in the rest. It is a playbook for kids ages 8 to 12, with 64 real-life moments they are likely to meet, from the group chat that turns unkind at eleven at night to the message that says they've won something.

Every moment comes with the same three moves, in the same order. Say it: a line they can send or say themselves. Save it: screenshot, stop replying, block, leave. Show someone: hand it to a person. Going straight to showing someone is always allowed.

• Nine parts cover day one with a new phone, phones at night, group chats, the camera, feeds and games, chatbots, people who want something, what to do once it has already happened, and the family deal.
• The after-it-happened pages deal with a photo already sent, a clicked link, money spent and a lost phone. Each one begins the same way: you are not in trouble.
• Each moment explains why the moves work and what to do if you freeze, with room to write on the page.
• A tear-out family phone agreement sits at the back, with one side for the kid and one for the grown-up, facing a note for grown-ups.

This is not a front-to-back book. Kids flip to the moment they need, and the first page sends them to the back to tear out the agreement on day one.