The 2026 Workshop is coming. Sat, Oct 17 2026 · Franklin, TN Get first access →

You wouldn't hand your kid car keys without training. Why hand them a phone without it?

A parent + teen course that turns phone access into earned trust — with quizzes, a family agreement, and a real certificate.

Start Phone License See what's inside →
2-hour commitment over 6 weeks Built for ages 13–18 Certificate included

Be honest

Do you feel like you’re losing them to a screen?

Like there’s a whole world in their pocket — and you’re not in it?

Like every rule turns into a fight you’re too tired to have?

You're not failing. The terrain changed — and nobody briefed you. That's exactly what Phone License is for.

Two doors, one path

Two kinds of families end up here. It works for both.

First phone

The path to a confident yes.

You haven't handed it over yet — and you want the first phone to start on trust, not guesswork. Phone License gives you the agreement, the settings, and the handoff conversation so you can say yes without second-guessing.

A fresh start

Start over without taking it away.

They've had the phone a while and the boundaries slipped. Here's the relief: nothing gets confiscated. The phone gets re-issued under a new agreement they earn — calm, clear, and mutual.

The middle path

You don't want to overreact. You don't want to under-parent it. You want a plan you can actually enforce.

01 / The fight

"Get off your phone."

Same argument every night. Vague rules. Constant negotiation. Nobody wins.

02 / The fear

What they're seeing — and not telling you.

Group chats, late-night spirals, content you can't unsee. The stakes feel high and the playbook is missing.

03 / The plan

A shared framework, not a power struggle.

Phone License gives families a structured path. Same team, same rules, same finish line.

Cars require licenses. Marriages require licenses. Guns require licenses.

A phone is the most powerful device most teenagers will ever own. It's the only one we hand over with no training, no test, and no agreement. Phone License fixes that.

Cars

Permit. Practice. Test. Real consequences for breaking the rules.

Marriages

License. Vows. Witnesses. A public agreement to a shared standard.

Firearms

Background check, training, registration. Power deserves preparation.

Phones ?

The gateway to everything. Until now: no test, no training, no plan.

How it works

Watch. Pass. Sign.

Three steps, repeated for six weeks. Designed to feel like Driver's Ed — structured, practical, and impossible to fake your way through.

STEP 01

Watch short videos together

Six modules, each 6–12 minutes. Parent and teen watch side-by-side. No lecture, no panic — just real situations and clear rules.

STEP 02

Pass quizzes & road tests

Micro-quizzes prove they got it. Road Tests prove they can do it — turn on Screen Time, set downtime, build a no-phone zone. Parents click "verified."

A friend asks you to keep a secret account. What do you do?
Keep it, don't tell parents
Tell parents the same day
Wait and see what happens
STEP 03

Sign agreement & get certified

Final week: family signs the agreement. Teen takes the situational final exam. Parent reads the issuance statement. The phone is officially handed over.

Issued to: Jordan W.
PL-2026-04881
What's included

Tangible, not theoretical.

You get the videos, yes. You also get the assets that turn it into a real rite of passage — the kind of thing your kid will remember, not click through.

The Road Test

Demonstrate readiness, don't just answer questions.

Each module ends with a hands-on checklist your teen completes on the device — and you verify. No more "I get it, I get it."

✓
Turn on Screen Time + set limits
✓
Set downtime & bedtime schedule
✓
Charging station outside bedroom
✓
Set up Emergency Contacts + Medical ID
✓
Define no-phone zones at home
Video lessons

Six modules, studio-shot.

Fast-paced. Specific. Non-preachy. Built so parents feel supported and teens feel respected.

License ID

Earned, trackable, renewable.

Digital certificate with a unique ID. Optional printed wallet card.

Jordan W.
PL-2026-04881 · ISSUED 04/2026
Family Agreement

Signed, not just talked about.

A 9-section template covering sleep, school, content, conflict, repair — and parent commitments.

Section 2 · Core Rules
Phone is off / docked at: 9:30pm. No phone in bedroom after dinner. School: silent, in locker.

Section 7 · Repair Plan
If the agreement is broken, consequences are predictable and restorative…
Student signature
Issuance Ceremony

Cross a threshold, don't just buy a course.

Script, parent statement, optional spiritual covenant. The handoff your kid actually remembers.

Week 6 · Issuance
Renewal

90-day check-in built in.

Short re-test, agreement review, privilege adjustments. Trust earned, then renewed.

DAY 30
Review
DAY 90
Renew
6 MO
Re-cert

Live events · The 2026 Season

We also run a few live intensives a year.

Two virtual summits and one in-person workshop, every year — the annual briefing on what actually changed, for parents who don't want to figure it out alone.

SEP12Live virtual summit · Fall 2026The Parent Summit: AI, chatbots & what’s coming→OCT17In-person workshop · once a yearRaising Kids in a Digital World→
One workshop a year · capped at 200 couplesSee the full season →
The curriculum

Six weeks. Driver's Ed for the device that actually drives their life.

Set expectations together. Parents learn the framework. Teens get the phone in week 0 — locked down — and progressively unlock features as they pass each week.

Checkpoint
Baseline assessment for parent and teen. Establish the starting line before any privileges open up.

Attention, habit loops, and notification strategy. The phone is a tool, not a slot machine. Includes a short theology of attention for families who want it.

Road Test
Configure notifications and Focus Modes together. Parent verifies setup before progressing to Week 2.

Group chats, face-to-face vs. text, resisting teen phone culture. Honesty, boundaries, and the social cost of being the one who logs off.

Road Test
Establish group chat rules and a "pause before posting" practice. Document together.

Sleep, secrecy, late-night scrolling, and the emotional spiral. The case for a phone-free morning before anything else takes the wheel.

Road Test
Set downtime schedule. Build a charging station outside the bedroom. Optional: brick device after curfew.

Pornography, predators, sexting, scams, bullying. What to do in the moment, who to tell, how to recover without shame.

Road Test
Configure safety settings. Build a written "if something happens" plan with steps and contacts.

Audits, repair-after-failure, expanding privileges. Then: family agreement, situational final exam, and the issuance ceremony — the moment your kid will remember.

Final + Issuance
15–25 question situational final. Parent issuance statement. Certificate & License ID delivered.
The shift

From power struggle to shared plan.

Before

Same fight. Different night.

  • · Constant arguments about screen time
  • · Vague, inconsistent rules
  • · Anxiety about what they're seeing
  • · Parents and teens on opposite teams
  • · No plan for when something goes wrong
After

One team. One playbook. One license.

  • ✓ A signed agreement everyone refers back to
  • ✓ Rules earned, not imposed
  • ✓ Clear protocols when things go sideways
  • ✓ Parent and teen facing the problem together
  • ✓ Renewable trust, on a 90-day cadence
Meet your guides

The voices behind Phone License.

Two decades of work on family rhythms, digital formation, and what it actually takes to raise kids in a screen-saturated world — distilled into one course.

The Expert Dr. Darren Whitehead

Dr. Darren WhiteheadD.Min.

Pastor · Author · Researcher

Darren is the founding pastor of Church of the City, one of the largest churches in Tennessee, with multiple campuses across Nashville. His doctoral dissertation examined the future of the Western Church — and his book The Digital Fast has become the playbook thousands of families and churches now use to detox from their phones and reclaim what matters.

D.Min., Capital Seminary Founder, Church of the City Featured: Fox News, Christianity Today
Selected works
→The Digital Fast— 40 days to detox your mind
→Rumors of God— with Jon Tyson
→Holy Roar— with Chris Tomlin
The Family Builder Jefferson Bethke and family

Jefferson Bethke

NYT-Bestselling Author · Husband · Dad of 4

Jeff has spent the last decade writing and teaching on what it takes to build a strong, intentional family in a noisy world. He and his wife Alyssa have built a home rooted in intentionality with devices and tech — favoring rhythms over hustle — and now help thousands of parents do the same through their books, podcast, and the family movement they lead from Leipers Fork, Tennessee.

#1 NYT Bestselling Author 30M+ readers / listeners Family-formation podcast host
Selected works
→To Hell With the Hustle— reclaiming rhythm from digital noise
→Take Back Your Family— the family as a team, not a daycare
→Love That Lasts— with Alyssa Bethke

The research meets the rhythm.

Darren brings the framework from The Digital Fast. Jeff brings a decade of building family rhythms that actually stick. Phone License is what happens when those two finally sit in a room together.

Co-created · 2026

The 2026 in-person workshop · once a year

Spend one day with us. Parent the whole year on purpose.

Raising Kids in a Digital World is the annual, in-person briefing for parents — both of you in one room in Franklin, TN, then a long-table supper in Leipers Fork. It's the day couples talk about on the drive home.

Sat, Oct 17 2026 · The Factory at Franklin · Capped at 200 couples

See the full day →
Pricing

Two ways in. One outcome.

Perfect for a first phone moment, or a reset for a phone you've already given. Gift it to a niece, a youth group, your future self.

Core

Phone License

$49one-time, lifetime access
  • ✓ Full course access — 6 modules
  • ✓ Quizzes & situational final exam
  • ✓ Digital Family Agreement template
  • ✓ Road Test checklist (real settings)
  • ✓ Digital certificate + License ID
Start with Core
Best for: families starting their first phone or doing a reset.
Most chosen Premium Kit

Phone License + Kit

$99one-time, lifetime access
  • ✓ Everything in Core
  • ✓ Printable certificate & wallet card
  • ✓ Issuance Ceremony script + assets
  • ✓ Conversation Guide pack (PDF)
  • ✓ 90-day Renewal mini-course
  • ✓ Bonus: Social Media Readiness module
Get the Premium Kit
Best for: families who want the rite-of-passage moment to land hard.
For churches & ministries

Pastor families through a major modern milestone.

Phone License gives churches a turnkey, theologically thoughtful framework for a conversation every parent in your congregation is already losing sleep over.

  • ✓ Bulk family codes (25 / 50 / 100 packs)
  • ✓ Optional 4-week small group plan + facilitator guide
  • ✓ Sermon bumpers, slides, social templates
  • ✓ Group "Issuance Night" kit + printable certificates
  • ✓ Co-branded landing page for your church

Annual unlimited license available — admin dashboard, reporting, "Phone License Sunday" kit included.

Bring it to your church

We'll send pricing, pilot options, and the facilitator preview.

FAQ

Honest answers.

Built for ages 13–18, but families with 11–12 year olds preparing for a first phone use it too. The "Road Test" assignments scale to whatever device and freedom you're granting.

Yes. The whole point is shared language and a shared agreement. Each module includes a 10–15 minute guided conversation, and the Road Tests require a parent verification.

Most of our families are in this exact spot. Phone License works as a reset — a way to install structure, an agreement, and a shared vocabulary on a phone that's already in the house. Nothing about the course requires you to "take it away first."

Yes. Road Tests include step-by-step setups for both iOS Screen Time and Android Digital Wellbeing / Family Link.

Week 2 (Passengers & Peer Pressure) and the Premium Kit's bonus module both go deep on this. The Family Agreement includes specific sections for allowed platforms, posting rules, and shared-account commitments.

Frame it the way you'd frame Driver's Ed: it's not a punishment, it's the price of admission. The course is intentionally not preachy — teens consistently tell us it felt respectful, fast-paced, and worth their time.

Yes — see the church partnership section above. Bulk family packs, annual licenses, and a turnkey "Issuance Night" kit are all available.

Try it for 7 days.

If Phone License isn't useful for your family, we'll refund every dollar — no forms, no friction. The risk is on us; the trust is what we're after.

Earn the phone.
Keep the trust.

Six weeks. One agreement. A rite of passage your kid will actually remember — and you'll actually enforce.

Start Phone License Church licensing →

Free download

The Family Phone Contract

The one-page agreement thousands of families sign before the phone changes hands — first phone or a fresh start. We'll email it over.

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