Your Kid Is the Product

You don't have to choose between banning technology and handing your child an unrestricted phone.

Michael D. Halden builds software, works with artificial intelligence, and still games with family and friends. He also kept social media outside his son's childhood. In Your Kid Is the Product, he explains the distinction behind that decision: technology your family chooses and uses on purpose is different from a feed designed to keep them scrolling.

This practical parenting guide turns that distinction into decisions you can make at home:

• Age-specific guidance for children 2-6, 7-10, 11-13, and 14-17.
• Three questions for evaluating apps, games, videos, and other screen use.
• First-phone boundaries, setup checks, family agreements, and a gradual path toward independence.
• An eight-step reset for families whose habits are already established.
• Word-for-word scripts for difficult conversations, plus ways to work with grandparents, co-parents, and other families.

Drawing on his family's experience and published research, Halden makes a firm case for delaying social media while keeping room for games, movie nights, creativity, and connection. He separates personal convictions from research findings and recognizes when a child's needs call for an adapted plan or professional help.

The starting point is a parent's involvement. Controls provide a backstop. Together, they give families a practical way to use technology more deliberately.