The Kid's Code
The child agrees not to keep secrets for strangers, to stop when asked for silence, pictures, or another app, to screenshot rather than delete, and to tell a trusted adult the same day.
Field Manual No. 3
The Family Pact
A practical family agreement for protecting children from dangerous online contact.
Inside the Manual
A promise that makes telling safer
The Family Pact is a short, printable agreement for children and adults. Its central promise is that no adult or older stranger online gets to become a secret, and that a child will not be punished for telling an adult about a mistake or a dangerous request.
The manual pairs the child's code with a parent's pledge, then gives a one-time thirty-minute lockdown: private accounts, stranger-contact limits, kitchen charging, known passcodes, and location sharing turned off on public apps and photos.
If a child reports dangerous contact, the manual says not to confront or reply to the stranger, not to delete evidence, and to involve CyberTipline and local law enforcement.
The core approach
Build trust, reduce access, preserve evidence
The Parent's Pledge
The adult promises amnesty: listening first, not taking the phone for reporting, and handling the rest as the adult's job.
The Thirty-Minute Lockdown
Make accounts private, limit direct messages and game chat, charge devices in the kitchen, know the passcodes, and turn off public location sharing.
The pact in practice
What You'll Find Inside
- Five child commitments: no secrets, stop at the signal, screenshot, tell an adult, and know that telling will not bring punishment.
- Five adult commitments: no trouble for reporting, no phone confiscation for disclosure, calm listening, and adult responsibility for the response.
- Account settings: private accounts, stranger requests off, direct-message limits, friends-only game chat, kitchen charging, known passcodes, and public location sharing off.
- Warning signs: an older online friend nobody has met, unexplained gifts or game money, screens that flip, secrecy about an app, withdrawal, or multiple accounts.
- Response order: do not reply or delete, screenshot names and messages, report to report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678, then call local police.
- Signed agreement: space for the child, parent or guardian, date, and Action Army ID.
Use it as a printable field guide
Read it aloud and sign it together
Print the pact and read each line aloud with the child. Complete the setting checklist once, then keep the signed agreement somewhere the family can revisit it. The goal is not a one-time inspection; it is a shared rule that makes disclosure safer.
Keep the reporting steps with the pact. If something is found, preserve evidence and let trained professionals take over rather than asking the child to investigate or negotiate.
Source text
Full Manual Text
The text below is transcribed from the original PDF for this manual. Page labels, headings, lists, and references are retained as extracted from the source.
ACTION ARMY FIELD MANUAL NO. 3 • THE FAMILY PACT THE ONE-SENTENCE PROMISE YOU CANNOT READ EVERY MESSAGE ON EVERY PHONE — AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO. A FAMILY WHERE NOBODY KEEPS SECRETS FOR STRANGERS, AND NOBODY GETS PUNISHED FOR TELLING, BEATS ANY PREDATOR'S PLAYBOOK. THE ACTION ARMY KID'S CODE READ EACH LINE OUT LOUD. CHECK THE BOX. THIS IS YOUR OATH. [ ] NO ADULT OR OLDER STRANGER ONLINE GETS TO BE MY SECRET. EVER. [ ] IF ANYONE ONLINE ASKS ME TO KEEP QUIET, SEND PICTURES, OR MOVE TO ANOTHER APP — THAT'S THE SIGNAL. I STOP. [ ] I SCREENSHOT. I DON'T DELETE. I DON'T ANSWER. [ ] I TELL SOMEBODY — MY PARENT, MY GRANDPARENT, MY GUARDIAN — THE SAME DAY. [ ] I KNOW I WILL NEVER BE IN TROUBLE FOR TELLING. NOT EVEN IF I MADE A MISTAKE FIRST. FIELD MANUAL NO. 3 • FREE AT JOHNNYACTIONARMY.COM • SATURDAYS 10AM — TRUE OLDIES CHANNEL • PAGE 1 OF 4 Johnny Action Hotline: 855-88ACTION ? Call Anytime 24/7/365 ACTION ARMY FIELD MANUAL NO. 3 • THE FAMILY PACT THE PARENT'S PLEDGE THIS HALF IS THE WHOLE BALLGAME. KIDS STAY SILENT BECAUSE THEY'RE AFRAID OF LOSING THE PHONE. TAKE THAT FEAR OFF THE TABLE. [ ] IF YOU TELL ME, YOU ARE NOT IN TROUBLE. AMNESTY. PERIOD. [ ] I WILL NOT TAKE YOUR PHONE AWAY BECAUSE YOU REPORTED SOMETHING. [ ] I WILL LISTEN FIRST. I WILL NOT PANIC AT YOU. [ ] I WILL HANDLE THE REST — THAT'S MY JOB, NOT YOURS. THE 30-MINUTE LOCKDOWN — DO IT ONCE, TONIGHT [ ] EVERY ACCOUNT SET TO PRIVATE. FRIEND AND FOLLOW REQUESTS FROM STRANGERS OFF. [ ] DIRECT MESSAGES FROM PEOPLE THEY DON'T KNOW: OFF. [ ] GAME VOICE AND TEXT CHAT: FRIENDS ONLY, OR OFF. [ ] PHONES AND TABLETS CHARGE IN THE KITCHEN AT NIGHT — NOT IN BEDROOMS. FIELD MANUAL NO. 3 • FREE AT JOHNNYACTIONARMY.COM • SATURDAYS 10AM — TRUE OLDIES CHANNEL • PAGE 2 OF 4 Johnny Action Hotline: 855-88ACTION ? Call Anytime 24/7/365 ACTION ARMY FIELD MANUAL NO. 3 • THE FAMILY PACT [ ] YOU KNOW EVERY PASSCODE. THAT'S THE RENT ON THE PHONE. [ ] LOCATION SHARING OFF ON EVERY PUBLIC APP AND PHOTO. THE TELLS — WHAT TO WATCH FOR A NEW OLDER “FRIEND” NOBODY'S MET. GIFTS OR GAME MONEY YOU DIDN'T BUY. SCREENS THAT FLIP WHEN YOU WALK IN. SECRECY ABOUT ONE APP. PULLING AWAY FROM FAMILY. THE FULL SEVEN TELLS ARE IN FIELD MANUAL NO. 2 — FREE AT JOHNNYACTIONARMY.COM. IF YOU FIND SOMETHING 1. DO NOT CONFRONT THE STRANGER. DO NOT REPLY. DO NOT DELETE ANYTHING. 2. SCREENSHOT EVERYTHING — NAMES, MESSAGES, PROFILES. 3. REPORT IT TO THE CYBERTIPLINE: REPORT.CYBERTIP.ORG OR 1-800-843-5678 (NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & FIELD MANUAL NO. 3 • FREE AT JOHNNYACTIONARMY.COM • SATURDAYS 10AM — TRUE OLDIES CHANNEL • PAGE 3 OF 4 Johnny Action Hotline: 855-88ACTION ? Call Anytime 24/7/365 ACTION ARMY FIELD MANUAL NO. 3 • THE FAMILY PACT EXPLOITED CHILDREN). 4. CALL YOUR LOCAL POLICE. LET THE PROFESSIONALS TAKE IT FROM THERE. SIGN THE PACT KID SIGNS: ______________________________________ DATE: ______________ PARENT / GUARDIAN SIGNS: ________________________ DATE: ______________ ACTION ARMY ID NO.: ______________ (FREE AT JOHNNYACTIONARMY.COM) I AM JOHNNY ACTION. AND WE FIGHT BACK. FIELD MANUAL NO. 3 • FREE AT JOHNNYACTIONARMY.COM • SATURDAYS 10AM — TRUE OLDIES CHANNEL • PAGE 4 OF 4 Johnny Action Hotline: 855-88ACTION ? Call Anytime 24/7/365
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