Can parents really come together as communities to delay social media and smartphones? You bet! It’s happening more and more across the country.

In today's blog, I share excerpts from my latest podcast episode. It features my interview with Brooke Shannon, the founder of the “Wait Until 8th" movement, which helps parents delay smartphones until the end of 8th grade or later while also encouraging delaying social media.

This discussion covers three main points:

1. How Brooke has helped thousands of parents unite to delay smartphone and social media use.
2. Her approach to managing social media and smartphones with her three daughters.
3. Strategies for monitoring and limiting smartphone and social media use if they are already part of your children's lives.

But first, I’m thrilled to announce that we've partnered with Wait Until 8th for premiere screenings of our new film, Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition, across the country for the month of October! 

Find a screening near you, and stay tuned as new events are added daily. Or, host a screening yourself!

‍

Brooke explains how the Wait Until 8th movement begins with parents visiting the website and making a pledge to delay smartphone use for their children.

Brooke: “Any parent can join the pledge.The pledge is organized by school and grade. Once there's enough group momentum, the pledge becomes active once you hit ten or more pledges in your child's grade, we link you up. A lot of parents are all for waiting as long as they know other people are waiting with them. They want community support. And you get informed about the other families who are waiting as well, and that's really helpful to know that you're not walking this road alone.”

‍

Here, Brooke explains how she has approached social media and smartphones with her three daughters.

Brooke: “I have three daughters, [when they were] in third grade, second grade, and preschool they already had friends with the latest iPhones, and they wanted one too. I kept saying not yet. One day, I saw middle school kids with their heads down, and I knew if something didn’t change, my kids would either have their heads down or be the few with heads up. I emailed other parents, and they felt pressured to give phones sooner than they wanted so we came up with the idea to say, ‘not yet’ together. That started the pledge.

We have a 30-minute cap per day on social media, It's been a learning process, taking a slow tech approach instead of handing everything over at once. We use smartphone alternatives like basic phones and smartwatches, which don't have the internet, social media, or games. My oldest is only on Snapchat, which we chose over Instagram or TikTok because it's more communication-based. I'm connected to her through Snapchat's family center, so I can see who she communicates with. My youngest is in sixth grade and only texts on an iPad in our kitchen. I check her texts as she's learning. For my older child, we review screen time reports and discuss their phone usage every couple of weeks.”

‍

Brooke then shares strategies for parents to monitor and manage social media if it is already integrated into their children's lives.

Brooke: “It's never too late to reign in how your kid uses a smartphone. You can limit their usage and content consumption with some easy steps. First, remove the internet browser to prevent unfettered access. Second, disable access to the app store, as kids aren’t equipped to decide what's safe. Third, keep phones out of the bedroom. Monitor screen time regularly and check for any red flags. No parental control is foolproof, so stay engaged with your kids about what they might encounter online.”

‍

Listen to the full podcast episode now at the following links: Apple Podcasts // Spotify // YouTube // Website

‍

This week on YouTube

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel! With new ones added regularly, you'll find over 100 videos covering parenting advice, guidance, podcasts, movie clips and more. Here's our latest!

‍