Join the Phone Pact

Hey Marin, let's delay smartphones until high school. Change is possible if we do this together, reducing pressure on both parents and kids. Let’s help our kids grow up and thrive in real life (IRL).

Smartphones created the “great rewiring of childhood.” When adolescents traded in their flip phones for smartphones with millions of apps, it moved their social lives online and altered their development. Alarming research is emerging and the findings resonate with observations here in Marin: our kids’ mental health is at stake, partly due to our replacing the ancient "play-based childhood" with a "phone-based childhood." This is why ScreenSense is mobilizing the Kids IRL Phone Pact for K-8 parents/caregivers through education and community action.

Change is possible, if we act together.

Parents across Marin have been in a difficult situation: either give kids access to time-zapping devices that disrupt childhood OR risk alienating them from their peers during a crucial stage in development. Taking action alone hasn’t worked. But together we can pave a new way forward.

As parents, let’s collectively delay app-filled smartphones until high school. If your child needs a phone before then, roll out simple solutions that focus on basic communication. If your child already has a smartphone, you can team up with other parents to dial back some of the available apps.

Together let’s reclaim childhood for its developmental purpose: to play, be outdoors, develop life skills and competence, and spend time IRL with other people. A phone should be a helpful tool to support these goals, not displace them.

This is a collective problem and a community shift here in Marin is our most practical and immediate solution. Parents coming together is powerful. Together let’s drive the local change we need to improve the health and wellbeing of our kids!

Click the button to:

  1. Join the Phone Pact community. Add your name, grade, and school to the list of K-8 parents and caregivers who have joined the Phone Pact to stick with basic phones until high school.  

  2. Build momentum. We will connect you to the Kids IRL ambassador at your school to join forces and build ongoing support.

For more:

  1. Spread the word. Share this webpage, this Instagram post about Kids IRL, or this flyer with the parents/caregivers of your child’s friends and classmates. The more people in your daily orbit who join the Phone Pact, the easier change will be.

  2. Connect with ScreenSense (i.e., Kids IRL HQ!) for related support. You can sign up for our monthly blog that offers one step towards healthy tech use and follow us on Instagram for bite-size tips.

  3. Already gave a device? It’s never too late to rein it in, and it’s easier when done in coordination with fellow parents! If your child has an iPhone you want to simplify, check out our tutorial about how to reel in access and remove apps from your child’s iPhone.

Where to Next?

Help Marin youth thrive by supporting Kids IRL! Make a tax-deductible donation today.

Need support navigating phone options? No matter where you are on this parenting journey, get the support you need. Email us for one-on-one consulting services.