Wait Until 8th Pledge: 11 Reasons Parents Shouldn't Wait to Take This Pledge About Kids & Smartphones! by 30Seconds Mom

Parenting Tech
6 years ago

Wait Until 8th Pledge: 11 Reasons Parents Shouldn't Wait to Take This Pledge About Kids & Smartphones!

Cellphones can be seen in the hands of toddlers these days. That’s why parents need to consider taking the Wait Until 8th Pledge, which empowers parents to rally together to delay giving kids a cellphone until at least 8th grade. Here are eight reasons you should take this pledge today, according to WaitUntil8th.org:

  • Smartphones are addictive.
  • Smartphones are an academic distraction. 
  • Smartphones impair sleep. (Read Christie Gosch's tip about cellphones and sleep.)
  • Smartphones interfere with relationships. (Read Ann Marie Gardinier Halstead's tip about pphubbing.)
  • Smartphones increase the risk for anxiety and depression.
  • Smartphones put your child at risk for cyber bullying. (Read my tip about cyber bullying.)
  • Smartphones expose children to sexual content.
  • Technology executives ban smartphones for their children. (According to a New York Times article, many tech executives wait until their child is 14 before they allow them to have a phone.)

Here are a few more reasons why inspired by 30Seconds tips:

To learn more, visit WaitUntil8th.org.

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Elisa Schmitz
Yes yes yes! I wish I could go back in time and for this for my kids! Thank you, Donna John !!
Leila Ward
Yes, yes, YES!!! So important.
Ann Marie Patitucci
Such compelling reasons to wait!
Katie Sloan
So many reasons to wait. I am already exhausted by constantly taking video games/ iPad away. A phone will NOT happen until I am comfortable that my son has matured and proven to be responsible, so maybe when he gets married....
Rachael Daniels CPNP-PC, CLC
I couldn't agree more! The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends no more than 2 hours of screen time (tv,video game, tablet) per day and does not recommend any screens before the age of 2. I have seen so many parents out to dinner with their baby/toddler staring at a screen while they eat. It is so sad to me. Children are sponges, they absorb the world around them. How sad if that world is filled by a screen!
Jamie Martin
This kills me too. What kind of family meal is it if everyone is on a screen? How about some crayons or a book for the younger kids who get bored at a restaurant?
Donna John
Couldn't agree more, @rachael. It's easy to say "everything in moderation," but I've seen kids who are completely obsessed with screens, and once they are, it's hard to turn them around. Love this pledge. Welcome to the tribe! Love your first tip on school bus safety! health: School Bus Safety: 11 Tips to Keep Kids Safe Before, During & After Riding the School Bus!
Jamie Martin
My son is heading to 8th grade and he doesn't have a phone yet. He's not asking either, but I have a unique situation...But I'm glad I've waited and I wish his dad would wait longer but I think it's coming soon. Time to find a good list of cell phone rules! And sign up for Net Nanny for the phone when it arrives
Donna John
Agree, rules for the cell when they do get it are important, @JamieMartin. I've heard so many parents say they wish they could go back and do it all over again, and they would have waited. We're going to have a generation of text necks! health: Got Text Neck? How to Avoid Forward Head Position From Looking at Screens
Mike Prochaska
Yes don't give toddlers cell phones or tablets. I

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