Trophy Club parents pledge to wait until 8th grade for smartphones
TROPHY CLUB, Texas - As more data reveals the negative impacts of kids carrying smartphones, parents at schools across the country are signing a pledge to "Wait Until 8th."
One North Texas elementary school is the first public school in North Texas to have an active pledge in every grade.
"Our job was to put the data in front of families, and it was well received," said Sarah Kleinmann, a parent at Beck Elementary School in Trophy Club.
She and Megan Duffy, the school’s past PTA president, know the pressure is strong. They both have older children in middle school.
"The mindset of some of our middle and high school kids is that everyone has it, and I don’t," Duffy said.
But they say that’s where the "Wait Until 8th" pledge comes in. It encourages parents to wait until at least after eighth grade before giving their children smartphones.
Flip phones and smartwatches still have the green light under the pledge, though.
When at least 10 parents in a grade sign the pledge, it becomes active. And those families can find out who else is on board with waiting when it comes to smartphones.
"It reduces my peer pressure of knowing who else is my children’s grade and what other parents were on board supporting the initiative," said Felicia Dunn, the school’s current PTA president.
Like many districts recently, Northwest ISD has banned cellphones during the school day.
"We’re the parents, and it starts at the home. Truly. If we can set boundaries at home and have a district like Northwest ISD stand behind it, it helps solidify the efforts across the board," Dunn said.
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After years of unfettered access to smartphones among many kids, Dunn said parents are now starting to recognize the damage they can do.
"We did not get a manual when technology was born. We did not get a manual as parents to say this is the safe spot," she said.
"Some parents with more experience than us with older kids said I wish I had done this," Duffy said.
"The word regret was used a ton," Kleinmann said.
The moms said they believe delaying smartphones is helping their kids’ mental well-being, and social skills.
"It gets them out of the house and playing together," Dunn said.
"Finding ways to entertain yourself, fishing, biking, imaginative play," added Kleinmann.
Kleinmann hopes Beck Elementary’s push to get every grade on board will inspire others.
"We’re paving the way. A lot of other school PTAs are reaching out to us," she said.
More than 75,000 parents around the country have signed the pledge so far.
For more information, visit www.waituntil8th.org/.