It’s time to shift the culture.
Join the growing community of parents choosing to wait to give their child a smartphone.
There’s a movement happening.
Parents are rethinking the culture of giving smartphones to kids, driven by concerns over unregulated social media exposure and its effects on young minds. Many parents and experts are advocating for a shift toward delaying smartphone use until teens are older, emphasizing the benefits of avoiding early and unchecked access to social media platforms.
A key part of this shift is the increasing number of families and organizations joining pledges to delay smartphone use and prioritize face-to-face interactions and unstructured play. By signing these pledges, families commit to supporting their children’s development by fostering environments that limit digital distractions and encourage healthy, balanced lifestyles. This collective effort aims to protect kids from the potential harms of early smartphone exposure, such as cyberbullying, social pressure, and mental health issues, while promoting a more mindful approach to technology use.
Why delay smartphone use?
Too many hours, too easy: Smartphones make it effortless for kids to spend hours online, leading to excessive screen time that interferes with crucial activities, like schoolwork, exercise, unstructured play, and sleep.
Persuasive design keeps kids hooked: Social media apps are intentionally designed to keep users engaged, making it difficult for children to self-regulate their time and creating addictive behaviours.
Unregulated content: With unrestricted access to the internet, children are exposed to harmful content, cyberbullying, and negative social comparisons at a stage when their brains are not yet emotionally equipped to handle these challenges, damaging their self-esteem and mental health.
Negative health and learning outcomes: Excessive smartphone use rewires developing brains for short-term gratification, which reduces focus, attention, and emotional regulation. As a result, kids become unmotivated, disengaged from real-life activities, suffer poor academic performance and are more prone to anxiety, depression, as they rely on digital distractions over meaningful experiences.
Delaying smartphone access gives children the opportunity to develop healthier habits, build better social connections and increase mental resilience before introducing such powerful, attention-consuming technology.
Make the Ottawa pledge.
We want our kids to be connected, but we feel delaying smartphones is important. Opting to delay giving your child a smartphone until they are 14 or 16 can be a wise and impactful decision. Research and recent guidelines suggest that children under 14 are particularly susceptible to the pressures and distractions that come with smartphones, such as social media, cyberbullying, and sleep disruptions. By waiting until they are older, you give your child time to develop stronger interpersonal skills, better time management, and a more mature understanding of digital responsibility. This approach allows them to face these challenges with a more developed sense of self and stronger coping mechanisms. In addition, it gives parents a chance to provide guidance and set a positive example for responsible phone use. Ultimately, delaying until 14 or 16 can help ensure that your child is better prepared to handle the complexities of a smartphone in a balanced and thoughtful way.