I’m a mom of four—an adult daughter and three younger sons—and the 14-year age gap between my daughter and my twins, combined with five years working in a high school, gave me a full-circle view of how smartphones and social media have reshaped childhood. I watched my daughter go through her teen years on social media and see the social, educational, and privacy challenges that come with students being constantly connected. That perspective, along with time to reflect and learn, allowed our family to make different choices the second time around.

Like most parents, I initially made decisions around technology without fully understanding the risks or the difference between a basic talk-and-text phone and a smartphone. Today, I feel a deep responsibility to share what I’ve learned with families navigating these choices for the first time—often under intense social pressure and without clear, honest information.

I believe all kids deserve a childhood free from algorithms, constant comparison, and exposure to strangers online. They deserve time to be bored, to imagine, to make mistakes, and to figure out who they are without online influence.

Delaying our child’s entry into the online world isn’t about nostalgia or rejecting technology—it’s about recognizing that just because something has been normalized doesn’t mean it’s been proven safe. It’s about buying time: time to better educate ourselves, and time to equip our kids with the tools they’ll need to navigate the online world safely and intentionally.

Parenting in this environment can feel isolating, but it doesn’t have to be. By delaying smartphones and social media, supporting phone-free schools from bell-to-bell, and advocating for systems and policies that put children’s well-being first, we can change the norm and give our kids their childhood back—together.