About Us
We are a network of families in the Maryland (Montgomery County) / Washington, DC area committed to creating an environment where kids can enjoy being kids without the distraction of smartphones. With resources and a community that provides strength in numbers, we help families know that they are not alone in the choice to delay smartphone ownership. Together, we can create new norms around access to smartphones, internet, and social media to help our children build real-life connections, adopt healthy digital habits, and thrive smartphone-free.
Our mission is to keep our kids firmly rooted in real-world experiences and relationships by growing a community of families committed to waiting until age 16 to give their children a smartphone.
We believe in the importance of building real-world resilience before digital dependence.
Our vision
By working together, we hope to strengthen a community culture that prioritizes development over devices, connection over clicks, and freedom over feeds—so that our kids can learn to navigate their worlds and relationships with resilience, empathy, and clarity.
The power of our pledge is that is a local movement. We are fortunate to be able to build on the momentum that’s happening nationally and globally to change norms around smartphone ownership. And by focusing our efforts on Montgomery County, MD and nearby Washington, DC neighborhoods, we hope to expand smartphone-free spaces in the immediate areas around where our children live, learn, and play so they can grow and thrive in the real world.
“The two big mistakes we’ve made: overprotecting children in the real world (where they need to learn from vast amounts of direct experience) and under protecting them online (where they are particularly vulnerable during puberty).”
— Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness
