My name is Meghan Hanson-Peters and I am the parent of a sixth-grader and a teacher. Last month, I wrote a letter to the parents of soon-to-be sixth-graders. The intent was to ask them to delay getting their kids a smartphone and gauge interest in exploring research on kids and smartphones together so we can make informed decisions about our own kids and phones.

In my letter, I attached a Google form in which parents could indicate which opportunities appealed to them. Over two weeks, 73 parents completed it. 67% are interested in casual conversations with other parents, 73% in presentations about kids and technology, 40% in book studies and 60% in a resource list to use independently.

I will be using the coming weeks to partner with parents to plan opportunities in our community so we can examine the research on kids and smartphones in various contexts and forums. More to come on that.

Other takeaways included the fact that parents of both younger and older kids completed the form. Several asked me to expand my audience and not limit it to sixth-grader parents. Additionally, respondents have many ideas to build community around exploring kids and smartphones: Screen-free Sundays; panels to hear from parents who wish they’d waited longer; examining the effects of smartwatches and device use in school; considering the impact of our own smartphone use; and parent support groups, both online and in real life, to name a few.

As a high school teacher for 21 years, many parents over the last decade have told me that they wish they had not given their student a phone before high school. “Delay it as long as you can,” they cautioned. There is a growing body of research to back this plea. The latest suggests delaying smartphones until 14 and personal social media accounts until 16. And flip phones are a solid, research-based option for kids to call and text.

Smartphones aren’t going anywhere. My hope is to collaborate with our community to support the needs of kids here in Routt County as they navigate life both with and without smartphones.

If you would like to be added to a local email list to receive information about upcoming events, please email me at steamboatkidsandphones@gmail.com and write “Include me” in the subject line. Your email will not be shared with anyone. Thank you.

Meghan Hanson-Peters
Steamboat Springs