Around the US, the Wait Until 8th program has been spreading information about the advantages of delaying phone use in kids. Recently, a couple of local mothers have been getting involved and educating their Norwood community.
Lisa Robbins, who is a Norwood mom herself as well as Assistant Director of the Middle School at Dana Hall, has an informal role with this organization. Starting several years ago, her daughter, who is now in fifth grade, was starting to be introduced to the cell phone world by her peers.
“I am an administrator and teacher in a middle school, so I had been seeing the issues with cell phones both in and out of school for this age range. I posted a comment on the Friends of Norwood Schools group asking if anyone was thinking of Wait for 8th and I got a lot of positive responses,” Robbins said.
She was able to join forces with two other Norwood members who helped her build a platform for this organization in the local community.
Robbins said, “We continued to post on social media, got together a list of interested parents, had a Zoom, presented at the Oldham PTO, and also had a table at last year and this year’s Wellness Fair.” She added, “We have also talked to the principal at Oldham and Coakley as well as to the superintendent.”
One of their biggest achievements so far was recently at a parent meeting on a digital technology that Norwood officials from the Middle School put together. A grant was given in order to purchase Yondr pouches (a secure lockable case to hold cell phones) for fifth through eighth grade next school year.
The New York Times, in a related article, wrote about a recent study about children and smartphones. “The study, published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, found that children who had a smartphone by age 12 were at higher risk of depression, obesity, and insufficient sleep than those who did not yet have one.”
Multiple studies done by scientists interested in the topic have found consistent results that essential needs like exercising, sleeping, and in-person interactions are being lost due to constant phone use.
Dr. Ran Barzilay, lead author of the study and a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said, “age matters. A kid at age 12 is very, very different than a kid at age 16, … It’s not like an adult at age 42 versus 46.”
In a small survey of six NHS students, two got their phones in elementary school, and the rest at the beginning of middle school.
Though kids these days enjoy the time they get to spend on their phones, some do worry about what it is doing to them physically and mentally.
“I think it consumes my day too much and I could be doing more productive things,” said Sophomore, Maia D’Annunzio.
“I think it’s generally good, but I often find myself sad at the extent to which I use it,” said Sophomore Graham Brown.
“It is a helpful tool, but also can be very addict[ing],” said Sophomore Kirk Matthews.
Lisa Robbins hopes to continue working with Wait for 8th to help Norwood parents and students manage healthy smartphone use.
“We encourage people to sign the Wait for 8th pledge, but also educate parents about how to manage existing technology and how to introduce new technology,” she said.
