Open the app

Acting alone or with other parents

Whether you set phone and social media rules on your own or agree on them with other parents, a pledge or the school.

Should we coordinate phone and social media rules with other parents?

In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Decide alone; Coordinate with friends' parents; Formal pledge; Push for school policy. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: school age.

Evidence
Your call
Best settled
School age
Part of
Learning & the wider world

Acting alone or with other parents: what are the options?

Parents usually land on one of these 4 approaches.

  1. 1. Decide alone

    You set your own rules regardless of other families.

  2. 2. Coordinate with friends' parents

    You agree on rules with the parents of your child's friends.

  3. 3. Formal pledge

    You sign a shared commitment with other families, such as waiting on smartphones.

  4. 4. Push for school policy

    You ask the school to adopt a policy.

Acting alone or with other parents: what does the evidence say?

Your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide.

The Wait Until 8th pledge activates once 10 families in a grade sign

Sources

What else is worth knowing?

A rule is easier to keep when a child's friends have the same one. Some parents coordinate with other families or sign a pledge. Others prefer to decide independently.

Questions to ask each other

  • Would we team up with other parents on phone rules?
  • How would we feel being the only family with a rule?
  • Would we push the school to take a position?

More in Screens, phones and digital life

First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.