East Grand Rapids Parents Pledge to Delay Smartphones and Social Media for More Than 600 Kids

EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — More than 600 children in East Grand Rapids are now part of a voluntary pledge to delay smartphones until high school and social media until age 16, as local parents take a collective approach to shielding their kids from the risks they see in modern technology.

What began as a single fourth-grade class has grown to include families across all three East Grand Rapids elementary schools. Parents are signing on behalf of their children through an initiative called "It Takes a Village EGR."

"Parents were so excited about it. They were coming up to us and saying, 'This is what keeps me up at night. Thank you so much for doing this,'" said Karin Hoekstra, an East Grand Rapids mother who helped start the effort.

How the Movement Started

About two and a half years ago, East Grand Rapids mother Laura Feinauer attended a district technology event about children and technology. She said the experience left her feeling overwhelmed by the stories she heard.

"It almost felt like even if my family chose to delay technology for my kids, that it was a freight train sort of coming at us," Feinauer said.

Feinauer joined forces with other parents to host an open house aimed at the families of their children's fourth-grade class. They were unsure how the idea would land.

"Maybe it's going to be 10 kids, maybe we will get laughed at, I have no idea," Hoekstra said.

Instead, the response was strongly positive, and the pledge expanded from grade to grade until it reached all three elementary schools in the district.

A Concern Clinicians See Every Day

Brittani Hyde, the clinical services manager of pediatric partial programs at Pine Rest, said the initiative speaks to serious worries she encounters with young patients.

"The things that we're seeing in today's world with the kids, it's just, it's things that we've never seen before," Hyde said. "We have had so many cases come in to inpatient or just the partial programs, and the way that they got here was a route that they got themselves into on social media."

Hyde pointed to specific platforms where children can be quickly drawn into dangerous situations through private chat rooms and targeted content.

"We've had kids up here who have Instagram accounts at a really young age, and they meet up with somebody after just an initial message was sent," she said.

Hyde said delaying access gives parents more time to teach children how to recognize risky online situations, while noting there is no single age at which every child is ready.

Giving Kids Something to Do With Their Time

The parents say they want to face technology pressure together, and as a group they are also working out what children do with the extra time.

"We don't want them to feel like this is punishment for them. We live in this amazing community where they can ride their bikes to Gaslight Village, and you know, get together with their friends or go fishing," Hoekstra said.

For Lucy Frey, whose children are eight and six, the focus is on nurturing creativity and independence.

"One of the most important things for our family at least, the value of boredom and the importance of boredom and the cool things, the creative things that can come from that," Frey said.

The group also organizes activities for kids, including bowling and roller skating outings.

Why a Group Approach Matters

Hyde said that a large number of families participating makes a real difference compared with individual households trying to delay technology on their own.

"This is such a powerful move, and, yeah, I'm so excited it's happening right here," Hyde said. "Our kids will be okay. They will learn."

For Feinauer, one of the biggest tests of the approach has already worked out well.

"My son's in seventh grade now, and he's never asked for a phone," she said. "A big part of it is because their friends don't, as a part of this pledge."

The pledge is not binding. Parents ultimately make the decision that is right for their own family. For those who choose to wait, the idea is straightforward: their child does not have to be the only one.

Looking Ahead

Organizers say the pledge may be only the first step. Their next goal is to work toward fully phone-free school experiences as the children grow older.

"We'd really like to see our schools be completely phone free," Hoekstra said. "That's just an extension of what we see on this path."

For more information on the group, families can visit https://takesavillageegr.com/