Unplugged Glebe: It takes a village to delay a smartphone

Feb 06, 2026

Photo: Some Glebe families, working with Unplugged Canada, are banding together to collectively delay their children’s use of smartphones until at least age 14, in view of the risks of smartphones for children’s development.

Unplugged Glebe: It takes a village to delay a smartphone

by Robyn Aaron

I’ll start with a confession: I am writing this on a screen. Probably while resisting the urge to check my messages. Like many parents, I’m not anti-technology – I’m just increasingly aware that it’s quietly taking over more of our kids’ childhoods than any of us really intended.

In a world where smartphones and social media are everywhere, setting boundaries around technology can feel overwhelming. But here in the Glebe, many families are deciding to try something different: restoring a play-based, rather than phone-based, childhood, by delaying the introduction of smartphones.

I’m inviting parents and guardians to sign the Unplugged Canada pledge to voluntarily pledge to delay smartphones until at least age 14. By signing the pledge, Glebe families can join a supportive community of parents and caregivers who are all trying to hold the line together – reducing peer pressure, creating shared expectations and building circles of friendship where kids can focus on being kids (mud, bikes, games, boredom and all).

You can sign the pledge at unpluggedcanada.com. Unplugged Canada’s mission is to educate parents and caregivers about the risks of early smartphone use and to inspire a collective commitment to restore play-based childhood. Signing the pledge can help kick-start conversations at home and with other parents. “But won’t my child be the only one without a smartphone/TikTok/Snapchat?” This is the question many of us worry about quietly at night. The good news? Progress is already underway.

Mutchmor currently has the highest number of pledges in Canada to delay smartphones. Last year, the Mutchmor School Council unanimously endorsed the Smartphone Free Childhood Initiative (the global name for the Unplugged movement). First Avenue Public School and Glebe Montessori already have pledges signed, and Corpus Christi’s School Council has hosted a presentation on Unplugged. You may have spotted Unplugged Canada flyers at Shoe + Shoe, Hokum, Il Negozio Nicastro, Glebe Tailoring, Bridgehead, Knifewear, Little Victories or the Glebe Community Centre. In other words: This is becoming a thing – and not just a “that one family” thing. By deciding together that delaying smartphones is worthwhile, we can help create new, more realistic norms around device use. Norms that actually match our values as a community.

Why does delaying smartphones matter?

Children and youth themselves are telling us that divided attention, distraction and social media are affecting their well-being. UNICEF Canada’s U-Report shows that many kids spend more than three hours a day on social media, with some estimates climbing to seven hours or more. To put that in perspective: just two hours a day adds up to an entire month of screen time over a year. One whole month. On a phone.

CHEO has also released research highlighting the mental-health impacts of problematic screen use. And it’s not just about what smartphones expose kids to (harmful content, cyberbullying, addictive algorithms) but also what they quietly replace: the capacity to develop vital executive function skills, like frustration, tolerance and the ability to be bored, device-free meals, healthy sleep habits, unstructured play and the chance to build resilience. After all, kids’ brains don’t finish developing until around age 25. It can be hard enough for an adult brain to resist scrolling and checking notifications, let alone a brain without fully developed impulse control.

But honestly, most of us don’t need experts to tell us something feels off. Despite the promise of “connection,” smartphones often lead to disconnection. Kids spend time comparing themselves to others online at exactly the age when they’re trying to figure out who they are. Notifications interrupt play, homework, conversations and sleep. I think many of us sense intuitively that we want something different for our kids.

What else can we do as parents and caregivers?

None of us is doing this perfectly, but small changes matter:

Model healthy screen habits – yes, this includes parents.

Consider alternative tech if your child needs to stay in touch, like a basic talk-and-text phone, a landline or a landline-alternative like the Tin Can phone.

If your older child already has a smartphone, consider switching to a Pinwheel phone. It looks like a smartphone but is designed with child safety in mind and no internet access.

Make a family rule that devices stay out of bedrooms and off the table at meals (again: parents included).

Let kids be bored! Try putting phones away while waiting at restaurants, on the bus or at appointments.

Sign the Unplugged Canada pledge to delay smartphones until at least age 14, so we can build a shared community norm.

Finally, if you’re interested in becoming a School Champion for your child’s school, if you’re are a parent or guardian who would like to join the Unplugged Ottawa WhatsApp group or if you run a local business and would like to display an Unplugged Canada poster in your window, you can contact me at robynaaronm@gmail.com.

If you’d like to learn more or sign the pledge, visit www.unpluggedcanada.com.

Robyn Aaron, MSW, RSW, is an Unplugged Canada champion for Mutchmor Public School.