TAKE THE PLEDGE

THE PLEDGE

The San Diego Parent Pledge

OFFICIAL • 2026

When you sign, you commit to the following:

OFFICIAL FAMILY COMMITMENT

COMMITMENT 01

I will wait to give my child a smartphone until high school.

01

COMMITMENT 02

I will wait to allow my child on social media until age 16.

02

COMMITMENT 03

I will support phone-free learning at school and phone-free routines at home.

03

COMMITMENT 04

I will give my child more time to play with friends in person.

04

No fees. No commitments beyond what’s on this page.

Take the Parent Pledge

Add your family to the San Diego Parent Pledge in partnership with your community.

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SAN DIEGO FAMILIES
AND COUNTING

PLEDGE CONFIRMED

You’re in.

You just joined 848 San Diego families committed to delaying smartphones, delaying social media, and supporting phone-free environments.

Share your pledge with others.

✓ PLEDGE CONFIRMED

SAN DIEGO FAMILIES
AND COUNTING

848

WHY FAMILIES ARE MAKING THIS PLEDGE

The research is clear about what changes for youth when phones come later.

  • 01

    Kids do better when phones come later.

    Kids who delay smartphones sleep more, build stronger in-person friendships, and report less anxiety and fewer symptoms of depression. Younger children especially benefit from time to be present, creative, and simply be kids.

  • 02

    Why it matters that we do this together.

    Parents are watching their kids face pressures that didn't exist when we were growing up. Many would rather wait; the hard part is doing it alone. This pledge helps families hold the line together—not one family at a time, but a thousand at once.

  • 03

    Kids do better when phones come later.

    Kids who delay smartphones sleep more, build stronger in-person friendships, and report less anxiety and fewer symptoms of depression. Younger children especially benefit from time to be present, creative, and simply be kids.

Join the Community

One Thousand San Diego Families. One Shared Commitment.

LIVE FAMILY COUNT

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SAN DIEGO FAMILIES • AND COUNTING

Take the Pledge

Questions? Email pledge@teensrise.org

Questions Parents Ask

  • The American Academy of Pediatrics and a growing body of research suggest that younger children gain the most from waiting for smartphones. High school is a good place to draw the line. By then most kids are ready to handle a phone, and they have already had years to build friendships face to face.

  • The risks are highest for kids under 16. Studies link early social media use to more worry, more sadness, poor sleep, and body image problems. By 16, most teens are better able to manage their feelings and think through what they see online.

  • Yes, you can still take the pledge. You are promising to move in this direction from here on, and to support other families doing the same. Many families use the pledge to reset the rules at home: fewer apps, no phones at meals, no phones in bedrooms at night, and set limits on screen time.

  • A phone-free school is a school where students do not use phones during the school day. Many San Diego schools are looking at these rules or already use them. When you sign, you are telling your child's school that your family supports them.

  • The pledge is a promise to try, not a perfect record. Families who sign are saying that waiting on phones and social media is the goal, and that they are working toward it together. If you slip or change your mind, you are still part of this community.

  • Teens Rise Foundation shares only totals, such as how many families have signed and how many zip codes they come from. Your name is never published. Your information is never sold or given to anyone else.

  • No. The pledge is free. There are no fees or costs attached to signing.

A project of Teens Rise Foundation and the Alliance Healthcare Foundation

TEENS RISE
FOUNDATION

ALLIANCE HEALTHCARE
FOUNDATION