IRL KIDS

DITCHING DITIGAL LIFE FOR THE REAL THING

  • We have vastly overprotected our children in the real world. We have to give them more freedom.

    Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation

  • Children who have more opportunities than others for independent activities are not only happier in the short run, because the activities engender happiness and a sense of trustworthiness and competence, but also happier in the long run, because independent activities promote the growth of mental capacities for coping effectively with life’s inevitable stressors.

    Prof. Peter Gray, co-founder of Let Grow

  • Smartphones are "experience blockers."

    Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation

  • Don't prepare your child for the path; prepare the path for your child.

    Lenore Skenazy, co-founder of Let Gow

  • What middle-aged adult doesn't feel relief to have grown up before smartphones? adolescence was hard enough without the threat of online humiliation and the possibility of quantifying, through social media, exactly how much of a loser you are.

    Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation

RE-WILD YOUR CHILD

The mission of IRL Kids is to connect like-minded parents and kids who want to steer clear of a phone-based childhood and return to a play-based childhood.

JOIN THE REVOLUTION

By signing the IRL Kids pledge, you agree to join the growing number of families in your area who are committed to reclaiming childhood. The four primary tenets of the pledge are:

1) Delay giving your children a smartphone until high school

2) Delay allowing your children access to social media until age 16 or older

3) Encourage more independence, free play, and responsibility in the real world

4) Support phone-free schools

REASONS WHY

The ideas, concerns, and potential solutions underlying the IRL Kids movement could fill a book. A long book. In fact, we were inspired by a book everyone should read: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Heidt. For a summary of the points and counterpoints supporting the movement, click here.