09/12/2025
Let’s get our local Belvidere & Rockford schools on this list! Seth Whitman’s 3rd grade class is one pledge away from making the list. LET’S DO THIS!! ❤️
https://www.waituntil8th.org/
😍HELLO 😍
We have so many new parents joining our Wait Until 8th community, so I wanted to introduce myself!
My name is Brooke Shannon, and I started the Wait Until 8th pledge to encourage families to delay giving children a smartphone until at least the end of 8th grade.
I have three daughters who are 18, 16, and 12.
My 18-year-old got her first smartphone the summer before high school. At first, it was very basic — we removed the App Store and internet browser, and did not allow social media or games. After a year-plus of a bare-bones phone, we added the internet browser with restrictions. At 16, we said yes to one social media app (with time limits!), and this past summer before senior year, we added Instagram.
My 16-year-old got her first smartphone right before high school as well. We followed the same slow start, added the internet browser during her sophomore year, and allowed one social media app for 30 minutes a day at 16.
My 7th grader does not have a phone or smartwatch. She can text and FaceTime friends on an iPad, but we removed the internet browser and App Store, and there are no social media apps or games. The benefit of the iPad over the smartphone is that you can limit it to use only in your home vs the mobility factor of a smartphone. (We didn’t start this until middle school — most elementary school kids aren’t ready for texting!)
🎉More than 125,000 families have joined us in delaying smartphones by taking the Wait Until 8th pledge. There is strength in numbers! Over 200 new school groups have joined us in the past couple of months — check out the long list in this post. Congrats to these families!🎉
Parents:
✅ Delay the smartphone until at least the end of 8th grade with our pledge. If you need to get in touch before, we have a list of basic phones and watches on our website.
✅ Start slow when you say yes to a smartphone — remove the internet browser and App Store at first.
✅ Delay social media until 16+.
You've got this 🙌
🎉Congrats to our new active pledges ! An active pledge is 10 or more pledges from the same grade and school !🎉
Academie LaFayette-Oak, Kansas City, MO, 4th
Albert Hill Mill, Richmond, VA, 6th
Alexander Graham Bell School, Chicago, IL, Kindergarten, 2nd, 3rd
Alice Deal Middle School, Washington, DC, 6th
All Saints Episcopal School, Beaumont , TX 2nd
Anne Bradstreet Early Childhood Center, North Andover, MA, Kindergarten
Annie M Dorner Middle School, Ossining, NY, 6th
Arapaho Classical Magnet, Richardson, TX, 1st
Arbor Montessori, Decatur, GA, 1st
Aspen Elementary, Aspen, CO, Kindergarten
Athens Academy, Athens, GA, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
Auburn Village School, Auburn, NH, 1st, 2nd
Avon Grove Middle School, West Grove, PA, 6th
Baldwin Elementary, Rochester, MI, 2nd
Barnstable United Elementary, Marston Mills, MA, 4th
Bee Cave Middle, Austin, TX 78746
Bentley School, Oakland, CA, Kindergarten
Bernardsville Middle School, Bernardsville, NJ, 6th
Beverely Vista, Beverely Hills, CA, 6th grade
Birmingham Falls Elementary, Milton, GA, 3rd, 5th
Bradley Hills Elementary, Bethesda, MD, 2nd
Brandeis School of San Francisco, CA, Kindergarten
Bromfield, Harvard, MA, 6th
Brooklyn Arbor Elementary, Brooklyn, NY, 5th
Brown Elementary, Madison, CT, 5th
Burke Memorial Elementary School, Medway, MA, 3rd, 4th
Burns Park Elementary, Ann Arbor, MI, Kindergarten
Burr Elementary, Higganum, CT, Kindergarten
Calvary Day School, Winston Salem, NC, 3rd, 4th
Camels Hump Middle, Richmond, VT, 6th
Canterbury School, Fort Myers, FL, 4th
Carroll Elementary, Southlake, TX, 2nd
Carroll Middle, Southlake, TX, 7th
Cassingham Elementary , Bexley, OH, 2nd, 4th
Central Middle School, Ada, MI, 7th
Central School, Glencoe, IL, 5th
Charles E. Brown Middle, Newton Centre, MA, 6th
Charles F Patton Middle, Kennett Square, PA, 6th
Charles H. Bullock School, Montclair, NJ, 3rd
Chevy Chase Elementary, Chevy Chase, MD, 4th
Christ Presbyterian Academy, Nashville, TN, 1st
Christ the King Catholic School, Dallas, TX, Kindergarten
Christ the King School, Atlanta, GA, Kindergarten
Christ the King School, Indianapolis, IN, 2nd
Cider Mill School, Wilton, CT, 3rd
Claremont Middle, Oakland, CA, 6th
Claremont School, Ossining, NY, 3rd, 4th
Colina Middle, Thousand Oaks, CA, 6th
Colvin Run Elementary, Vienna, VA, Kindergarten,1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th
Cooperative Middle School, Stratham, NH, 6th
Cornwall Middle School, Cornwall, NY, 6th
Creekside Charter, Olympic Valley, CA, 1st, 3rd
Crocker Farm, Amherst, MA, 5th
Culver City Middle, Culver City, CA, 6th
Cynwyd School, Bala Cynwd, PA, Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd
Deans Mill School, Stonington, CT, 3rd
Delevan Drive Elementary, Los Angeles, CA, Kindergarten
Des Moines Christian School, Urbandale, IA, Kindergarten, 2nd
Dickerson Middle, Marietta, GA, 6th
Dixie Canyon Community Charter, Sherman Oaks, CA, 1st
Dodgen Middle, Marietta, GA, 6th
Donald L. Rheem Elementary, Moraga, CA, 1st
Downey, Westwood, MA, 3rd
Dr. Justina Ford Elementary, Centennial, CO ,1st, 2nd,3rd
Eagle Hill Middle, Manlius, NY, 5th
East Grand Rapids Middle, Grand Rapids, MI, 6th
East Hampton Middle, East Hampton, NY, 6th
East Ridge Middle, Ridgefield, CT, 6th
East Side School, Marietta, GA, 3rd
Ecker Hill Middle, Park City, Utah, 6th
Edgewood Middle, Highland Park, IL 6th
Eliot Hine Middle School, Washington, DC, 6th
Esencia K-8, Rancho Mission Viejo, CA, 6th
Ferndale Middle, Ferndale, MI, 6th
Field Park Elementary, Western Springs, IL, 4th
Fox Lane Middle, Bedford, NY, 6th
General John Nixon Elementary, Sudbury, MA, 5th
Geroge Dawson Middle, Southlake, TX, 7th
Gladwyne Elementary, Gladwyne, PA, 1st, 2nd
Glencoe Elementary School, Glencoe, IL, 4th
Glover, Marblehead, MA, 3rd
Grand View Elementary, Manhattan Beach, CA, 3rd
Grandville Calvin Christian School, Kent, MI, 3rd
Great Neck South Middle, Great, NY, 6th
Hanover Middle, Hanover, MA, 5th
Harpool Middle, Argyle, TX, 6th
Harrison Elementary, Livingston, NJ, Kindergarten
Harrison Park School, Portland, OR, 5th
Harry Lee Cole, Boxford, MA, 1st
Harvard Elementary, Houston, TX, 3rd
Helen Morgan School, Sparta, NJ, 5th
Heritage Christian Academy, Maple Grove, MN, 3rd, 5th
High Rock School, Needham, MA, 6th
Highland Middle School, Louisville, KY, 6th
Horace Mann Elementary, Beverly Hills, CA, Kindergarten
Hudson Bend Middle, Austin, TX 6th
Jane Adam Middle School, Palo Alto, CA, 7th
Jane Adams Middle School, Seattle, WA, 6th
John D McGovern Elementary, Medway, CA, 1st
John D. Hardy, Wellesley, MA, 1st
John Jay Middle, Katonah, NY, 6th
Josiah Haynes, Sudbury, MA, 1st, 4th
Katherine Delmar Burke School, San Francisco, CA, Kindergarten, 3rd
Kensington Elementary, Kensington, CA, 6th
Kinawa School, Okemos, MI, 5th
King Philip Middle School, West Hartford, CT, 6th
Lakeridge Middle School, Lake Oswego, OR, 6th
Laurel Ridge Elementary, Fairfax, VA, 2nd
Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle , Summit, NJ, 6th
Lincoln Elementary, Redondo Beach, CA, 4th
Lincoln School, Lincoln, MA, 5th
Lowell School, Washington, DC, 5th
Lyon Elementary, Glenview, IL, Kindergarten
Mabry Middle, Marietta, GA, 6th
Madison Middle, Madison, MS, 6th
Marshwood Middle, Eliot, ME, 6th
McKinley Elementary, Burlingame, CA, 4th
Meadow Park Elementary, Irvine, CA, 3rd
Medway Middle, Medway, MA, 6th
Mildred E Strang Middle, Yortown Heights, NY, 6th
Minnetonka East Middle, Minnetonka, MN, 6th
Minnewashta Elementary, Excelsior, MN, Kindergarten
Monarch Learning Academy, Winter Park, FL, 3rd
Monte Cassino School, Tulsa, OK, 6th
Moorestown Friends School, Burlington, NJ, 2nd
Mount Horeb Middle, Mount Horeb, WI, 6th
Murchison Middle, Austin, TX, 6th
Nativity School, Cincinnati, OH, 1st, 3rd
Neil Cummins Elementary, Corte Madera, CA, 3rd
Nettlehorst, Chicago, IL, Kindergarten
North Bethesda Middle, Bethesda, MD, 6th
North Tahoe Middle, Tahoe City, CA, 6th
Northbrook Junior High School, Northbrook, IL, 6th
Northern Trails 5/6 School, Grand Rapids, MI, 5th, 6th
Nueva School, Hillsborough, CA, 6th
Oak Street School, Basking Ridge, NJ, 2nd, 5th
Ocean Charter, Los Angeles, CA, Kindergarten
Oso Grande Elementary, Ladera Ranch, CA, 1st, 5th
Our Lady of Grace School, Noblesville, IN, 5th
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, IN, Kindergarten
Park Tudor School, Indianapolis, IN, Kindergarten
Pearl R. Miller School, Kinnelon, NJ, 6th
Peter Noyes, Sudbury, MA, 2nd
Portsmouth Middle School, Portsmouth, RI, 6th
Pritzker Elementary School, Chicago, IL, 1st
Purchase School, Purchase, NY, 1st
Radnor Elementary, Radnor, PA, 1st
Radnor Middle, Radnor, PA, 7th
Ralph M. Captain Elementary, Clayton, MO, 2nd
Ralston Intermediate, Belmont, CA, 6th
Redwood Day School, Oakland, CA, 5th
Richmond Elementary, Richmond, VT, 4th
River Grove Elementary School, Lake Oswego, OR, 1st, 3rd
Riverdale Grade School, Portland, OR, 4th
Rocky River Middle School, Rocky River, OH, 6th
Roosevelt Intermediate School, Westfield, NJ, 6th
Roosevelt School, Ossining, NY, 5th
Rupert A Nock Middle, Newburyport, MA, 6th
Sage International School of Boise, ID, 6th
Saint Clare Saint Paul School K-8, Scranton, PA, kindergarten, 2nd
Salem Lutheran School, Orange, CA, Kindergarten
Samuel B. Webb, Wethersfield, CT, 1st, 2nd, 5th
San Benancio Middle, Salinas, CA, 6th
Sandburg Middle, Elmhurst, IL, 6th
Sauganash Elementary School, Chicago, IL, 1st, 3rd, 4th
Savannah Country Day, Savannah, GA, Kindergarten
Saxe Middle School, New Canaan, CT, 6th
Scott's Ridge Middle, Ridgefield, CT, 6th
Sebastopol Independent Charter, Sebastopol, CA, 1st
Settlers Way Elementary, Sugar Land, TX, 3rd, 5th
Shabonee School, Northbrook, IL, 3rd, 4th
Silver Lake Regional Middle, Kingston, MA, 7th
South Side Middle, Rockville Centre, NY, 6th
Springman Middle, Glenview, IL, 6th
St. Agnes School, Louisville, KY, Kindergarten
St. Anselm School, St. Anselm School, CA, 3rd
St. Barnabas School, Indianapolis, IN, 4th, 6th
St. Benedict School, Seattle, WA, 2nd
St. Cloud Elementary School, West Orange, NJ, 2nd, 4th
St. Francis of Assisi School, West Des Moines, IA, Kindergarten
St. Francis School, Austin, TX, 3rd, 4th, 6th
St. Henry School, Nashville, TN, Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd
St. John Bosco Catholic, Phoenix, AZ, 5th
St. John the Baptist Catholic School, Newburgh, IN, Kindergarten
St. Jude School, Mountain Top, PA, 3rd, 5th
St. Louis De Montfort, Fishers, IN, Kindergarten
St. Luke Catholic School, Indianapolis, IN, 3rd, 4th
St. Luke, Winona, MN, 4th
St. Maria Goretti School, Westfield, IN, Kindergarten
St. Mark's Episcopal, Houston, TX, th
St. Michael's Catholic Preparatory School, Austin, TX, 4th
St. Rose of Lima School, Miami, FL, Kindergarten
Steck Elementary School, Denver, CO, kindergarten
Stonington Middle School, Pawcatuck, CT. 6th
Stowe Middle, Stowe, VT, 6th
Suavie Island Academy, Portland, OR, 4th
Tahoe Lake, Tahoe City, CA, 1st
Tarbut V'Torah Community Day School, Irvine, CA, 5th
The Episcopal Collegiate School, Little Rock, AR, Kindergarten
The Foote School, New Haven, CT, 5th
The McGillis School, Salt Lake City, UT, 2nd, 6th
Thrasher Elementary, Signal Mountain, TN, 3rd
Thurston Middle School, Westwood, MA, 6th
Triad Middle, St. Jacob, IL, 6th
Trinity Academy of Raleigh, NC, Kindergarten
Trinity Academy South Bend, IN, 6th
Village School, Marblehead, MA, 4th
Virginia Chance School, Louisville, KY, 1st
Washington Elementary, Berkeley, CA, 5th
Wayne Elementary, Wayne, PA, 5th
Wesleyan School, Peachtree Corners, GA, 1st, 2nd, 5th
West Kingston School, West Kingston, RI, 5th
Weston Middle, Weston, MA, 6th
Whitby School, Greenwich, CT, 2nd
White Pines Intermediate School, Grand Haven, MI, 5th
Whittier Elementary School, Wheaton, IL, 2nd
Wildwood Elementary, Mountain Lakes, NJ, Kindergarten
William Annin Middle School, Basking Ridge, NJ, 6th
William B Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically TAG, Dallas, TX, 4th
William L. Foster Elementary, Hingham, MA, 5th
Wilmette Junior High School, Wilmette, IL, 7th
Winnequah School, Monona, WI, 2nd
Woodside Priory School, Portola Valley, CA, 6th
York Middle, York, ME, 5th
