Kids & Phones
03/04/2025 11:35AM ● By Lisa Schlichtman
The group Steamboat Kids & Phones meets in the library. Photo by Gavin Liddell.
A grassroots movement is gaining momentum in Steamboat Springs as a growing number of local parents join a community conversation about kids and cell phones. Steamboat Kids & Phones was launched last May when one mom sent a letter to other parents of rising sixth-graders poised to enter Steamboat Springs Middle School. She asked if they wanted to join an effort to delay giving smartphones to their kids until high school – known nationally as the “Wait Until 8th” campaign – or if they would be interested in just learning more about how to support kids in developing healthy relationships with their phones.
Since that initial outreach, the fledgling organization has hosted three community events and grown its email list to more than 200 interested community members.
The group’s catalyst is Meghan Hanson-Peters, who teaches social studies at Steamboat Springs High School and is mom to a sixth-grader at Steamboat Springs Middle School. Her first outreach to other parents was fueled by the feeling she was “swimming alone,” she says. Her desire to have conversations with other parents about cell phones and their kids proved contagious as more and more people began to reach out to her. "I started getting some emails from people who said, ‘I don’t have a fifth grader, I have a second-grader and I want to talk about this.’ Or, ‘I don’t have a fifth-grader, I have a senior, and we should have been talking about this,” Meghan shares. “And then a group of us started meeting weekly and talking about what we don’t know, what we want to know and how can we find this information? It became an unintentional parent education group.”
This fall, Steamboat Kids & Phones, led by that core group of engaged parents, hosted a series of community events. The first gathering introduced the group’s mission to connect parents around the idea of delaying or navigating phones for kids. The panel discussion included stories from parents who waited to give their kids phones until high school and practical advice on how to monitor, limit and understand smartphones in a safe and healthy way from a local parent and cyber security expert.
The second event addressed digital safety and offered resources to help kids thrive in a digital world. It was led by award-winning author Jessica Spear and local pediatrician Dr. Sheila Fountain. Both events concluded with robust question-and-answer sessions that engaged the audiences of 50-plus people. “We’re not the experts; we’re the connectors,” Meghan says. “We’re bringing the experts and facilitating discussions. We just want to keep people talking and sharing resources as new information comes out.”
Tom Valand, a parent of kids ages 11 and 13, and the social worker at Steamboat Springs High School, sees the impact of teen cell phone use on a daily basis. "In the high school environment, you come into the cafeteria and 99 percent of the kids have the phone in front of them or are showing something on their phone to their friends,” Tom says. “I’ve seen how it’s really hindered people’s ability to connect with one another, and I think it’s problematic for adults and especially for youth who are still learning social skills.”
He views his involvement with Steamboat Kids & Phones as a way to create impact and provide education at the community level during a time when society is beginning to realize and study how social media and smartphone access are negatively affecting young people’s mental health. His children have phones but the functionality on the phones is limited and they are not connected to social media apps. At night, the phones are locked in a physical safe. “This has worked well for us but this topic is a real challenge for parents,” Tom says. “And I think it’s just when you have something that’s in your hand where you can get entertainment, that’s instantly accessible and makes you feel good, makes you feel happy, it’s hard not to go to that well all the time...it’s addiction at play.”
Many of the parents involved in the core group of organizers reference “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, which was the subject of the group’s third and final community event this fall. Haidt, a social psychologist, uses data and research to make the case that the unprecedented rise in smartphone use and social media access among children and teens is causing an epidemic of mental illness, including increased rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm and social isolation among young people. He refers to this phenomenon as the “great rewiring of childhood,” and he contends that Gen Z – those born between 1981 and 1995 – were the hardest hit as they “became the first generation in history to go through puberty with a portal in their pockets that called them away from the people nearby and into an alternative universe that was exciting, addictive, unstable...and unsuitable for children and adolescents.”
According to a Pew Research report, 77% of American teens had a cell phone in 2012 but only 23% had a smartphone. By 2016, 79% of teens owned a smartphone as did 28% of children ages 8 to 12, according to a survey of U.S. parents conducted by Common Sense Media. This data correlates to surveys conducted annually by the U.S.National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which show a surge in major depressive episodes and anxiety among teens beginning around 2012. By 2020, depression had become two and a half times more prevalent among teens from all races and social classes.
In his book, Haidt lays out four fundamental changes that could reverse some of the damage caused by rampant smartphone and social media use by adolescents and help provide a healthier foundation for childhood in the digital age. Some of these ideas were discussed during the book discussion event, but Steamboat Kids & Phones organizers say they are not advocating for any formal policies or specific actions around kids and cell phones. Instead, the group remains focused on creating a space to gather to discuss ideas and learn from each other so that individual households can make more informed decisions for their own families.
“We’re not an anti-phone group,” says Laura Copeland, one of the core parents involved with the organization. “If you’re going to delay giving your kid a phone, great, but if you’ve already given your kid a phone, then let’s navigate that too.”
Laura, who is a mother of an 8-year-old and 11-year-old, and is a Steamboat Springs High School social studies teacher, sees Steamboat Kids & Phones as a mechanism for creating a mindset change around cell phones. “We want to create community around this, so we can say in Steamboat we were able to shift the tide,” Laura says. “If my own children can get through middle school without a phone and feel like it was no big deal because their friends didn’t have one either, that would feel really good.”
Leah Helme, a school board member and mom, has been heartened by the response the group has received in its first six months. "Our events have been well-attended, and I feel like people are engaged and talking,” she says. “I think it’s bringing awareness and it’s also encouraging conversation, but there’s still work to be done. I would hope we could get more involved with the Latino community, and I think we could also create special cell-free events. But I definitely feel like we’re moving in the right direction.”
The group is planning more community events in the coming year. The topics will be determined based on the results of a survey sent out in December. Steamboat Kids & Phones also maintains a robust list of educational resources about kids and phones that it shares with parents and other community organizations. To learn more about the group, email [email protected].
A grassroots movement is gaining momentum in Steamboat Springs as a growing number of local parents join a community conversation about kids and cell phones. Steamboat Kids & Phones was launched last May when one mom sent a letter to other parents of rising sixth-graders poised to enter Steamboat Springs Middle School. She asked if they wanted to join an effort to delay giving smartphones to their kids until high school – known nationally as the “Wait Until 8th” campaign – or if they would be interested in just learning more about how to support kids in developing healthy relationships with their phones.
Since that initial outreach, the fledgling organization has hosted three community events and grown its email list to more than 200 interested community members.
The group’s catalyst is Meghan Hanson-Peters, who teaches social studies at Steamboat Springs High School and is mom to a sixth-grader at Steamboat Springs Middle School. Her first outreach to other parents was fueled by the feeling she was “swimming alone,” she says. Her desire to have conversations with other parents about cell phones and their kids proved contagious as more and more people began to reach out to her. "I started getting some emails from people who said, ‘I don’t have a fifth grader, I have a second-grader and I want to talk about this.’ Or, ‘I don’t have a fifth-grader, I have a senior, and we should have been talking about this,” Meghan shares. “And then a group of us started meeting weekly and talking about what we don’t know, what we want to know and how can we find this information? It became an unintentional parent education group.”
This fall, Steamboat Kids & Phones, led by that core group of engaged parents, hosted a series of community events. The first gathering introduced the group’s mission to connect parents around the idea of delaying or navigating phones for kids. The panel discussion included stories from parents who waited to give their kids phones until high school and practical advice on how to monitor, limit and understand smartphones in a safe and healthy way from a local parent and cyber security expert.
The second event addressed digital safety and offered resources to help kids thrive in a digital world. It was led by award-winning author Jessica Spear and local pediatrician Dr. Sheila Fountain. Both events concluded with robust question-and-answer sessions that engaged the audiences of 50-plus people. “We’re not the experts; we’re the connectors,” Meghan says. “We’re bringing the experts and facilitating discussions. We just want to keep people talking and sharing resources as new information comes out.”
Tom Valand, a parent of kids ages 11 and 13, and the social worker at Steamboat Springs High School, sees the impact of teen cell phone use on a daily basis. "In the high school environment, you come into the cafeteria and 99 percent of the kids have the phone in front of them or are showing something on their phone to their friends,” Tom says. “I’ve seen how it’s really hindered people’s ability to connect with one another, and I think it’s problematic for adults and especially for youth who are still learning social skills.”
He views his involvement with Steamboat Kids & Phones as a way to create impact and provide education at the community level during a time when society is beginning to realize and study how social media and smartphone access are negatively affecting young people’s mental health. His children have phones but the functionality on the phones is limited and they are not connected to social media apps. At night, the phones are locked in a physical safe. “This has worked well for us but this topic is a real challenge for parents,” Tom says. “And I think it’s just when you have something that’s in your hand where you can get entertainment, that’s instantly accessible and makes you feel good, makes you feel happy, it’s hard not to go to that well all the time...it’s addiction at play.”
Many of the parents involved in the core group of organizers reference “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, which was the subject of the group’s third and final community event this fall. Haidt, a social psychologist, uses data and research to make the case that the unprecedented rise in smartphone use and social media access among children and teens is causing an epidemic of mental illness, including increased rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm and social isolation among young people. He refers to this phenomenon as the “great rewiring of childhood,” and he contends that Gen Z – those born between 1981 and 1995 – were the hardest hit as they “became the first generation in history to go through puberty with a portal in their pockets that called them away from the people nearby and into an alternative universe that was exciting, addictive, unstable...and unsuitable for children and adolescents.”
According to a Pew Research report, 77% of American teens had a cell phone in 2012 but only 23% had a smartphone. By 2016, 79% of teens owned a smartphone as did 28% of children ages 8 to 12, according to a survey of U.S. parents conducted by Common Sense Media. This data correlates to surveys conducted annually by the U.S.National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which show a surge in major depressive episodes and anxiety among teens beginning around 2012. By 2020, depression had become two and a half times more prevalent among teens from all races and social classes.
In his book, Haidt lays out four fundamental changes that could reverse some of the damage caused by rampant smartphone and social media use by adolescents and help provide a healthier foundation for childhood in the digital age. Some of these ideas were discussed during the book discussion event, but Steamboat Kids & Phones organizers say they are not advocating for any formal policies or specific actions around kids and cell phones. Instead, the group remains focused on creating a space to gather to discuss ideas and learn from each other so that individual households can make more informed decisions for their own families.
“We’re not an anti-phone group,” says Laura Copeland, one of the core parents involved with the organization. “If you’re going to delay giving your kid a phone, great, but if you’ve already given your kid a phone, then let’s navigate that too.”
Laura, who is a mother of an 8-year-old and 11-year-old, and is a Steamboat Springs High School social studies teacher, sees Steamboat Kids & Phones as a mechanism for creating a mindset change around cell phones. “We want to create community around this, so we can say in Steamboat we were able to shift the tide,” Laura says. “If my own children can get through middle school without a phone and feel like it was no big deal because their friends didn’t have one either, that would feel really good.”
Leah Helme, a school board member and mom, has been heartened by the response the group has received in its first six months. "Our events have been well-attended, and I feel like people are engaged and talking,” she says. “I think it’s bringing awareness and it’s also encouraging conversation, but there’s still work to be done. I would hope we could get more involved with the Latino community, and I think we could also create special cell-free events. But I definitely feel like we’re moving in the right direction.”
The group is planning more community events in the coming year. The topics will be determined based on the results of a survey sent out in December. Steamboat Kids & Phones also maintains a robust list of educational resources about kids and phones that it shares with parents and other community organizations. To learn more about the group, email [email protected].