Houston, We Have a Problem: Let’s Talk About Screens
By Lorena Aguilar Llorente
Moving to a new country comes with many challenges. One of them has been asking myself how we want to raise our children in this culture. How do we hold on to our values in an environment we don’t fully know yet?
In my family, personal connections are an important value: being involved, genuinely interested, and caring about each other’s inner world. Making sure the people we love feel seen, heard, understood, and important to us.
I realized that screen time was getting in the way of this. We weren’t as present. We were losing moments of curiosity, listening, laughter, play, and affection.
As a psychologist I started finding information, studies, and research that raised my concerns even more.
Sadly, excessive screen use is making us miss out on the real world: enjoying nature, having long conversations without interruptions, and experiencing the frustrations, pauses, and waiting that are simply part of everyday life.
I have always believed that raising children is an individual, family, and community responsibility. While moms and dads are responsible for their children, we cannot deny the influence that culture and relationships have on them.
That is why the Wait Until 8th movement resonated so deeply with me: parents coming together as a community, creating a united front to protect what is most valuable: their childhood.
I am fortunate to lead the The Woodlands chapter, where I have been giving informational talks and building community with parents who are facing the same challenges.
Wait Until 8th encourages families to delay giving their children a smartphone until the end of 8th grade, creating a community that reduces the social pressure of “everyone else already has one.”
It’s not about being against technology. It’s about giving our kids more time to develop social and emotional skills before fully entering the digital world.
Whew, what a journey this has been. And, between you and me, it still is. I know that, as parents, battles, the setbacks, and the victories are part of everyday life. I’m still on that same journey of finding my way, sometimes connecting and sometimes disconnecting, and I’m excited to share it with others.
There are millions of things we cannot control about the world our children are growing up in, but we can decide what kind of community we want to build for them.
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