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Parents in Mendoza Forge Pact to Delay Kids’ Smartphones to 13, Social Media to 16

The voluntary pledge launched at Colegio San Nicolás has drawn about 300 families with plans to begin next school year.

Overview

  • Born in a sixth-grade class at Colegio San Nicolás, the initiative grew from about 20 parents to roughly 300 through a WhatsApp group and a manifesto on pactoparental.org.
  • The commitments bar a personal smartphone before age 13 and seek to keep children off social networks until 16 as a community agreement to reduce peer pressure.
  • Organizers cite teacher concerns and research on attention, sleep, self-esteem and mental health, including figures that most teachers view phones as harmful and children spend four to six hours daily on devices.
  • The school’s leadership signaled support, and the secondary director said students will be required to keep phones off during classes starting in 2026, with primary devices already banned.
  • Families plan to apply the pact next academic year and report sign-ups from other schools in Mendoza as well as from Córdoba and Buenos Aires provinces.