About Me
Dr. Taha Jomha
Edmonton, Alberta
Dentist | Parent | Advocate for Healthy Tech Use
I love technology. I always have.
I've been building and programming computers since childhood, back when computers were tools that did exactly what we told them to do. They made work easier, information accessible, and creativity possible. We were the users—and technology served us.
But that relationship has changed.
Today's digital platforms are no longer neutral tools. They are carefully engineered environments designed to capture attention, harvest data, and maximize engagement—especially from the most vulnerable users. Children and adolescents, whose brains are still developing, were never meant to grow up inside these systems.
I'm a proud father of four. When I'm not advocating for healthy technology use, you'll find me reading, hiking, backpacking, or running. I serve on the board of my children's school, where I've been actively working to establish healthier technology boundaries. I've also given lectures on this topic, including The Great Rewiring, a presentation grounded in extensive research on how smartphones are fundamentally reshaping childhood development.
In our home, the policy is clear: smartphones come in Grade 10. We've stuck with it—not because it's easy, but because we believe it matters.
"The problem isn't saying no—it's saying no alone."
The real challenge isn't individual parenting decisions; it's the environment our children are growing up in. As smartphone use becomes normalized at younger and younger ages, social pressure reshapes how kids interact, play, and relate to one another. Even families who choose to delay are affected by the collective shift.
I became passionate about a smartphone-free childhood after realizing something unsettling: we would never consent to placing our children in a powerful, untested physical environment that could permanently shape their development—yet we've done exactly that online.
My goal isn't to reject technology, but to reclaim agency over it. Childhood is a once-in-a-lifetime window for play, risk, learning, and real human connection. Delaying smartphones isn't about deprivation—it's about protection, development, and giving our kids the strongest possible foundation.
This movement isn't about going backward.
It's about choosing childhood—on purpose.
Why Smartphone-Free Until Grade 10?
Choosing when a child gets a smartphone isn't a moral test—it's a developmental one.
Smartphones are not just communication tools. They are powerful, always-on platforms designed to capture attention, shape behavior, and influence identity. For adults, this is challenging enough. For children and early adolescents, whose brains are still under construction, the risks are far greater.
Grade 10 is not a magic number. It's a developmental threshold—a point at which most adolescents are better equipped to handle the demands and pressures of a smartphone-based world.
1. Puberty Is a Critical Developmental Window
The years leading up to and during puberty are a once-in-a-lifetime period of brain development.
During this time, children are:
- Learning emotional regulation
- Developing impulse control
- Forming identity and self-worth
- Building real-world social skills through embodied, face-to-face interaction
Introducing smartphones too early replaces these formative experiences with curated feeds, constant comparison, and algorithm-driven feedback loops—long before the brain has the capacity to manage them.
Delaying smartphones until after puberty allows this developmental window to unfold with fewer distortions.
2. Smartphones Change the Social Environment—Not Just Individual Behavior
Many parents believe smartphone decisions are personal. In reality, they are environmental.
When smartphones enter a peer group:
- Conversations fragment
- Play becomes optional
- Attention shifts away from the present moment
- Social validation moves online
Even children without phones feel the impact. Delaying smartphones helps preserve a healthier social ecosystem—one where friendships are built through shared experiences, not shared screens.
This only works when families act together.
3. Social Media Was Never Designed for Children
Most major platforms were built for:
- Advertising
- Data extraction
- Engagement maximization
They were not designed for developing brains.
Algorithms reward content that triggers strong emotional reactions—comparison, outrage, fear, or validation-seeking. Children and early adolescents are especially vulnerable to these forces, yet most platforms:
- Set minimum ages that are not enforced
- Provide no meaningful age-appropriate guardrails
- Place the burden of protection entirely on parents
Delaying smartphone access is not overprotection—it's a rational response to an unregulated environment.
4. Real-World Experience Builds Resilience
Childhood is meant to include:
- Boredom
- Risky play
- Conflict
- Trial and error
- Face-to-face repair after mistakes
These experiences build resilience, confidence, and antifragility. Smartphones crowd them out.
There is only so much time in a day. Every hour spent in a phone-based world is an hour not spent building physical skills, social competence, or deep relationships.
5. Delay Is Not Denial
This approach is not anti-technology.
Most children will use smartphones as adults—and benefit from them. The question isn't if, but when.
By delaying smartphones until Grade 10, we give children:
- A stronger sense of self
- Healthier peer relationships
- Better emotional regulation
- A foundation built on real-world experience
When smartphones are introduced later, they are more likely to be used as tools—not as substitutes for childhood.
Choosing Childhood—Together
Parenting against the current is hard. Parenting alone is harder.
This movement isn't about perfection or control. It's about collective action, developmental wisdom, and protecting a critical stage of life that we only get once.
A smartphone-free childhood isn't extreme.
It's intentional.
And for many families, it's worth it.