Thank you for taking the time to find out more about Wait Mate and what we stand for. We are a group of primary school parents brought together by a desire to avoid a phone-based future for our children and the belief that we have the power to make positive change.
Inspired by Wait Until 8th in the USA, we’ve created a not-for-profit Australian movement to halt the worrying statistics. Our only motive is to extend the nourishing, play-based childhood our children deserve and slow down, growing up.
It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of technology but it’s equally inspiring to recognise that the solution is in our hands. If we all take action and sign the pledge to hit pause on smartphones until (at least) high school, there will be less peer pressure and no reason to own one in primary school. This is the reason we've designed the pledge to connect you with like-minded parents in your child's specific school cohort so you can stand stronger, together.
We believe that now is the time to change the course of history and reverse the adverse mental health outcomes for our future teens. Delaying social media is not enough. We need to let our kids be kids for longer, without an addictive screen in their pockets. It begins with a simple, powerful act.
The people behind Wait Mate
W8M8: Parents for the Responsible Use of Smartphones Inc, a NSW Incorporated Association, has five Australian parent co-founders and committee members.
Meet Jessica, our social impact leader, who chairs our committee. Inspired by Wait until 8th in the US, she had the vision to create a similar movement in Australia. Jess’s favourite phone-free childhood memory is… playing with her brother and having fun family holidays.
Meet Ricky, our tech whizz, who together with our amazing partners at Made Together, helped bring the Wait Mate platform to life. Ricky’s favourite phone-free childhood memory is… playing endless hours of sport with his brothers and friends in the backyard until it was too dark to see anymore.
Meet Amy, our marketing superstar, who manages our digital strategy, content and social media to help spread the word to parents across Australia. Amy’s favourite phone-free childhood memory is… playing imaginary games from shops to schools with her little brother and making up solo dances to CD tracks after school.
Meet Daniel, our legal and finance guru, who looks after our charity compliance, privacy obligations and governance. Daniel’s favourite phone-free childhood memory is… playing with his remote control cars and planes.
Meet Davina, our partnerships champion, who is building collaborations with like-minded people and organisations. Davina’s favourite phone-free childhood memory is… playing hide and seek with local neighbours along the streets and river banks of the Yarra in Kew, Victoria.
Please contact us if you’d like to make a tax deductible donation to support the movement.
Thanks to Wait until 8th for being willing to collaborate and share resources.
Nature not notifications
In the news
