By Michaela Gordoni
HGTV stars Erin and Ben Napier want parents to know their kids will have happier, more fulfilled lives without social media.
In a creative social media video, Erin typed a message on an old-fashioned typewriter addressed to parents.
“Remember growing up without smartphones?” she wrote. “We explored…We danced like no one’s watching…”
The Napiers are the founders of Osprey, an organization that’s dedicated to keeping kids off social media until they’re adults.
“ospreykids.com is almost 30,000 families strong. get you a landline, give them a 90s childhood, they might learn to sew or build things or catch lobsters or grow their own vegetables then eat them and/or sell them, they might write a song, or read an extra book or ten this summer, but what they won’t be: addicted to a screen that gives them fake experiences,” Erin captioned the video.
“I send out an email to the osprey list about once a year, if i feel like it. honestly, busy living real life out here and don’t spend much time on it,” she explained. “but anyway, reminder you can do this with collective action. if you want to.”
The video also showed clips of kids playing instruments, playing outside, drawing and other activities.
Related: Ben and Erin Napier Celebrate 15th Anniversary: ‘Thank You, Lord’
In her letter, she explains that teens who abstain have “deeper interests and sharper minds.”
The Napiers started Osprey because they wanted to keep their two daughters’ childhoods safe and happy.
“My kindergartener doesn’t expect to drive a car before she’s old enough. She doesn’t expect to own a house of her own before she’s old enough,” Erin said. “If we build a culture in our home and school now where she doesn’t expect access to the entire world in her pocket until she’s much older, we can set her up for success.”
The Napiers’ oldest daughter attends public school. They avoid screen time use at school by picking her up early on digital education days.
“[I] love that so much. We use that time to go to daddy’s wood shop or play on the farm or do art at home,” Erin said.
“Our kids haven’t used screens before, haven’t needed to, haven’t really been around other kids who do,” she said. “They facetime grandparents and that’s it. So for us, tablet use at school is in direct opposition to our family culture in a way that feels unhelpful.”
Though it sometimes seems impossible, you can give your kids a screen-free childhood.
Read Next: Erin Napier Confirms Kids Won’t be on Social Media: ‘Not What They Need’
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