Finally, after years of wanting to do this, Lisa Tabb and I, along with our Screenagers team, have launched a national campaign to get devices out of the bedroom at sleep time for elementary and middle schoolers.
And read on, because my blog today will make you laugh and smile!
I’m sharing a spoof video we made to kick off the campaign! You’ll also find an invitation to chat with me directly about how you can help activate the campaign in your community. Scroll down for Zoom dates and links.
As has been discussed for years, anxiety, depression, and academic problems have been increasing among youth. A major contributor to this mental health crisis is sleep deprivation, partly driven by screens in the bedroom at night.
Our goal: Empower parents to remove devices from bedrooms and replace them with simple alarm clocks. The more parents ensure this for their kids, the more it becomes the norm. We see it as the “seatbelt” of our time.
To create the Screen-Free Sleep Campaign, Lisa and I partnered with creative director Dave Cicirelli to design a fun, engaging way to educate and motivate parents, and to make the effort easy for anyone to spread in their communities across the nation..
This led to the iSleep Pro, a kit designed to look like an iPhone box, featuring a 9-year-old on the cover and, inside, an eye mask, alarm-clock stickers, and a guide on why the best tech at bedtime is no tech at all.
One feature of our campaign is a playful two-minute video. If you remember the original Steve Jobs iPhone announcement, keep that in mind as you watch, and enjoy!
We built a website for the campaign at www.screenfreesleep.org. It is full of information, research, solutions and resources to help you understand more about the youth sleep crisis, and what we can do to reverse it.
The Campaign launched with flair in New York City on August 12th, 2025, when “Steve Jobs lookalikes” performed flash mob dances throughout the city, handing out iSleep Pro kits and engaging with families.
These fun kits will be the cornerstone for adults (hopefully you) to bring into schools and communities, sparking conversations about the why and how of screen-free sleep for kids.
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Working together, we can do this! I know it seems lofty, but parents have led big safety shifts before, from car seats to bike helmets. With your help, we can do the same for bedtime.
When Lisa and I launched Away for the Day in 2017 to get phones out of schools, many people weren’t sold on it. Yet, as of now, 34 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted or are in the process of implementing policies that ban or restrict cellphones in schools.
*Why we are focused on elementary and middle schoolers: Over 80% of teens sleep with phones in their rooms, and changing that is difficult.
By starting earlier, we can help make screen-free sleep the norm, which can more easily become a routine that can be carried on into the high school years.
With much appreciation and joy,
Delaney Ruston, MD
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel! We add new videos regularly and you'll find over 100 videos covering parenting advice, guidance, podcasts, movie clips and more. Here's our most recent:
As we’re about to celebrate 10 years of Screenagers, we want to hear what’s been most helpful and what you’d like to see next.
Please click here to share your thoughts with us in our community survey. It only takes 5–10 minutes, and everyone who completes it will be entered to win one of five $50 Amazon vouchers.
Finally, after years of wanting to do this, Lisa Tabb and I, along with our Screenagers team, have launched a national campaign to get devices out of the bedroom at sleep time for elementary and middle schoolers.
And read on, because my blog today will make you laugh and smile!
I’m sharing a spoof video we made to kick off the campaign! You’ll also find an invitation to chat with me directly about how you can help activate the campaign in your community. Scroll down for Zoom dates and links.
As has been discussed for years, anxiety, depression, and academic problems have been increasing among youth. A major contributor to this mental health crisis is sleep deprivation, partly driven by screens in the bedroom at night.
Our goal: Empower parents to remove devices from bedrooms and replace them with simple alarm clocks. The more parents ensure this for their kids, the more it becomes the norm. We see it as the “seatbelt” of our time.
To create the Screen-Free Sleep Campaign, Lisa and I partnered with creative director Dave Cicirelli to design a fun, engaging way to educate and motivate parents, and to make the effort easy for anyone to spread in their communities across the nation..
This led to the iSleep Pro, a kit designed to look like an iPhone box, featuring a 9-year-old on the cover and, inside, an eye mask, alarm-clock stickers, and a guide on why the best tech at bedtime is no tech at all.
One feature of our campaign is a playful two-minute video. If you remember the original Steve Jobs iPhone announcement, keep that in mind as you watch, and enjoy!
We built a website for the campaign at www.screenfreesleep.org. It is full of information, research, solutions and resources to help you understand more about the youth sleep crisis, and what we can do to reverse it.
The Campaign launched with flair in New York City on August 12th, 2025, when “Steve Jobs lookalikes” performed flash mob dances throughout the city, handing out iSleep Pro kits and engaging with families.
These fun kits will be the cornerstone for adults (hopefully you) to bring into schools and communities, sparking conversations about the why and how of screen-free sleep for kids.
Working together, we can do this! I know it seems lofty, but parents have led big safety shifts before, from car seats to bike helmets. With your help, we can do the same for bedtime.
When Lisa and I launched Away for the Day in 2017 to get phones out of schools, many people weren’t sold on it. Yet, as of now, 34 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted or are in the process of implementing policies that ban or restrict cellphones in schools.
*Why we are focused on elementary and middle schoolers: Over 80% of teens sleep with phones in their rooms, and changing that is difficult.
By starting earlier, we can help make screen-free sleep the norm, which can more easily become a routine that can be carried on into the high school years.
With much appreciation and joy,
Delaney Ruston, MD
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel! We add new videos regularly and you'll find over 100 videos covering parenting advice, guidance, podcasts, movie clips and more. Here's our most recent:
Sign up here to receive the weekly Tech Talk Tuesdays newsletter from Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD.
We respect your privacy.
Finally, after years of wanting to do this, Lisa Tabb and I, along with our Screenagers team, have launched a national campaign to get devices out of the bedroom at sleep time for elementary and middle schoolers.
And read on, because my blog today will make you laugh and smile!
I’m sharing a spoof video we made to kick off the campaign! You’ll also find an invitation to chat with me directly about how you can help activate the campaign in your community. Scroll down for Zoom dates and links.
As has been discussed for years, anxiety, depression, and academic problems have been increasing among youth. A major contributor to this mental health crisis is sleep deprivation, partly driven by screens in the bedroom at night.
Our goal: Empower parents to remove devices from bedrooms and replace them with simple alarm clocks. The more parents ensure this for their kids, the more it becomes the norm. We see it as the “seatbelt” of our time.
To create the Screen-Free Sleep Campaign, Lisa and I partnered with creative director Dave Cicirelli to design a fun, engaging way to educate and motivate parents, and to make the effort easy for anyone to spread in their communities across the nation..
This led to the iSleep Pro, a kit designed to look like an iPhone box, featuring a 9-year-old on the cover and, inside, an eye mask, alarm-clock stickers, and a guide on why the best tech at bedtime is no tech at all.
One feature of our campaign is a playful two-minute video. If you remember the original Steve Jobs iPhone announcement, keep that in mind as you watch, and enjoy!
We built a website for the campaign at www.screenfreesleep.org. It is full of information, research, solutions and resources to help you understand more about the youth sleep crisis, and what we can do to reverse it.
The Campaign launched with flair in New York City on August 12th, 2025, when “Steve Jobs lookalikes” performed flash mob dances throughout the city, handing out iSleep Pro kits and engaging with families.
These fun kits will be the cornerstone for adults (hopefully you) to bring into schools and communities, sparking conversations about the why and how of screen-free sleep for kids.
Many adults keep their phones by the bed — it feels harmless, even necessary. But what if that habit is quietly affecting our sleep and the example we set for our kids? In this week’s blog, Dr. Ruston shares two key things every parent should know about sleeping next to a phone, and how small nighttime tech changes can make a big difference for the whole family.
READ MORE >
From Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto to violence and gunfire in movies and shows, aggression is a constant backdrop in boys’ media diets. And with various influencers and online personalities framing success through the lens of strength, competition, dominance and winning, boys are being handed a narrow script for masculinity. As parents, one of the most important things we can do is offer a counterweight. We can help boys strengthen empathy, compassion, and respect as core traits of masculinity, so they have a broader, healthier vision of who they can become.
READ MORE >
Last week we introduced you to our Screen-Free Sleep campaign! Since then, we’ve been flooded with emails and calls, and most are asking the same question: How can we get this spreading in our school? Today’s blog has the answers.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
