Welcome! Tweens Without Screens© is a grassroots community organization committed to providing tweens in Washington Heights and Inwood (NYC) with ample opportunities for screen-free, real-life social interaction. We’ve been building this community since the spring of 2024.
Here’s a bit of our story…
Three neighborhood moms (Michelle, Adria, and Anna) started Tweens Without Screens when our tween daughters were about 8. We noticed that around this age, girls started to disappear from playgrounds and parks and were instead spending time on group chats and social media. Given the research around the importance of free play, time outside, and in-person socialization for promoting tween mental health, we decided to do something.
We began by taking tween girls on monthly walks in the woods. Since then, Tweens Without Screens has expanded so much! Many members of our Inwood and Washington Heights community have embraced our vision and generously offered their homes and time to support getting tweens together for hikes, free play, game nights, art-making, and just about anything else we can dream up!
As Tweens Without Screens grows, we continue to focus on creating local opportunities for real-life interaction, and we share credible research and journalism about smartphones, social media, free play, childhood independence, and tween well-being.
If you’d like to start a Tweens Without Screens group in your neighborhood, reach out. And if you’re in Washington Heights or Inwood, and you’d like your tween to start attending our meetups, reach out about that too.
Here’s to our growing community! May we continue to love, support, and inform one another.
©2024 by Michelle Y. Burke. All rights reserved.