It’s always fun to see familiar happy faces in interesting places, and in this case it is in a context of coming to Charlottesville Waldorf School as well! This is a wonderful family who we are very fortunate to have as part of our school community. The circumstances that brought them to us are a sad commentary on the current state of much of our modern education system; the more information that comes out about how current media technology – screens and social media in particular – affect children in harmful ways, the more important it feels to share how the methods and curriculum of the Waldorf school bring education alive each day in such holistic and wholesome ways!
‘We’ve moved at least 10 times’: The drastic measures parents are taking to keep their kids off screens
Rhian Lubin
The Independent
Tue, June 2, 2026 at 3:47 p.m. EDT
While many of his peers are likely scrolling on TikTok and Snapchat, Laura Derrendinger’s teenage son uses an old rotary phone (Google it), relies on paper road maps to navigate while driving, and spends much of his spare time putting out fires as a junior volunteer for the local fire department.
The 16-year-old, who lives in rural Vermont with his parents and siblings, was raised in an entirely screen-free household and has neither an iPhone nor social media — but he is allowed to use an electric chainsaw under supervision.
“It is safer to give my kids a chainsaw than access to social media. A chainsaw is not designed to be addictive,” his mom said, and explained that her son asked for the power tool so he could use it to chop wood more efficiently for the maple syrup operation he runs with his siblings, aged 10, 12, and 14. The children also keep chickens and goats.
It’s sure not your average teenage experience, but Derrendinger is one of an increasing number of parents advocating for kids to grow up without screens and believes social media poses a grave threat to children’s well-being.
A mounting body of evidence supports that assertion. Earlier this month, a study found that teenagers in the U.S. are losing sleep by scrolling on their phones between midnight and 4 a.m., with consequences for their health and academic performance. In the U.K., a recent report by leading doctors has warned that social media is as dangerous for children as smoking.
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Relocating the entire family for a screen-free education
Mom-of-three Ashley Dickson and her husband moved their family from Boston so that their boys, ages 13, 10 and 4, could attend a private Waldorf school in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Dickson, 44, knew she wanted to raise her kids in a low-screen environment before they were born. “I really just didn’t see any benefit to introducing screens,” she explained. Instead of sticking her young kids in front of the TV when she needed to take a quick shower, which she acknowledged many parents at first feel is the only option to get a bit of peace, Dickson set them up to “self-entertain.”
“When my kids were little, I would get a big stack of books and a bowl of dry Cheerios and they would sit in my bed while I would shower and get ready for the day,” she said. “My kids could be engaged in the work of childhood by self-entertaining, and so there’s no need for mom or a screen to be the constant playmate.”
Apart from finding Cheerios in her bed forevermore, the benefits of avoiding screens in those early years have been “huge,” she said.
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In August 2024, Dickson and her husband took the plunge and moved to Virginia after finding a private school that discouraged screen use in class and at home. Boston’s high cost of living and frigid winters also contributed to their decision to move, but above all, Dickson said the couple wanted “a different pace” of life for their children.
“I just felt really drawn to exploring something that would preserve childhood, and this seemed like a good fit,” she said of the school, which emphasizes the importance of “imagination, creativity and nature-based play,” Dickson said. “The low-tech environment really is a big part of it.”
