Pink’s daughter can’t have a cell phone until she provides proof that social media is good for kids

One newer but major milestone with childhood and parenting is the question of when, not if, your child is ready for their own phone. Pink is opening up about why she feels her 11-year-old daughter, Willow, isn’t quite ready yet—and she brings up a lot of really great points. Including a sort of…homework assignment for her daughter.

My kids don’t have a phone,” she said on Caroline and Greg T In The Morning on KTU 103.5 FM. “And my daughter is the only 11-year-old in her class that doesn’t have one.”

Related: What age should a kid get a phone? It may be later than you think

Pink and the hosts talked about the immense pressure placed on parents when it comes to kids and technology, specifically phones. Because once one kid has one, your kid wants one. It’s like, the rule of kid-dom.

“It’s hard. A lot of my friends, they have their kids on TikTok, and I don’t. I told Willow, ‘That just doesn’t move my needle. They’re not my kids. You’re my kid.”

Pink also explained that being famous and raising kids in the spotlight has impacted her decision as well.

“She has a lot of eyes on her,” she said.

There is one catch to the “no phone” thing, and it’s honestly such a classic parenting move that Danny Tanner himself would be proud (if he were raising D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle in today’s era and not the era of, like, football phone landlines.)

Related: No more guessing: Screen time guidelines for toddlers to teenagers

“I told her, point blank, ‘If you can produce literature from a reputable source that tells me that social media is good for you, then you can be on it. Otherwise, good luck.’”

Last year, Pink opened up to Carson Daly and TODAY about this same topic.

“There’s a light side and a shadow side to technology in general for adults, as well,” she said at the time. “For kids, I’m not there yet.”

Just because some kids have something doesn’t mean it’s right for every kiddo. Though parental controls have come a long way in recent years, children can’t fully grasp what it means to be “online.” Especially when it comes to different apps, particularly social media apps.

Related: Is it OK to go through your kid’s phone?

That being said, we are raising a digitally native generation of children who will continue to use and benefit from technology for the rest of their lives. Pink, who is also mom to six-year-old Jameson, recognizes that, too.

“We can’t be dinosaurs ourselves as parents, we have to sort of embrace it and go with it,” Pink said.

The way we socialize through our phones has made today’s teens in particular more psychologically vulnerable than Millennials were.

“The Millennials grew up with the web as well, but it wasn’t ever-present in their lives, at hand at all times, day and night,” said Jean Twenge in an excerpt from her book, adapted for The Atlantic. “The arrival of the smartphone has radically changed every aspect of teenagers’ lives, from the nature of their social interactions to their mental health.”

Many parents also recognize that giving their tweens and teens a phone so they can contact them anytime—about rides and other activities—is one benefit of giving them a phone. But remember, flip phones still exist (it’s true). There are also other low-tech options when it comes to phones that can give parents peace of mind, too.

Kudos to Pink for knowing what’s right for her child while also recognizing we as parents can’t shut out technology entirely.