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YOU TOOK THE PLEDGE.
NOW WHAT?

Wait Mate asks parents to delay smartphones. But your child still needs a way to connect. Here are the options that actually align with the philosophy.

$6.5M SA Government Funding Going National 2026-27 No Smartphone — Not No Phone ABC • SMH • CSM

The Movement

WHAT IS WAIT MATE?

Wait Mate is an Australian parent movement encouraging families to delay giving children smartphones. It started with a simple premise: if enough parents in a school community commit to waiting, no child has to be the only one without a device. The social pressure that drives early smartphone adoption works both ways — and Wait Mate uses it in the right direction.

The South Australian government committed $6.5 million to the program, rolling it into every SA primary school in 2026-27 and high schools in 2027-28. The movement is going national, with coverage on ABC, the Sydney Morning Herald, and international outlets including the Christian Science Monitor.

$6.5M
SA Government funding
2026
SA primary school rollout
National
Expansion underway

Wait Mate does not mean "no phone ever." It means "not a smartphone yet." The pledge is about removing the pressure to hand over a device with full internet access before a child is ready for it. That is a different thing from cutting children off from communication entirely.

The Problem

THE GAP THE PLEDGE CREATES

Taking the Wait Mate pledge creates a practical problem that nobody talks about enough: if your child does not have a smartphone, how do they call their friends?

Schools are going phone-free. Social media is banned for under-16s. Parents across the country are delaying smartphone access. All of that is good. But children still need independence and social connection. A 7 year old who wants to call their grandma after school has a legitimate need. A 10 year old who wants to check in from a friend's house has a legitimate need.

The pledge is about saying no to smartphones. The question that follows is: what do you say yes to?

READY TO TRY YAPS?

The first WiFi home phone built for Australian families.

Join the Waitlist
"The pledge is about saying no to smartphones. The question is what you say yes to instead."
The Wait Mate Paradox

The Options

PHONES THAT FIT THE WAIT MATE PHILOSOPHY

WiFi Home Phones — Most Aligned

Best Fit

YAPS

$149 AUD — no SIM, no monthly cost

No screen. No internet. No SIM card. No app store. Your child dials approved contacts over your home WiFi using a physical handset. The parent portal controls who they can call and when. Yaps-to-Yaps calls between households are free.

This is the purest expression of the Wait Mate philosophy in a device. It gives children the ability to make phone calls — and nothing else. No workarounds, no browser buried in a settings menu, no "emergency" internet access. The phone does one thing, and the design makes it impossible to do anything else.

Dumb Phones — Good for Older Kids

Good Fit

KIDCOMMS $95 + SIM   |   NOKIA 3210 $79 + SIM

Upfront + prepaid SIM

Basic calling and texting. Minimal internet risk compared to a smartphone. Small, durable, inexpensive. Suitable for children aged 10 and above who need to call from outside the home.

Be aware that most dumb phones still have basic web browsers accessible through the menu. The browsing experience is poor enough that children rarely use them — but they are technically there. For younger children or families who want zero internet exposure, a WiFi phone remains the safer option.

Smartwatches — GPS Tracking

GPS

SPACETALK

$299–$349 + $5.99/mo + SIM

Calling, texting, and GPS location tracking from a wrist-worn device. Good if knowing where your child is matters to your family. Comes with a screen and an ongoing monthly subscription cost.

What Does Not Align

Does Not Fit

MANAGED SMARTPHONES (OPEL, PINWHEEL)

$150–$169 + subscription

These are still smartphones. They have screens, app stores, and internet access. Parental controls help, but they are working against the device's design — every software update, every new app, every peer workaround creates a new gap in the fence. If you have taken the Wait Mate pledge, a managed smartphone is a compromise, not a solution.

By Age Group

WAIT MATE RECOMMENDATIONS BY AGE

AGES 5–8

WiFi home phone (Yaps). Covers all calling needs at this age. No reason to introduce mobile connectivity or a screen yet.

AGES 8–12

WiFi phone at home for everyday calls. Basic dumb phone for outside-the-home situations — sports, walking to school, visiting friends. Two devices, total cost under $250, zero internet.

AGES 12+

Consider a managed smartphone only when school communication genuinely requires it. Many families find that a dumb phone and home WiFi phone cover their child's real needs well beyond age 12.

The goal is not no phone. It is the right phone at the right time.

The Solution

HOW YAPS SUPPORTS WAIT MATE FAMILIES

Zero internet means zero risk. There is no browser to discover, no app store to unlock, no settings workaround that grants internet access. The device physically cannot connect to the web. For Wait Mate families, this eliminates the entire category of risk that the pledge exists to address.

Yaps-to-Yaps calls are free. When families in the same school community or friend group each have a Yaps device, their children can call each other at no cost. This creates a network effect that mirrors the Wait Mate pledge itself — it works better when more families participate.

The school program drives community adoption. Yaps offers a schools program that gets the device into multiple households at once. Wait Mate works because families do it together. Yaps works the same way — the more families who have one, the more valuable it becomes for every child in the network.

Wait Mate is a commitment. Yaps is the practical tool that makes it liveable day to day. Your child gets independence and social connection. You get peace of mind that the pledge is not costing them anything that matters.

Common Questions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A WiFi home phone like Yaps is the most aligned option. It has no screen, no internet, no SIM card, and no app store — just voice calls to parent-approved contacts over your home WiFi. For older children who need to call from outside the home, a basic dumb phone (KidComms $95 or Nokia 3210 $79, both plus SIM) provides calling and texting without smartphone-level internet access.
No. Wait Mate is about delaying smartphones, not about isolating children from communication. Kids still need ways to call family and friends. The pledge is about saying no to smartphones — the question is what you say yes to instead. WiFi home phones, dumb phones, and smartwatches all provide connection without the risks that come with full internet access.
Yes. A WiFi home phone like Yaps lets your child call any approved contact — including friends — over your home WiFi. If friends also have a Yaps device, calls between them are free. For calling from outside the home, a basic dumb phone handles calls and texts. Neither device requires internet access or a smartphone.
Wait Mate is an Australian parent movement encouraging families to delay giving children smartphones. The South Australian government committed $6.5 million to the program, rolling it into every SA primary school in 2026-27 and high schools in 2027-28. The movement is going national, with coverage on ABC, SMH, and international outlets including the Christian Science Monitor. It builds on research showing that later smartphone access leads to better mental health outcomes for young people.

Keep Reading

RELATED GUIDES

BEST KIDS PHONE AUSTRALIA

Every option ranked — WiFi phones, dumb phones, smartwatches, and managed smartphones compared side by side for Australian families.

YAPS FOR SCHOOLS

How schools are rolling out Yaps to give Wait Mate families a practical tool that works better when the whole community participates.

HOW YAPS WORKS

WiFi calling, parent portal, approved contacts, Yaps-to-Yaps free calls — the full breakdown of what the device does and how you set it up.
YAPS

THE PHONE FOR
WAIT MATE FAMILIES.

No screen. No internet. No SIM. Just voice calls to people your child trusts. The device that makes the pledge practical.

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