Like any Coloradan with young kids, my household is a hive of activity and emotions. The pre-teen stage of parenting is rewarding. I enjoy seeing my kids form their own opinions, explore new ideas and take steps to become more independent. But it’s also challenging, especially in today’s world of the internet and social media. Beyond the everyday haste of making sure we’re not late to school, attending extracurricular events and talking about our days over dinner, we’re addressing serious issues. Topics like bullying, mental health and body image are now filtering into our conversations. And there’s a clear contributor — social media.

The research is definitive. Social media causes poor mental health outcomes of youth and is often at the crux of teen anxiety and depression. Sadly it doesn’t stop there. Social media is designed to target the feeds of teen girls with unattainable body images, extreme workouts and diet fads. Though I don’t believe it’s intentional, thousands of girls across the state endure this harassment. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, nearly half of all teens ages 13 to 17 report social media makes them feel worse about their body image. Equally as alarming, 6 out of 10 girls say they’ve been contacted by a stranger online who made them feel uncomfortable.

Stay up to speed: Sign up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

Too many young people are signing up and using social media platforms without understanding the good, bad and ugly of social media. It’s clear more than ever our kids and, by default, parents are nose-diving into rocky waters without the knowledge and support they need to protect themselves. Thankfully, Colorado teens and parents won’t have to outmaneuver these large social media companies and platforms on their own for much longer. I’m sponsoring bipartisan legislation, HB24-1136, to give every Coloradan the education and tools they need to make informed decisions about safe social media use.

I know many parents can relate when I say we cannot do this on our own. In a recent survey, 8 out of 10 Coloradans believe social media is harming the mental health of our youth and don’t think these companies are doing enough to protect them. The bill I introduced is a first-of-its-kind policy to mitigate the negative mental health impacts and addictiveness of these platforms.

First and foremost, the bill will ensure everyone, including teens, parents and teachers, have access to evidence-based information and resources that will help them navigate social media safely. Teens can learn about features that promote poor health and how to prevent that from happening. Parents will have access to information about the youth-focused protections already available in the apps. Teachers can better address situations that arise at school when social media is involved. People make better choices for themselves and their families when they have the information they need to do so. Personally, I was surprised to learn ways to limit social media use and exposure to harmful content for youth currently exist within some of these platforms. Parents need to know how to help their kids, and this bill will provide a one-stop shop for this vital information.

Second, this bill will ensure teens ages 13 to 17 are alerted to the harmful health effects of social media while using the apps. Research funded by social media companies reports in-app disruption has been effective at getting kids to stop scrolling. Pop-up warnings, much like the warning labels that have helped reduce youth nicotine use, will now appear when teens spend unhealthy amounts of time on social media apps. The warnings will educate teens about problematic usage with links to helpful resources. Pop-ups will increase in frequency during the late evening and early morning hours to get kids off their screens and into bed.

My job as a parent comes first, and being a lawmaker is a close second. I do not want my kids to come of age in a world where social media can double their chances of depression, anxiety and emotional distress. My worlds have collided with this issue, and I could not be more eager to get this bill across the finish line. The mom in me feels like we needed this type of common-sense, family-focused policy years ago. The lawmaker in me is proud I can help do something about it. Introducing the bill is the easy part. Now, working with all of the stakeholders and passing it without compromising the health and safety of our kids is the challenge. I’m confident, however, that my colleagues in the legislature from both sides of the aisle will stand with me to support this critical policy.

Rose Pugliese is the Republican minority leader in the Colorado House of Representatives and represents House District 14 in Colorado Springs.