To think parents are not teaching any independence?

Another example, they didn’t even get a physical time table this year, it’s all on the app. Test time table? On the app. Tests/revision resources? On the app. Homework? On the app. Reminders, announcements, invites /notices about clubs etc.? On the app.

DD2 last year at school phone usage was banned - but all the pervious years timetables and notices were on school app - they now couldn't use in school hours but staff kept being blindsided and confuse the kids couldn't see the updates during school day.

why the eye roll? You don’t need to be rude. Every family is different.

we don’t have enough laptops in our house so my child shares mine. If I’m still working then they need to wait.

they find the app on phone easier to use than the desktop version. He can plan from the app and then will do different aspects on my laptop.

their bus journey isn’t too long but some on the bus have over an hour and I know that some use that time to do some homework so that they use the time. I think this is ok. Good use of time and planning.

Some of the apps also work better on phones and go a bit weird on desktops.

as a family this is how we choose to do things and it works. they don’t have social media and only select apps.

I think parenting matters. Giving a kid a phone with no rules/security is silly IMO. But if you do it sensibly then it can give independence.

at the end of the day the schools can dictate what happens on their property but I don’t think it’s ok to do that outside of school hours as there are so many different needs for children and families.

Oh and another thing, for a few trips we were given an approximate time of arrival but were told to check out phones as our children (not the school/teacher) will keep us informed of any changes.

Similar situation here. It’s supposed to leave at 7.30am. In reality it can be anything from 7.20am to 7.50am. The tracker often isn’t switched on either. Many complaints have been put in but nothing has changed! And it costs us £1.4k per year.

It would help if the bus came when it’s supposed to. Late, not an issue, but several times it was A LOT earlier than expected (and she leaves with plenty of time anyway) . Luckily she tracks it , so ran out of the house.

Yes, I know we have a LOT of issues with this bloody bus, despite paying a lot for it!

Fewer to no pay phones.

Bus timetables and even tickets and payment being on phones.

When school bus didn't turn up I had to walk 4 miles home - along unlit country lanes - till out of town shopping center was built half way. Without older kids to show us the way and other kids to walk with I'd have been completly stuck - school reception refused to ever help. I maagaged but traffic increased since ethen and I know few kids at new school built later nearer where I used to live have been seriously injured on the junction I used to pass in seperate incidents.

Most schools here allow phones on site so there for after school but don't allow them on in school.

The world's move on it now expects phone and leaving secondary school kids without them could actually make it harder for them to navaigate the world independently of adults and more lifts from adult drivers.

Did no-one from the school wait with him? He surely wasn't alone in a deserted area? If he was, a complaint is in order.

And make sure they don’t need smartphones to access their school bus pass!

Smart phones are great even for teens
They can be money, travel passes, maps, information, news, music, silly games and communication devices. Books, research.

They need to learn when to use and when not to use them. What is positive and what is negative about them.

I never thought we couldn’t parent our way through smart phones we had rules sure and much guidance, and now they show us stuff which is usually very funny and clever. Yes we turned off access after 9pm, they weren’t allowed TokTok/Snapchat/Telegram
They were only allowed communication with people they knew or people who knew people they knew. As they have got older they have kept this up. What do parents think is going to happen when they get a not dumb phone at 16? Do you think they are going to be easier to teach then?

Even some of the dodgy moments we have encountered have ended up being moments of hilarity.

There is going to be a whole heap of therapists needed in the future for then grown teens who will come to realise that their parents didn’t keep them safe they stole their very short 4/5 years of teenage from them.

Exactly.

If everyone is so set on children not having phones then bring back the alternative and reinstate pay phones in case of emergency

I used to walk my kids to primary school ( about 20 minutes). His friend used to be driven everywhere " because of safety" ( similar distance. The school was in London with a tiny catchment area Less than a mile) Whenever we had a playdate I'd have to drive because his friend had absolutely no road sense. Didn't know how to cross a road properly etc. It was frankly more dangerous than just walking him to school and making him aware of how to behave on a bloody pavement! We moved away and lost touch so I don't know how he turned out.

Just to be clear , I fully support phones off and away during the school day and the consequences for breaking the rule. At DD’s school is taken away and a parent has to come get it. I told her there’s no way I’m leaving work early and spending money on transport to go get it. Her dad might, but she has to wait for a Friday when he comes back from work, so if it’s gone , it’s gone and I don’t care. It’s the full ban that bothers me , especially if the school is (or was complicit) in normalising phone use. Another example, they didn’t even get a physical time table this year, it’s all on the app. Test time table? On the app. Tests/revision resources? On the app. Homework? On the app. Reminders, announcements, invites /notices about clubs etc.? On the app.

This has been the case with one of my kids.

Talking about digital devides apparently

In 2024, 100% of UK adults aged 16-24 had a smartphone, according to Statista.

Smartphones are relatively expensive even second hand ones, if 100% of young people have a smartphone. Then why not a tablet or laptop 🤔, you can use a dongal as a hotspot you don't need wired Internet (as long as you have good service, it's rubbish where we are). I actually think the problem is still lack of understanding of modern technology.

Mine likes to do her homework on her hour long bus journey home. By the time she gets home it’s 5.15pm and she has a snack, gets changed then goes to her sports training. She can’t take a computer to school to do her homework on the bus. Plus as mentioned before her bus pass is on an app on her phone too.
It is convenient for her to have her phone. She has no social media and only the apps necessary for her to a) get her school bus and b) do her homework. Her phone is kept in her locker during the day. I’m not sure how any of that is stifling her independence?

I agree with a poster that the conversation about phones has become ridiculous.

I was attacked as a child whilst walking home from school by a man who exposed himself and tried to corner me. Just because it didn't happen to you, it doesn't that it doesn't happen.

My attack happened before the days of mobile phones. The first elderly couple I managed to run to didn't assist me (despite my severe distress and them mentioning that they thought the man had looked suspicious) because they "didn't want to get involved". I was lucky that a stranger escorted me home and asked my parents to call the police but a mobile phone would have been massively helpful in this situation.

Careful now, you will be accused of not checking your privilege even though it’s a perfectly valid point that most children have access to a bigger device than a phone to do their homework.

Yes people managed years ago without phones but you try going a week without a phone as I had to do recently and it’s actually a huge pain in terms of something ending earlier or later/ getting held up etc. was late for collecting my son and couldn’t get the word to him so he was in a deserted area twenty minutes after a school tour had come home. We all have nice rose tinted glasses on the 80s. Also re dumb phones phone companies would have to change policies re text messages and make them free like WhatsApp or a lot of families wouldn’t opt in

Then they'll learn pretty quick not to miss the bus! Simple life lessons like this are what teach children to be more independent and responsible. Silly decisions have consequences!!!

Beyond belief. And frankly irresponsible.
How this sets young people up for the world I do not know.
The volumes of young people driven to and fro is not helping. Some might have to ferry a child to another school. Some might be on their way to work. But in my village too few children walk to school. Hardly any. Let alone use school buses which back in my day were a thing.

my 13 year old is very independent, probably more so as she has a phone. It don’t think I would be so comfortable letting her do some of the things she does if she didn’t have a phone on her. She regularly uses public transport or cycles and does not require lifts to get about with her friends or by herself. Phones are part of life now.

I grew up feral in the countryside. I was gone at dawn and back at dusk. I used to travel miles on buses and trains on my own from the age of nine. Mum was unwell and Dad was always at work. I had to raise myself and my bestie had it even worse. He Mum was abroad and her Dad was injured in the war and was in bed 99% of his life but....times were different.

My nephew and his wife have raised their two kids in a tiny house in a fairly rough city. They barely get sunlight on them. They barely leave their rooms and they have both failed to launch. They have no experience of how the world works at all but outside their door is a scary world of who knows what. I'm not sure how I would do anything different if I lived where they do. Just getting their kids to adulthood is an achievement maybe? I think if I lived where they do and having had the childhood I had, I simply wouldn't have had kids. It's no way to live. Not really live.

Again all of these software can be accessed on any electronic device. You don't actually need a smartphone to do the homework. DS does most of his on the computer rather then his phone as its easier to use a large display and keyboard for most work. 🙄

We had people/children/men like that back in the day too. I remember talking to a bf (we were 20/21) at the time and him moaning he’s starving. Asked if he had anything in his fridge and sort something out. Nah , he’ll wait for his mum to come home from work. Biggest ick ever.

The significant minority matter too. They're probably much more independent and resourceful by need though.