No phones on ski trip

[AreTheyMad]

DD is going on a ski trip with school next week. We've just been informed they won't be allowed to use their phones during the day, only for an hour in the evening.
Would you be happy with your DC not being allowed to take their phones on the slopes?

I think it's mad, and I'm trying to formulate a mail which doesn't sound over protective pub! It means they can't call if they get separated from the group, check the map, if they injure themselves. What if the visibility is bad? Am I overreacting here?

Yes , but a kid from UK school would have different rules/regulations/safeguarding assessments which would make the presence of a phone redundant and most of the replies will be from that perspective.

For example , when DD went, all skiing was dine a part of skiing school, with a qualified instructor. They were in groups of 8, based on ability and also had a school teacher with them, so two adults. One at the front(the instructor), waiting for the kids to come in and doing a head count and the teacher at the back watching for any stragglers /issues. No one went off on their own, no one even looked at a black slope, much less go down it.

Exactly. Advice and opinions would have been different if OP had made things a bit clearer from the start.

My daughters just come back from a ski trip . Same rule no issues. They will be far too busy to be bothered with their phone. Even the time they had it was an effort for her to message or call me. They will have the time of their lives. As for safety, she will be with instructors and teachers very small chance she will need the phone. You won’t win this argument the school have probably been doing ski trips for years. Also the other side is that there is a risk they would use it in the slopes and that in itself could cause a safety risk with them not focusing on the skiing.

Why are you “sure”?
I work in a legal and compliance field and I wouldn’t be so sure that changes really were implemented everywhere. It’s kind of naive to be sure, because people are by definition fallible so you can’t guarantee that every school has excellent procedures in place. Risk assessment is just that, a paper exercise.

in any case here they are going skiing with some random teacher and not a ski instructor so I would want my child to have a phone on the slopes.

Then bow out of the school trip
and take your children on a ski trip that you have risk assessed yourself.

Not sure what your profession has to do with anything. I work in a similar field.

I trust my children’s teachers. A one
hour check in is sufficient for me.

They could just as easily have a fall
or injury on our family ski trips with me. That is how risk works. You cannot mitigate it all - you just take sensible precautions.

Phones on slopes for a school trip with a group of teenagers is a recipe for distraction.

Phones returned at the chalet to reassure parents etc - makes total sense.

I get that she could take her coat off. But generally people don’t when skiing and if it was left in a restaurant then she’d notice pretty quickly as she left.

I’m not sure what you mean about them only
working when close to a phone? We have one in our car and I can it parked when I’m miles away.

If you’re that worried, maybe your daughter… shouldn’t go?

I think its great that kids are finally taking a break from their phones, but if you’re genuinely losing sleep over a potential avalanche burying her, maybe stick an AirTag on her and call it a day.

If you are concerned about this trip, why not talk to THE SCHOOL? Instead of relying on your daughter for frankly some pretty sketchy anecdotal evidence. Ask to see their risk assessment. Ask who else is going on the trip- as in adults.

I don’t think so. I think it’s sensible to use the tech we have.

when I was at school (pre phones!) a girl got left on the mountain and ended up hitching a lift back to the resort. She didn’t know the name of our hotel so the guy that brought her back was taking her round hotels to see which it might be. We hadn’t noticed she wasn’t on the coach or in our room…

Simple: if you think it’s unreasonable your child doesn’t have to go.

It’s totally reasonable. If you’re that worried about them getting lost stick an air tag in a pocket.

I ski. I have skied with large groups of children/teens there is no reason why any of the kids need a phone provided at least one of the adults/instructors do.

Adhering to rules other people make is a life lesson.

I would absolutely be asking these questions but at the same time expect her to have a phone with a map and ability to call someone including emergency services.

im amused by everyone’s faith into “risk assessment”. What do you think this is, a magical thing that makes sure emergency doesn’t happen? It’s a paper exercise and it can be done badly / incorrectly assess risks or miss them altogether.

If you’re that concerned, buy DD a PLB to carry in case of injury on an isolated slope. It’s unlikely she’ll be on her own anywhere though.

And make sure her coat has one of those avalanche location transmitter things. Lots of ski jackets have them.

I don’t blindly trust the school just because it’s a school. I adhere to “trust but verify” principles + be able to save yourself principle.

My son is currently on a school ski trip (yr 8)

He didnt take his phone on the trip at all as knowing him he would drop it from the chair lift

The staff are worried about phones dropping from a chairlift, children taking photos and being distracted etc. However, they could be useful in an emergency so I agree with you overall.

Maybe suggest they carry phones for emergencies but should have an utter blanket ban on usage. Sanction could be staying in the next day if a phone is seen out.

I’m not a native speaker so don’t try to catch me out by “a” and “the”.
I meant there were several stories of several kids dying on A school trip meaning separate school trips and I gave you specific examples. It’s not the “gotcha” moment you think it is.

i gave examples of 2019. learn to count please

So the OP is not in the UK so pearl clutching about superior magic “risk assessments” done by the UK schools is completely irrelevant.
for all you know these schools did very basic one or none at all, who knows

Yes. YABU. They need the phones to contact you in the evening and nothing else. It will be really good for them to be off their phones all day - skiing and actually talking to real life people! Imagine - 20 years ago, school kids managed entire school trips without a phone!

Ok - so when she is talking about Years 7-9, she isn't necessarily talking about 11-14 year olds?

So confusing!

I agree with PPs that OP should talk to the school about what the plan is for lost children - they may all be lent some kind of beacon which would be better than a phone anyway!

No such thing as mobiles when I went on a school ski trip, except maybe for a few yuppie types who liked hauling around something the size and weight of a brick. We were fine. Have you ever actually heard of a teen going on a ski trip, getting "separated from the group" (the horror!) and never being seen again?

Part of the point of these trips is that they build resilience, independence, confidence in your own ability to deal with minor mishaps and problems etc. We're all too dependent on phones these days.

Anyway, teens being teens, having phones would make them MORE likely to have an accident - they'll be messing with the damn things instead of looking where they're skiing. For once in their poor battery-farmed, screen-hypnotised lives, they're going to actually live in the moment and focus on one thing and depend upon each other, not a machine. This is a good thing.

Don't be THAT parent. Everybody laughs at that parent.

Honestly.

Parent: I demand my dc has use of her phone on the slopes where there will be no signal but they have to make TikToks.

Same parent three days later: My dc’s phone is broken. It was dropped from a ski lift and someone skied over it. I demand the school replaces it.

Wherever in the world you’re from op teenagers can (and indeed should be able to) be without a phone glued to them for a few hours. I suggest you look into that medical exemption because I think you’re going to be cross whatever they do.

@SheilaFentiman yes I'm talking about 11-14 year olds.

When I say obligatory, I mean it's the law. If a school declares a camp to be of educational purpose then attendance is obligatory. The only way not to go is to jump through hoops to get a medical exemption (I know, I had to get one for DC1 when he was supposed to go). I would be laughed out the building if I asked to see a risk assessment.

@HelpMeUnpickThis see, I consider carrying a phone in the mountains as a "sensible precaution". I suppose though I'm basing this on my DD. If she were told to keep her phone in her pocket and only use it for emergencies, then she would.

@AreTheyMad - I’m not a skier so forgive me if I’m talking utter nonsense, but is there an emergency beacon you could buy, for your dd to carry, so that she could activate it in an emergency? Might something like that set your mind at rest?