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Original poster

No phones on ski trip

512 replies

AreTheyMad · 18/02/2026 08:06

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?

OP posts:
Kidsgotothatschool · 18/02/2026 09:23

You are being silly! She’ll be fine!

I think it’s a great rule. But my children go to a school with a full ban on phones, and I’m SUPER happy about that.

IdentityCris · 18/02/2026 09:23

AreTheyMad · 18/02/2026 08:14

Yes! And I've taken the wrong slope many times 🤣 and needed to check the map to find my way back to the meeting point. If visibility is poor it's easy to miss the slope, get separated from a group.

If visibility is poor they're not going to let a bunch of schoolchildren out anyway.

Do you seriously imagine the school haven't thought of all those eventualities?

evtheria · 18/02/2026 09:24

I think it’s fine.

dapsnotplimsolls · 18/02/2026 09:24

I wonder if the OP will come back after this reaction!

usedtobeaylis · 18/02/2026 09:25

She doesn't need a phone on the ski slopes. Parents really need to back off when schools are formulating boundaries around phone use.

sittingonabeach · 18/02/2026 09:27

@AreTheyMad do you know how the skiing is being organised? Can’t imagine they are just going to be with their teachers, unless they are qualified ski instructors

Starlight1979 · 18/02/2026 09:28

Christmasinmecar · 18/02/2026 08:30

We managed without is bogus? The fact is we DID manage without. I for one, have a phone but hardly ever touch it because I don't like them and manage to go out and about living life without staring at a screen every 5 minutes.

Show quote history

This. Also can you imagine a load of kids (I'm assuming pre-teen / teenager) with their phones on the ski slopes. What an absolute nightmare for the ski instructors and teachers to deal with.

And far MORE chance of them falling / not concentrating if they're messing about with their phones.

tachetastic · 18/02/2026 09:28

I think the main risk of her getting separated from the group is if she and her mates keep checking their phones and sending chats / taking selfies rather than focusing on what they’re being told / doing.

Teenagers with phones on the slopes sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I agree 100% with the school in not allowing them. Tell her to stick with the group, listen to the instructors and have fun without her phone for a few hours.

Fernie6491 · 18/02/2026 09:29

Yep it's fine, my DG went on a sschool ski trip last year and they only had phones for a while during the evening. No sense in them taking their phones on the slopes and risking damage or loss.
Why would anyone object. I'm sure accompanying teachers could contact parents if necessary at any other time.

Anewuser · 18/02/2026 09:30

Seriously overprotective. Are you also going to insist on her carrying a first aid kit, shelter and food in case they get lost?

She’s on a school trip so should be supervised at all times on the slope. If you think that isn’t going to happen, then you need to rethink whether it’s a good idea to send her at all.

Maybeitllneverhappen · 18/02/2026 09:33

I could literally probably list 10,000 reasons why phones on trips are a bad idea, but the funniest one is this. The kids were allowed one hour in phones in the evening. On day 3 staff got a frantic call from a mum as she hadn't heard from her daughter and was so worried!! She'd sent dozens of messages and had no reply!! We said the girl was fine but went and talked to her and she said she was ignoring her mum cos she was annoying sending messages all the time. You couldn't make it up.

aster10 · 18/02/2026 09:33

I haven’t yet had a smartwatch with a sim, but I wonder if that’s a good solution. I think you can have a “call parent” function and maybe call emergency services. Or am I wrong?

IdentityCris · 18/02/2026 09:33

PithyViewer · 18/02/2026 09:04

Can they have their phones on them but are just not supposed to use them? Or are they supposed to leave them at the hotel?

I agree that it's much better safety-wise to have them. On previous trips to France, the fog was so bad every day that when it finally lifted on the last day, I had no idea where to ski. Turned out that there was a hotel in the middle of the slope and I had no idea which side of it I'd been ski-ing. Each side led on to a different trail. I'd barely been able to see my hand in front of my face the whole trip, and the others soon disappeared into the mist. I think she should have it on her. Obviously only use it in an emergency.

Come off it. Do you seriously imagine a school would let a bunch of teenagers out skiing in conditions like that?

goldtrap · 18/02/2026 09:34

Do send her with a disposable camera though. Then she can get the retro 80s school-ski trip vibe (and you can all bet on how many photos will actually develop)

Gall10 · 18/02/2026 09:35

CurlewKate · 18/02/2026 08:10

If there was a possibility of my child being separated from the group and injured on a school ski trip I would be seriously questioning their safe guarding.

Did kids regularly go missing on ski trips in the 70’s & 80’s? Thought not!

MargoLivebetter · 18/02/2026 09:35

@AreTheyMad I agree and think it is nuts that schools won't allow children to have their mobile phones on them when they are on trips away from home. Phones are useful tools for children abroad. They help them remain contactable and therefore safe. DD went abroad with her school and the school planned on sending them out and about without their phones with the guidance that if they got separated from the group that they should try to find a friendly looking woman who appeared like she might speak English!!!!!! I thought this was ridiculous and argued that the whole point of mobile phones were to keep you in touch! The school relented and the children were allowed their phones when they went out on excursions.

A ski-ing trip isn't even an "educational" trip as such, it is for fun. Why on earth wouldn't they have their phones to take photos etc.

As for all the people saying "oh, we all managed 30 years ago" - well yes of course we did, but we also managed living in caves using spears and stones to hunt for food. Doesn't mean that this is how we should be living now!!!!

dapsnotplimsolls · 18/02/2026 09:35

Phones are useful on school trips to keep them quiet on the bus!

Theroadt · 18/02/2026 09:35

Frankly, do they even need them in the evening? At last, some proper boundaries from sensible adults!

Theroadt · 18/02/2026 09:37

Anewuser · 18/02/2026 09:30

Seriously overprotective. Are you also going to insist on her carrying a first aid kit, shelter and food in case they get lost?

She’s on a school trip so should be supervised at all times on the slope. If you think that isn’t going to happen, then you need to rethink whether it’s a good idea to send her at all.

This. But is it over-protective, or actually controlling??

ninetofiveeveryday · 18/02/2026 09:38

They will be with instructors all the time. They won’t need their phones and it’s so good for them to have time without. Let them enjoy their childhoods without fear of friends posting videos etc of them falling over!

dapsnotplimsolls · 18/02/2026 09:38

Theroadt · 18/02/2026 09:35

Frankly, do they even need them in the evening? At last, some proper boundaries from sensible adults!

I assume the hour is for them to contact home etc.

dubbie · 18/02/2026 09:38

You are over-reacting. Great idea for children to be separated from bloody phones for a change.

No one will get lost. You are being hysterical.

sittingonabeach · 18/02/2026 09:41

@Gall10 I went on a skiing trip in the 80s and we were pretty feral! Don’t really remember seeing teachers until we went out for meals with them. We went on the slopes on our own in the afternoon after ski school (first time skiers so didn’t go far and couldn’t really ski to be fair!) Alcohol also made an appearance in the chalet at night!

Things are much more regulated now.

AllJoyAndNoFun · 18/02/2026 09:42

Agree with the phone ban, but if you're worried there are a couple of things you could do (which I do for my teens when we go skiing)

  • Apple tag in jacket pocket on my findmyphone, so I can see where they are, providing they're near someone with a phone, which they nearly always are.
  • Get them to take a photo of their lift pass so you have the number. In most resorts they can track last lift used using the lift pass number if needed.
superking · 18/02/2026 09:42

My DC is currently on a school ski trip, same rule re phones. I have no concerns about her safety and think it's a good thing. If she somehow managed to get separated from her group (unlikely as they are in groups of 10 with a ski instructor and teacher with each group) she will just have to use her common sense to seek help from someone, she's not going to get left on the mountain overnight.