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?

I think a lot of posters here are out of touch. Its recommended that you have a mobile on you in case of an accident. You cant rely on goodwill when you do extreme sports (yes that includes skiing) im early 20s so did my school ski trips less than 10 years ago, we all had our phones. Teachers wanted to ski themselves so werent really with us unless it was lunch. (This is a state school in Surrey) youre not overeacting.

i would be delighted by this. They don't need their phones on the slopes or during the day.

Do you know how trackers work?

No. No you don't.

Read some of the responses and yep, most of the people here are out of touch lol - your ski trip 30 + years (!!!) Ago will be entirely different to what ops child will experience.

DD went skiing with school last year. They were not restricted with phones. But the teachers were with them at all times and they took videos and photos for us. DD didn’t really bother with her phone either. I get why you might feel this way about it but on my DD school trip there was some sneaking into other rooms for chargers etc which had consequences for the children involved. So Id not write an email. Sometimes phones cause more hassle than they solve. If visibility etc is an issue, the ski place will not be letting kids roam the slopes. I think theres a lot of instruction happening in most of the days

I think they are actually far safer and better off without phones. No one will be stopping to pose for silly photos, or distracted by their phone and oblivious to fellow skiers. How old is your child? Let it go.

"Things are much more regulated now."

Yes, I agree. When I think back to how things were 40 years ago compared to my own DC going on trips 15 years ago (and I imagine things will be even stricter today) there really has been an incredible change in how things are run.

There is no need to be so rude.

And yes, I do know how trackers work.

I speak two other languages reasonably fluently and have worked and lived abroad and I've traveled most continents, so I'm not remotely anxious about that. One of my DC is just back from a year of travelling that included places like the Amazon in South America, so again, we are not anxious travelers

I think mobile telephones are incredibly useful modern tools. They allow people to remain in touch. I think this is particularly useful when you are abroad or away from home and in a foreign country doing an activity where it is easy to get separated.

I'm just back from a ski-ing trip and we had a white out descend on us in minutes, from nowhere. Couldn't see more than 2 feet in front of us. We are experienced and knew what to do. We also helped all sorts of people who were clueless and guided them down the mountain and waited with them whilst they reconnected with the other people they were with - using their mobile phones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you seriously trying to tell me that a mobile telephone wouldn't be helpful in such circumstances?!

You are being unreasonable, it's great they won't have phones, they can really enjoy it and socialise!

My 10 year old will be going on her residential and of course I have the normal parent worries about it, but ultimately her having a phone wouldn't actually make either of us feel any better. I would probably be more worried, for different reasons, if they were in their cabins with phones all night.

Every school, every trip, has a system for contacting parents if they need to and a policy for handling children away from home.

I wouldn’t be happy with that. I would buy an Apple Watch

I’d have thought phones could well be a hazard on the slopes - looking at phones/scrolling/taking pics/selfies when they’re supposed to be keeping their wits about them, watching out for reckless snowboarders etc….
Serious accidents do occur on ski slopes!

As pps have said, teens (inc. mine) managed perfectly well without phones on school ski trips.

I'm a qualified ski instructor who has worked with many British school groups in Europe.

The ski schools themselves usually have a general rule that children do not carry phones during lessons. Ski slopes are dangerous places and as skiing is a new and challenging activity for most kids, in an unfamiliar environment, it requires the children to be fully concentrating on what the instructors are telling them and on what they themselves are doing.

The last British school group that I worked with initially allowed the teenage children to have phones with them, despite the ski school policy. The kids and teachers were not happy about the no-phones policy and a compromise was agreed that phones were to be turned off and kept in pockets at all times during ski lessons. This compromise lasted for 2 days. In that time two phones were lost on the piste (cue kids having meltdowns and teachers expecting the instructors to retrace the group's tracks in an attempt to find the missing phones) and instead of paying attention to the instructors, many of the kids were constantly taking out their phones to take photos, TikTok videos and to check their social media. Not only was this irritating for the instructors and for the rest of the group, but it was often dangerous as these children were stopping in the middle of the piste, not paying attention to their surroundings and generally just not being "present" in the lesson. After 2 days the ski school supervisor and the rep insisted that the teachers meet to agree a way forward. Two instructors (out of 5) had refused to continue to teach their groups and it was clear that the school teachers had sold the trip as being a "holiday" and not an educational trip. Only when the ski school boss asked the teachers if the children were allowed phones in their PE, chemistry or English lessons did the teachers begin to get the message, but even then the rest of the week continued under a cloud as many of the children seemed to be surgically attached to their phones and simply unable to function without looking at them every 5 minutes.

@MargoLivebetterthey will be skiing in groups with an instructor (and likely a teacher) who will be able to keep them safe if conditions deteriorate. They will not be roaming the mountain unsupervised!

Have you much awareness of how any outdoor activity for teens is run and risk assessed in 2026?

Nope. No you haven't.

Which will probably get confiscated.

This is more of an argument for experienced and knowledgeable instructors than it is for phones.

Really. Why 😂

I guess it avoids kids filming each other and pics/live streams on social media.
they can concentrate on enjoying the actual skiing.
So long as I could have a text morning or night I think I’d feel better knowing the phones are off.

If they're not allowed phones, they're probably not allowed apple watches etc either.

dd is on a school ski trip now. Phones are
compulsory on the slopes. They have strict instructions not to remove them from their pocket unless an emergency.

Well that’s stupid. You can’t film, be distracted or go on tiktok on an Apple Watch. It’s got the core functions you need nothing more.

I don’t know where they are going but half of Europe is on high avalanche risk at the moment. Even without that risk no way would I be on a slope without a phone and I can ski.

I did once get separated from a ski school age 6 and had to ski back down by myself and walk home (no phones). However with this high snowfall if someone went off course and into woods and got injured or stuck in a tree well or something. What you supposed to do then without a phone?

No I’d not be happy. My DD isn’t going on a Y6 week-long residential (for a number of reasons, not just this) but the kids who are going are not allowed to take phones AT ALL! Their bags are being searched before departure! Thank god my DD isn’t going because I’d be putting my foot down on that one!

DS wouldn't have gone. He needs him to be completely responsible for himself and not reliant on others. People don't believe this, but he has called an ambulance twice from the school grounds. One hit and run just outside the school gates - broken wrist and one accident in in playing field, no staff about, broken collar bone.