Yondr pouches - why are some parents against them?

[aperolspritzbasicbitch]

I’ve seen a lot of comments (online, never come
across anyone is real life, although it’s not a conversation I’ve had much) from parents that are massively against their child’s school supplying them with Yondr pouches.

For those of you that don’t know, they are fabric pouches with a magnetic closure. Pupils are expected to put their phones in them when they start school, and use the magnets stationed around the exits of the school to undo them at the end of the day.

My child’s school use them, and I have no negative opinions about it at all. They haven’t pulled the idea out of their arse or stumped up the cost for no reason - phones were obviously causing an issue.

I can’t see why any parent would be backing their child up with a refusal. Although, that wouldn’t stand in my child’s school. They would be suspended if they are caught without their phone in the pouch. Spot checks are done during the day.chat

I hope they start using them in theatres.

I have no issues with them. My eldest is at non-mainstream school and although he doesn't have a smart phone, he complied with putting his brick phone (that he barely ever takes with him!) in the pouch. They've had them for a year, we've not had any issue.
My youngest started secondary last week and was given the pouch yesterday. He doesn't have a smart phone either. He hadn't taken his brick phone with him either. So he had to be searched! I'll be checking with school what the plan is going forward because he may on occasion have his phone (for example today I told him to take it because I won't be home when he finishes school). But no, I'm quite happy with the pouches. But then I'm clearly not for giving kids smart phones either! (I have a 24 year old and learned from the experience of him having one - delay it as long as you possibly can!)

The only time I’ve encountered them was at a Kevin Bridges stand-up gig, where you were required to seal your phone into one before being allowed into the venue. I appreciate anyone in his position is afraid of their work being recorded and stuck up online, but honestly, getting away from the venue afterwards where there were huge crowds queueing for each magnet, was a nightmare, and it would make me think twice about attending another event that used them.

DS’s school uses ‘Phoneaway’ boxes which are on the walls of the school, but from what he says, a sizeable minority stick an old phone in the box and keep their real phone on them. Before that started happening, apparently pupils asked to go to the loo mid-class three times less often than they had when they had access to their phones. There was a survey and most parents approved of the Phoneaway boxes.

I don’t object in principle, but a difficulty for me is that I use life360 to stalk my DD. She has a long bus ride across the city to get to school, and putting her phone in the pouch immediately on arrival means I can’t be certain she’s got there.

Lots of the kids just use stunt phones in the pouches.

She can message you before she puts the phone in the pouch

My 12 year old travels an hour to school on her own and she messages ‘here’ when she’s arrived at the gates. It’s just second nature.

Well, she could, but it kind of defeats the aim of allowing her independence if she needs to actively check in rather than me silently checking where she is because I’m neurotic.

My DC school has just introduced them.
The main reasons for parents objecting seem to be,
they want to be able to contact their child throughout the day and don’t trust school to pass on messages,
their child has a medical issue requiring phone access,
they are the kind of parent who seems to push back on every school rule.

Wouldn’t the school message if she wasn’t in registration?

Surely the app will give you a last known location before it goes in the pouch?

My DC’s independent secondary uses them. No complaints from me.

For the very small minority who have medical needs I understand special arrangements are made but they don’t advertise this.

The school doesn’t search AFAIK but they go straight to one of the more serious detentions if they are are seen with a phone or if one were found outside a pouch.

The nature of this specific school means the kids are probably more compliant in this and parents less resisting than some schools would face.

I would just get an AirTag or equivalent and put on her keys or in wallet “in case keys get lost”. You can then track keys and hence her.

Honestly at this point everything of DC has one as so much has been “mislaid” - keys, school bag, school sports bag, wallet, instrument case, out of school sports bag. DC does not take a smart phone out and so this dual purposes tracks child location and where belongings have been left behind.

There are some automation options in apple phones that can pick up a location and send a message...i've not used them but I think if you google you'll find a way to get her phone to automatically message you when she gets to school....

DD has just started (as in 4 days ago) a school that uses them. I had never come across them before.

Ironically this same school gave a parent talk about the dangers of SM and smartphones and said they recommend dumb phones until Y10. Surely if this is your stance then you just ban phones or make it a "dumb phone only" school? Anyway I digress.

We live so close to the school we decided DD wouldn't take her phone, if she wants to do something after school so has to walk past our house so she can just come in a ask me as I WFH! She'll know in advance club days etc. No need for her to have a phone (she is only allowed it at weekends at present anyway)

DC1 goes to a different school and the rules are "no phones allowed in school hours" - he has just gone into Y9 and doesn't take his phone either. He has never needed to.

That's what DS does. He messages from just outside the school premises.

No schools are allowed to let their pupils use phones in schools, it's a new rule from the DFE

Sounds brilliant

Because there is a whole swath of parents who actually think their children will explode if they aren’t on TikTok constantly. I know some of these - their children have rights to be scrolling on social media all the time and school doesn’t tell them what to do. 🙄 It’s the ones who in middle age are still struggling with authority.

I think the pouches are great. My dc have a long bus journey and go to jobs and sports training in town after school. They do need phones in the evening hours to arrange transport home, so they do need to take phones to school. But they absolutely don’t need to be on them during school hours.

kids at secondary school are messaging to say they arrived safely? Where’s the sense of trust and independence?

I don’t think mine thinks sending ‘here’ makes my daughter think I’m thwarting her independence to be honest. I don’t have any tracking on her though, I think she’d think that was more far more intrusive into her life! Anyway ask your daughter; she may not mind spending 3 seconds to send a message.

It’s a great thing, some schools are going much harder than that though with a total smart phone ban and extreme sanctions if you’re found with one.

There will no doubt be pushback from those parents who are happy for their children to be screen addicts.

I wish my kids’ school had Yondr pouches.

My friend’s kids go to a school with them and they were required to buy the pouch in order for their child to take a phone to school at a cost of around £15-20 I think, which seems reasonable and means the school budget is t affected.

My older son has always had a smart phone hand-me-down from his Dad and the school rule was phones not seen and not heard during school hours. He has never fallen foul of this rule but over his 4 years at secondary has appropriately used his phone to let us know he is running late, has forgotten his PE kit and that he is locked out of the house as well as letting us know that his plans have changed which has been great for his independence (unlike someone further up, our house is quite the detour if he needed to pop back and let us know where he was going).

My little one has just started secondary and is not allowed to take a smart phone which leaves us having to buy a dumb phone or have no phone at all and lose some of the independence his brother had. A dumb phone is at least £40 for one that has 4G so a Yondr pouch to put his hand-me-down smart phone would be much cheaper.

Do you have a plan on when you'll stop tracking her?

My issue with tracking like this is that, as we have the technology, it feels defendable for a 9/10 year old. And then for an 11/12 year old starting a new school... and then you've got it set up, so you might as well use it to check your 14/15/16 year old is where they're supposed to be.... and at what point do you stop?

It's pretty well known now that neuroticism in this form gets worse. If you get used to being able to see someone's location all the time, you feel bereft without it, it makes the neuroticism worse. It makes the fear and anxiety when you don't have that tracking a lot worse.

And realistically you are not allowing her full independence, or you to get used to her independence, if you're tracking her journey.

Studies have shown that kids who are used to being tracked by parents are more likely to allow partners to do it because it becomes the norm for them.

I got used to being tracked as I was a care child. I let an ex-boyfriend track me. He got obsessive over it, I had no idea, as I couldn't see how often he was checking. He became convinced I was cheating rather than going to work - no fucking idea how - tracked me to a supermarket, and assaulted me near the trolleys. It was horrifying. The evidence at the trial was so, so anti tracking, but it's so normalised now.

I think most parents would agree that free access to phones during the school day isnt a good thing. The question is whether the significant expense & continuous admin of installing and using the pouches is worth it.
My DD's school has a never seen, never heard policy currently. Rules state phones off in bags sanctions if they are seen or heard. I was happy with that rule.

They are moving to pouches. The cost is considerable and it will still require policing. Students can still break the rule, but it will require a bit more effort. They can claim they didnt bring a phone, put an old phone they dont use in the pouch or use a strong magnet to open it.

The pouches cost money for schools to implement. Are they worth it? Im genuinely not sure.

Discussion of the realities of pouches.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/school-phone-pouches-yondr-smartphone-ban-b3027304.html