to be annoyed parents arent allowed to use their phones at playgroup?

[itispersonal]

I am a bit of a phone addict I'll admit but . ..

I was at my local sure start centre for a singing session with my dd (so don't use phone during this session) but noticed on the wall they had recently put up a sign to say mobile phones were not to be used by parents due to "e- safety".

I use to go to longer play sessions at the sure start and I would check my phone as it would be when Dp would be on their break/ lunch sort out arrangements for the rest of the day with friends/family etc.

Aibu to be annoyed at this? Surely I am an adult, me talking on a phone or using a phone isn't a paedophile risk! Though not entirely sure what a e-safety risk is. Think sure start struggle to get people through the door so putting this in place would make me think I'll go elsewhere where can have a seat to sit on, a drink etc.

I do try and support the sure start centre as think they provide a good service to children and parents, as well as other paid activities I go to with my dd.

And yes I do interact with baby as well and talk to other mums there. I suppose I just don't like being told what to do!

People showing toddlers porn on their phones at play group??? What if they also start hitting the kids with their phones...like I said, some people have become hysterical.

Lots of places have a rule like this.

If you have to be contactable all the time, then get a basic brick phone with no Internet access or camera. You can arrange your life enough to avoid making calls during sessions, but if someone calls you answering one of these (whilst you rapidly step out away from other children to deal with the urgent matter) is less likely to cause insuperable difficulties than a smart/camera phone.

I had to laugh at the idea of someone showing porn to toddlers at a surestart group! I think some people might be letting their imaginations run a little wild!

One thing too - my local sure start don't have a rule like this. They just ask you not to take pictures, which is fair enough. I am still trusted to use my phone, like a real grown up. Could all this possibly be less about actual risk assessment and more about overzealous arse covering? I wonder...

What I hate seeing in certain places is a child running amok whilst the parent is too busy texting, internet surfing or gabbling away on their phone to stop them.

I see it too when I am out walking my dogs. Another dog running madly and causing problems, and the owner some distance away, on the phone and oblivious.

I totally get the issue regarding pictures too. I personally have known one such "at risk" child whose mum and stepdad try to protect her from being found by her real dad because of abuse. It makes perfect sense.

So, I think the OP is being unreasonable in refusing to see the logic.

Why are so many people so attached to their phones that they almost seem to suffer withdrawal symptoms if they have to turn them off or put them away for longer than 30 seconds?? It can come across as very rude at times too.

Well, zoe, I guess the only way to find out would be to ignore the policy and risk putting a vulnerable child in harm's way.

Depends whether you think it's worth taking that risk so that you don't unnecessarily have to run your phone off.

I work in a nursery and I have just put up a similiar sign, although I just mentioned it was for safeguarding reasons and not e-safety.
There are children attending the nursery who are in foster care and who are at risk of abduction or domestic violence if they were identified and located.
That's not the main reason why i put up the sign.
The main reason is because it is bloody rude to be on your phone if I am talking to you about your child and their day.
I expect the centre staff feel the same way abut all the parents sat texting while they ignore thier children and the other adukts around them.

*turn your phone off

But the policy works! People don't take photos. If the problem is people who deliberately want to put a particular child in harms way, a phone ban is very easily got round in a busy toddler group. Otherwise, you put up a no pictures rule and expect people to follow it! I'm glad we are trusted as adults to be able to use our phones without taking pictures - it isn't difficult after all.

It needs banning because of the utter idiots mentioned by insancerre.

And I 'ignore' my child at toddler group (as in let him entertain himself) because I'm interacting with him the rest of the time. If I send a quick text or two while I'm there, I'm damned if I care about a sniffy sure start volunteer making stupid and entirely unwarranted assumptions about what kind of parent I am!

I was at our local surestart centre this week and it was fine to use your phone. The "rules" just said Please ask permission if you take a photo of your child that another child will be in the background of.. Very sensible I think. YANBU.

Not liking your description of the volunteers, zoe.

And how do you know it works?

If someone is on their phone while talking to the nursery manager, they have issues not resolvable by rules! I would be horrified if our nursery felt the need to patronise parents like that.

Anyway, luckily the local sure start assumes competent adults attend, and still exercises common sense.

I think it is a great idea. It is so common these days to see a child being totally ignored while the parent/carer is on the phone.

Yes but Zoe, that might be the case where you go but might not be the case in other places. There might be a few parents who ignore the no photos rule and so they end up banning phones altogether.

I love our sure start volunteers! It is insancerre who mentions the idea that centre staff don't like people texting during toddler groups. I was saying that if that is the case, they should keep their thoughts to themselves, because it says nothing about what kind of parent someone may or may not be.

Possible, the cat. Or it may be a knee jerk reaction! Knowing some sure start centres and their patronising attitudes towards parents, it is as likely to be one as the other!

Insancerre spoke about parents who are texting/on their phone when staff are trying to talk to them about their child, which is horrifically rude.

She talked about parents sat texting ignoring their child. No one is disagreeing that texting while somebody is talking to you is horrifically rude. But 99% of competent adults don't do this, and if that were the reason for banning phones, it would be treating all surestart attendees like naughty children, which is not on. There is a class subtext here, sure start centres being aimed at more deprived communities.

It might be 99% where you are, but it isn't where I am.

How unsurprising that a thread essentially about protecting vulnerable children turns into one about the right of parents to decide for themselves when to use their phone, regardless of the rules.

zoe comment about your description of volunteers was in reply to your post in which you say:

"I'm damned if I care about a sniffy sure start volunteer making stupid and entirely unwarranted assumptions about what kind of parent I am!"

all these at risk children are in your local community. Some will be coming with me to various groups.

You get your phone out and we will discreetly and quietly walk away from the group, then probably have a word with the organisers about whether it is possible to increase the safety for us...if not we will probably not return and you will never realise.

In the past picture ID of at risk children was difficult to obtain and more obvious to police...now photos are everywhere

just take a book if you don't want to interact with your dc...

I used to read the newspaper

then you don't have to interact with anyone