To not bother with broadband?

[YeaOkay]

AIBU to not bother with broadband?

We are going to be cut off in a few weeks and I can't be arsed to shop around, plus we will need a new bt line installed.

We are with Virgin but our renew price was stupid. We have TV in two rooms and phone, broadband. Renewal was high even for just the internet and phone without the TV it would have cost us more then it does now

Anyway bt lines are all that's left and I can't be bothered. Kids use it for school but it's tough shit really isn't it. Me and DH don't need it for work so, I'm thinking just leave it?

How U am I being to think I can survive without in 2021?

Should say we have mobile data on phones for email.
Kids will have to have paper copies of work.

If you can afford it I really don't think now is the best time to get rid of it. Schools are doing the best they can to provide something for those who are really struggling. It's a difficult time for everyone
as it is, why make it even harder?

This seems very unfair on kids who have not got a laptop or internet.

Yes it is unfair. A lot of children will be permanently disadvantaged because they do not have access to the technology needed for home learning.

You, however, are choosing to disadvantage your children this way.

Are you being serious?

No broadband with a teen? Perfect way to exclude them from their mates.

In the last lockdown kids with broadband maintained their progress. Kids without fell 6 months behind.

Why would you ditch broadband at the start of online learning? You must be crazy.

Have you heard of the digital divide? Why on earth are you choosing this for your kids? Is this post a windup. It has NEVER been as important for children to have access to the internet as now.

Believe me, I’m a teacher. I despair that you’re choosing this for your children.

I would have to be in serious financial straights to put my 13 yo at such a substantial disadvantage.

I'm 31 and even back when I was a teen, my parents wouldn't have cut me off from the internet. I used it for all kinds, not just social media. Lots of the interests and probably parts of my career today were helped by having internet access.

When DH and I moved in together, it was to an inherited property and the relative didn't have broadband installed. We're not screen people by a long shot, don't have iPads, and only I have a smartphone, but it was an absolute nightmare. I spent so much on data and felt weirdly cut off.

I think you're being very unreasonable to expect kids, especially an early teen, to be without broadband. It's vital, especially for school work.

Oh sorry I forgot me and everyone else pays tax for these teachers to sit in front of a computer screen The computer screen I sit in front of is one I've just spent £300 on so I can produce decent lessons from home, plus a whack of money to Sky for faster internet since there are now several people at home all day needing it at once.
OP is either
(A) as bad as she sounds
(B) secretly really hard up for money
(C) a GF.

Well some of you have been rude for no reason.

You're the one who set the tone, don't bitch when it backfires!

Ooh another plant 🪴

So
Many
Of
Them

Ok, so I'm a troll now? Why just because I replied to posts that were rude in a rude way?

I have taken on board what I have been told! I said, I will look into getting a mobile data hub. I will also wait a few days before making any decisions, because people on here have told me Virgin may phone me up and offer a deal before the cut-off.

Oh and @JerichosPenisInADeadChickHat you failed to read my post then? 16p a day? Err no. I said 5 pound more then now.

Can't believe asking a school for paper copies is classed as entitled nowadays. Won't be long before penmanship is a thing of the past. What's the point of them learning to use a pen, just for it to go to crap because everyone in school will be typing everything soon, if this is anything to go by. Oh and eyesight will go to the dogs faster too.

Gosh. I'm a shit mother. How are my kids not dead? Oh and no the 13yo does not use the internet much. Very much into books tbh.

I'm starting to think, Mumsnet was not the place for this. Having kids who hardly use a screen must be very uncommon on here. Saying that, I've already been told my kids are going to be unemployed due to lack of using windows 10. (I'm paraphrasing)

I'm going to bed. Again thank you to the people who have pointed me the right way. I have heard it.

"Oh and @JerichosPenisInADeadChickHat you failed to read my post then? 16p a day? Err no. I said 5 pound more then now."

Uh huh, which is 16p a day increase more than now.

It's well worth it.

You are completely missing the point that the teachers will be sharing videos, zoom or similar, asking children to flip through powerpoints, links to other sites.

This simply can't be printed. It's impossible. Schools haven't got the budget to print learning packs and distribute them to all pupils. So for a monthly increase of £5 out of your budget it's pretty unreasonable if you to feel entitled to that for 3 children.

You can always cancel once they're back at school if it's that much of a hardship for you.

I recently renewed my broadband contract with EE who gave me an upgrade to fibre broadband from copper and did it for £18pm. No phone line anymore and they give me an extra 5GB on my mobile.

Oh, @Oodlenoodle12 I thought you had to have a landline to have broadband, I'd love to get rid of a landline that no one ever phone on.

@ItsIgginningtolookalotlikeXmas you don't have to have a phone plugged into the landline. You can just get rid of the handsets etc.

Having a kid that's very much into books doesn't mean that they can't also get use from the internet. My entire career is based around books, I have a whole home library room of wall to wall books...but I also use the internet for research and keeping in contact with my peers. Why would you deliberately prevent access to this? The internet isn't just for games and social media. It's a fantastic resource. We pay for all kinds of online journals and resources that you CANNOT get anywhere else. It isn't either or. It's about giving children the best start.

Also, for any higher education kids need to be able to use the internet for research purposes. Not knowing how to research online and use the internet appropriately is a massive disadvantage when it comes to university.

You do realise most homework now and in the future will be online? For the sake of £5 or putting into a search bar in google to find the best broadband deal keep it or change providers your kids will need it.

1/10

If you're not a troll then you're a belligerent fool, OP.

Whatever your opinion, your children are going to need good internet access in the coming months and years. There's no point getting irate about it. You asked and that's the answer.

And people didn't all have perfect vision before screens, you know. Squinting at books isn't especially good for the eyesight either.

My 7 year old had computing in his home learning today. How are your kids supposed to take part in that lesson without broadband? Most of the maths lessons include online games, and for other subjects they often have to watch videos on YouTube or BBC Bitesize. Life is geared up for the internet so it seems insane to take it away. You can't expect them to use your phone all the time for school.

A few months ago I was using my mobile phone as a hot spot. Being honest I had enough of the internet dropping and running out of data I decided to get broad band. My advice with 3 kids doing home schooling is to get proper broadband and not a mobile hot spot as you hit a data allowance quickly.
I have a sister with 3 kids in primary school. About 18 months ago I advised her to get broadband into her home as her kids were getting older and doing school project's. She was glad to have it earlier this year when she had to home school and since then she bought a 2nd tablet that her kids can write on with its own pen. The reality is that kids need broadband at home for home schooling, project's ect. Your putting your kids at a disadvantage by not having it. Looking up Martin Lewis page and see what deals are out their and use one of the cashback websites as well.
Also the reality is that your kids teachers won't print out worksheets ect for you because you just can't be bothered to sort out proper broadband and with a bit of research it need not cost you much.

Won't this make OPs kids classes as vulnerable (lack of internet access) and then they'll be eligible to go into school?

In my kids' school, the kids who are in are working in exactly the same way as those at home - on screens!

But as an aside "penmanship" is redundant now. The UK doesn't even properly teach cursive (French spend a long time on it) because..it's not needed. As long as writing is legible, which by 13 it should be, it's fine!

And as a teacher, I’d be very about a family that could afford broadband but wouldn’t have it.

Denying children opportunities. Stopping them connecting. All homework on line. Almost but not quite a safeguarding issue.....