To wish schools would ban smartphones

[Sotiredofallthisnonsense]

Aibu to think that its the very least schools should be doing so that schools and parents can work together to minimise the harm that smartphones cause - which imo far outweigh any benefits. By allowing smartphones even in the classroom, schools are the largest contributer to the peer pressure to have one. Am I in a minority of parents who wish schools didn't permit smartphones?

If she’s anything like I was as a teenager, at age 13/14 is when you might want to START tracking her every move! 😳

It’s not schools fault that teens want smart phones.

We put them in a box in the morning, they’re locked in a safe all day and then collected at home time. Seems like a simple solution!

@FuckingHateRats

I agree. What I see is shocking and I don't blame the teacher at all but asking them to put them away doesn't work.
They whip them out the moment you walk away.

They must not be allowed in class at all and it should be a government policy. Let's help them tp get a break form their phones. This will be looked on like smoking in class in years to come.

Phones that only make and receive calls, permit voicemail, and allow text are ideal for older tweens and young teens. Social media encourages bullying and drama. Facebook is not a benign app, and it’s hard for patents to say no.

My child’s smartphone is used for monitoring his medical condition. He needs it in class, out on his desk. No, they shouldn’t be banned.

Phones get confiscated if seen at my school. 6th formers are allowed to use them in lessons if necessary.

How do you do that in a big comp of over 1000 pupils ?

Totally agree.

Our school says it has a no phone policy in lessons, but then asks the students to use their phones for classwork 🤷‍♀️ As a parent, this makes it impossible to take a firm line.

What would he have used before smartphones were a thing?

24 hour attachment your iPhone to monitor a health condition sounds very odd.

It's not weird. It's amazing. Previously kids with Type 1 diabetes would be finger pricking and injecting insulin and hoping for the best. Now they can have continuous glucose monitoring, with a pump and their iPhone and have much better control of their condition. Amazing.

A glucose monitor doesn't have to be an app on a smartphone 😵‍💫

It doesn't, but it increasingly is.

My son is T1 diabetic too. His smartphone is a lifesaver for us but he still doesn't have it out in class unless he feels like he's hypo in which case he tells a teacher and then gets it out to check.

We can have a ban of the phones apart from when medically necessary. It's probably about three kids in school. It would be very obvious why they were using it.

I'd agree with this. I was really just countering the idea of weirdness when it's a really standard thing.

Fwiw, my DC's school says phones need to be off and in bags, if they are seen or heard they are confiscated. I imagine there's an exception if needed for monitoring medical needs. Which seems fine to me.

For once this is where government can help. It was government who banned smartphones in schools in Victoria and my God it takes the heat out of the whole business as it's "not the school doing it".

Phones can come in but stay in lockers all day, including recess and lunch.

Obviously exceptions can be made for medical reasons and as part of a lesson.

For some of them, such as those who aren't hypo-aware (a known medical issue), collapse and require urgent lifesaving treatment, assuming that the symptoms are recognised, said child isn't somewhere they aren't expected to be, such as in the toilet during lessontime, right up the back of the field or truanting and they haven't deteriorated so quickly that there's time for a First Aider to be fetched, having gone via the medical room fridge for the Glucagon emergency injection kit or Defib pack.

There are many monitoring apps that are proving to be invaluable for all ages, but even something as simple as having alarms set for different times during the day to remind them to test or go to medical to take their next dose of medication is extremely useful to keep kids safely in education and having a more ordinary adolescence, never mind making it less likely that a parent could wake up in the morning or come home from work to a catastrophic loss.

A 3310 can't save nearly as many lives as smartphones can.

Thanks @NeverDropYourMooncup

You clearly know nothing about young people with Type 1 diabetes. Smartphones save lives.

Sorry, @Johnnysgirl , I see you've already had it explained. It affects a good friend's DD who is in Yr 8. Fortunately her school manages smartphones sensibly.

Our secondary school allows them because most of the work and the timetable is online! They use apps for homework and communication etc. it’s frustrating as I hate them always being on a device. I do appreciate the phone for safety as they walk home but using the damn things half the day for school annoys me.

He wears an omnipod, controlled by a device which looks like a phone and a dexcom controlled by his phone. He uses the omnipod to administer insulin, as required. The dexcom alarms when his blood sugar is either too low or too high.

Prior to smart phones being a thing, this technology didn’t really exist. Given he is hypo unaware, the devices ensure he doesn’t get so low he starts fitting or goes into a coma. Or dies, worse case scenario. Most of all they allow him to live as near a normal life as possible.

Use of the technology is written into his care plan. Removing his phone from him would, ultimately, be covered by disability legislation.

is that good enough for you?

A glucose monitor doesn't have to be an app on a smartphone

No. But when you have a device on your body, sending readings every 5 minutes to your phone, you are able to more effectively manage the condition before things get serious. Long term, good management helps prevent additional problems - heart disease, kidney disease, loss of feet....all of which costs more to the tax payer than the monitoring devices. My childcalso gets sn education, meaning he passes exams, makes a useful contribution to society. Alternatively, my child can fit regularly, and your child's lessons a be disturbed as a result. Missing school regularly has an obvious negative impact which is lifelong.

YANBU. I think they should be banned for all under 13s and banned in schools. It’s ridiculous if they’re allowed in classrooms.

No. You are being entirely reasonable.