To think we can start keeping kids safer brick by brick?

[Howmuchbookingfee]

What if every parent whose child is starting Year 7 in September and getting a phone for the first time get them a brick phone which is just for safety and peace of mind for us and them? No Insta, no TikTok, no Snapchat etc until they are older and more mature? They can unwind mentally at the end of the school day and at weekends and holidays. Schools could support by introducing 'No smartphones' for that and subsequent year groups. I think it would be something parents can do while we wait for politicans and profiteers to act?

Checking your child's location by phone is false security IMO... we had an incident last year where one of DDs friends was presumed to be at the park as that where his phone was showing. He had in fact those the phone was wandering the streets trying to find it.

yeah, we all managed in the past without a mobile phone of any description , never mind a smartphone
it's not just about children and young people viewing dangerous content/bullying, its about the time and attention wasted and social skills not developed
and yes, many parents are addicted- or at least over-users- so they aren't best placed to discourage smartphone use

At least you could escape it though when you got home from school? You can't now.

I plan to have a few phones in the house that the kids can take out with them. Clearly our (parents’) property, so we’re able to go through them etc whenever we want. No specific phone for a specific child. No social media apps. Location, messaging, music etc

Oldest is in year 4 so have time to hone the plan!

The world we live in is connected so trying to stop things now is just closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. Taking this away from children doesn't solve the problem. Rather, we need to educate and inform ourselves, and them, on how to behave and use these tools.

@ waituntil8th is a good insta account about this

I am in this exact position. Eldest is going to secondary in September but I am thinking he'll "need" a phone by Easter purely to be able to have a bit more freedom (IE to make arrangements with his mates / keep in contact with me if plans change)

I am seriously considering allowing WhatsApp? No other SM though.

Phone will be handed to me each evening when he comes in and given back each morning. Any flouting of any rules we set around it's use and I'll take the phone off of him immediately. I'll also insist on open access to his phone.

I am not too worried about him but DC2 (girl - aged 9) I am dreading already. I worry about my DD far more than DS [based on their personalities mainly]

This is what most parents made a collective choice to do 10-15 years ago when my dc started secondary. All the kids had a phone, but it was a crap old Nokia thing.

As always, a few crap parents ruined it for the majority and it became harder and harder to keep kids happy with a brick phone when one or two had smartphones, and now it seems the battle is lost altogether.

One thing that is handy if your dc get public transport is Citimapper

I rely on it as an adult and they can too. A specific example was a diverted bus and how to get home

They don’t do apps like IG or whatever that involves uploading stuff and don’t follow it. More messaging friends and gaming

I don't see how parents are 'crap' for making a different decision. I wanted my child to have a phone with maps and transport apps. He only uses discord to communicate with friends, no interest in social media, it works for us.

Really? How many 11 year olds are out of their home area unsupervised? I mean it would be great if they could, but surely modern day traffic precludes cycling miles from home.
I don't think they need a smart phone map anyway. Paper maps are fine.

What do you consider your home area? At age 11 DS roamed probably at least a mile in any direction, not least because he had friends spread out around all these areas. He did get lost a couple of times, especially if coming back a different route or perhaps he'd taken a short cut with the friend whose house it was but then tried to take the same route back and it didn't quite go to plan!

Admittedly, he's not great at reading maps yet so in those instances he actually rang me and explained where he was and I helped him figure it out, but it's a bit naive to think 11 year olds aren't wandering around relatively far out. Similarly, the first time he took a train (just one stop) by himself, even though we'd done it a few times together, he got a bit confused on the platform and had to ring me. In the end we swapped to a video call as he kept telling me was could see the "platform 2" sign which made no sense as that was the wrong direction... turned out the sign was on the other platform, he just hadn't clocked that just because he could see it didn't mean that it was relevant to him! Oops.

Mine and friends were. They stayed off main roads, mostly out on the lanes and cycle paths. A mile or two radius.

Honestly, I think parents need to stop allowing the government to raise their children, let alone giving them even more powers to say what phone you should buy them with your own money.
The government have made it harder and harder for families to survive, without both parents working longer hours. So kids are spending more time being raised by the school system (other threads include posters asking for shorter school holidays and longer school days!) Come on. The simple answer to it all, is for parents to spend more time with their kids. More time spent raising them and having fun with them, instead of these kids being alone on their devices. I've got teenagers, I can see the difference in other kids who are peer or family orientated.
You don't need the government to tell you what phone to buy your child. You are the parent. If you've built a strong enough foundation and are active enough as a parent, it won't matter what phone they have.

I don't think they need a smart phone map anyway. Paper maps are fine.

If you don't mind using a paper map then that's up to you. I like the convenience of Google maps and transport apps myself.

They also say which bus / train where and what time

Ease isn't bad

Let kids have smartphones and access to learning and knowledge.

ban men from having them. End grooming and dick pics in one go.

yes, I know namalt. But let’s face it, what’s the biggest problem with social media?

as for the poster who lets their child on discord, really? Do you know what people do on there?

as for the poster who lets their child on discord, really? Do you know what people do on there?

What do they do? All his college friends use it to message and talk while playing games. I use it to message him too. He's not identifiable to anyone else in real life.

Ok, so I asked ds (A level comp sci student and gamer) about discord and he explained possible issues and how you could deal with or avoid them and I have no concerns about him using it.

Discord has all sorts of weird servers on it - I wouldn't let my teen anywhere near it

So I did say on another thread that I agreed Social media and the majority of the internet should be banned for everyone under 16, but not because their not mature, the majority are mature and their not the problem, it’s more of a problem what other adults put on social media, not them. So yes, a brick is a good idea, but not because they are not mature enough, but to protect them from the adult idiots in the world and the toxic shit they post and say!

You don't need to join them just because they exist and you are invited. You can just use the group chat with friends.

11yo's around here travel up to thirty miles away for school.
They regularly go to the beach or cycling several miles from the door.