Are there any parents out there who support smartphones in schools?

[LadyJos]

Just curious as all the dialogue out there seems to be about banning them.

during class??!!

There are a small number of T1D kids who might need their phones. But policies are made for the majority with exceptions for a minority.

Ultimately it’s about parenting isn’t it. Parenting kids is hard work. Harder still in the digital age. And many parents who themselves are on their phone a lot find it hard to say no to their kids, or don’t want this battle. Or are minimally tech savvy. Which is absolutely fine. Absolutely. But it’s also a little disingenuous to then say ‘my kids are on the phone a lot, I know people say it’s not good for them, but there must be some positives…’

And kids in school need to make real life human connections. To introduce themselves, to learn real life behaviour. As a University professor I am really seeing the dangers of this. In group work students sit around awkwardly. They can’t introduce themselves to each other, make small talk, they can only communicate via their WhatsApp groups. I have younger colleagues who really struggle with the norms of social interaction but who have busy flourishing online lives that are not representative of who they are in person.

No I'm just saying there are positives and negatives. Risk is quite a strong word. I mean, the main thing is we don't KNOW what it's doing to our brains so we have to be careful using strong language like dangerous and risk

Yes and if you're going to tell me you never talked to your friends during class at school well then I'm going to do a little eye roll because come ON

She doesn't talk to her during class ALL the time I'm just making the point that the ohone makes her feel socially connected!!

Your child has a phone addiction if she can't cope without it for an hour.

That's why schools are banning them.

She's actually doing really well at school

I would be against a ban on the grounds that it's a way of keeping in touch with my son if he needs to contact me on his journey to / from school or if I will be out unexpectedly when he gets home (or alternatively if he's made plans after school that don't involve coming home first). It's a way of nurturing independence while still keeping a safety net. The school themselves have an app which is really helpful for reviewing homework and communications that otherwise get lost in my inbox, my son uses the app himself to keep track of his homework.

That said I 100% support consequences if he is silly enough to have it switched on during a lesson!

I certainly wasn't encouraged to talk to my friends during class and I definitely wasn't given a device, by an adult, that encouraged me and allowed me to talk to friends in class.
There's a big difference between having a little whisper with the girl next to me and typing into a smartphone and waiting for a reply while I am in a lesson, and my mu telling me this is perfectly acceptable.

Maybe your daughter would benefit from being taught to value her education a little, and to have respect for the person teaching her, and that there is a world outside her phone.

How can you be so blasé about this? Dreadful

But if she doesn’t get to talk to her friend in class during one period then it’s fine. And if she’s on the phone during class then it’s not that she’s chatting to her friends it’s the fact that she’s potentially doing other things on the same device that is the issue.

Also plenty of research on screen time and cognitive development. This is not a new area of study. Of course there is a risk. There is not just a developmental risk but there is also the risk of what they are being exposed to. TikTok is a cesspit.

And she’s doing really well at school doesn’t mean she isn’t addicted to her phone and it won’t have consequences later. It’s fine to say ‘I find it hard to police her use and it’s a fight not worth having.’ Don’t dress it up as ‘using the phone in class is really good for my brilliant child.’

I am relieved my daughter has her phone with her. I know where she is and she can contact me whenever she wants to. I think we'd struggle to keep her in full time education without this lifeline. She has anxiety and is on the spectrum

Is op aware that such things as nuclear bombs and cigarettes 'have been allowed'

So you don't tap out a message and wait for a reply when you're at work then? What are you doing now then haha. I'm at least admitting I'm using my phone while at work.

Of course I do. Which is not good for my work. Which is not good for your daughter’s school work and she is a CHILD.

O/T but that's not AT ALL how breastfeeding works.

I think the question is for the general students welfare, there'll always be a reason why a sen student needs one. Even though they used to manage without.

No I'm just saying there are positives and negatives. Risk is quite a strong word. I mean, the main thing is we don't KNOW what it's doing to our brains so we have to be careful using strong language like dangerous and risk

If you spent some time looking into the many resources linked on this thread then you'd understand about the risks and the argument for a child feeling "socially connected" is a weak one.

I'm only 38 and some of my peers at school managed a 30 minute train journey to school without any phone at all from the age of 11.

As a society we are way too overprotective of children in the real world and not enough in the virtual world. We will look back and be horrified about what our children were exposed to. A poster being blase about a child receiving a dick pic is just proving the point that this kind of shit is normalised.

Yeah no way should they be allowed in class. My son does have a smart watch which allows him to receive messages, so I can let him know that we're unable to pick him up or that he forgot his trainers and they're in reception. But he doesn't need to talk to his friends on his phone in class.

My DD probably would given the chance, she's not allowed to and quite right too. But she wouldn't trade in person interaction for Snapchat, she video calls her friends at home so is having a more live experience than messaging.

They're very smart yes. But they're not working for your comfort and your wellbeing, they're working to make money.
There's no ethos in these businesses. What they want is your time, your brain, and your wallet.
There are plenty of design courses and books that are aimed at training designers / developpers to hook users onto their apps. They use the same technics as the gambling industry.

They don't even hide it. Netflix' CEO famously said something along the lines of "Our biggest competitor is sleep".

Totally agree with this. I am a secondary teacher and the majority of parents have no idea what their teens are up to on their phones. So much time is spent dealing with SM issues that have happened outside of school. If you are confident your child has never been involved in or witnessed anything unpleasant on their phone, great. But ime this is not the majority experience.

It really is.
Your kids are in greater danger online that in the streets and you're just like "Oh I love to scroll and my kiddo can delete a dick pick what's the problem"

It's like saying "my child got flashed at, but it's OK she could just not look"

I fully support a ban in schools I think we’ve all lost the plot giving our children smartphones (I include myself). All the silly arguments ‘oh they need them on the way home’ No they don’t. We don’t live in a war zone. We all managed perfectly well without phones. They are probably more likely to get run over as they are staring at the phone. Or get mugged for their phone.

I’m really surprised at some of the parents on here. I guess that’s the problem- people are fighting for the phones.

I bloody hate the things. I think we’ll see the damage we’ve done in future years and we’ll all wonder what the hell we were thinking.

I’d fully support an outright ban on smartphones for under 16s. That won’t happen so hopefully a ban on social media.