To think parents are not teaching any independence?

[MrBlobbysNuts]

A local parent group is in uproar because their precious secondary school children are apparently "too vulnerable" to get the bus before and after school without a phone (phones have been banned from premises entirely)

How is getting a bus for 15 minutes without a phone unsafe? Back in the day we just had ourselves and we survived. Give the kids cash and teach them to stop relying on phones to get around. The world is no more dangerous than it was 40 years ago, if anything it’s much safer!

Not in my area there weren't.

Thats unusual though most areas had phoneboxes

Schools around me are adopting these pouches that lock away the phones in school time. Staff are reporting positive behaviours, including kids actually talking to each other in breaks rather than being glued to screens.

There are no Manned police stations either any more. There’s a phone outside with a connection to one oh one that nobody answers.

There was.

Alcohol has been around since 7000 BC. Mass affordable cars have been around since the 1920s. Should young children not be banned from them and instead be taught 'respectful use'? The reason we have (by way of an example) speed limits on roads is that not everyone practices respectful use. I too would rather we didn't have to ban things, and that parents could both model good behaviors for children and restrain from giving smart (not dumb) phones to children, but they don't.

I don’t link this with independence to be honest. Life moved on. Just because something makes today a bit safer doesn’t mean children are losing independence. Are you saying as a grown adult if you were in the middle of no where and got hurt / injured you wouldn’t use your mobile to call for help ? Because back in the day you wouldn’t have been able to.
I track my 12 year old and I really don’t care. Imagine life May have been very different for some parents in the past like Millie , holly , Jessica , Sarah and more, if things that available then as they are today.

Years ago my dd aged about 12 was badly bullied and spat on by a boy on her school bus. She had a mobile so called me in floods of tears and scared to get off at her stop in case he followed her. I was able to get to the stop and comfort her.
I agree with the ban whilst at school but not on the journey to and from school.
I know we didn’t have mobiles 20/30 years ago but we do now . Having something that that makes a parent and child feel bit safer and more secure can only be a good thing surely?

Do you think that the local pedo or bully was going to wait for you to make that phone call before leaping though? So I don't see that making any real difference.

I remember once a gang of kids were going to rob us (overheard them). I dragged my younger sibling away from the bus stop we were at and they were gaining on us. They were almost there and ready to surround us when I found an open shop (it was just on closing) and dragged my sibling into it. I was about 11. I asked the shop keeper to phone me a taxi as I didn't know how, and got home that way. My mother had prepared me to take a taxi if I needed to and she would pay for it. We didn't have a lot of money either. I got home and told her I had to pay a taxi and I'd explain after. That's equipping your kids.

I doubt you lived in my area. There were two on my 40 minute walk home from school.

What about the kids getting robbed and beaten for their phones? At least we never had to deal with that one.

The good thing about this kind of experience was that I took initiative, I grew in confidence, I knew I could handle things. I'm not sure that would have been the same if I'd had to call my mother to work it out for me.

Not true though we could of just got robbed for different things 🤣 there has always been trends , designer belongings and bad people. I actually think now phones are more of a common thing and very easy to access phone theft is less of an issue here.

I’m early 40s and had a phone in secondary school, and not everyone’s bus journey is only 15 minutes. I don’t really see how having a phone in case of emergency, or to let me know they are going into town with their mates after school, or using it to pay for something etc is not being independent. That’s the world we live in now.

not sure why having a phone would have prevented you from doing this. It doesn’t disable you.

At the school my friend’s DD goes to they hand their phones in at the start of the day and then collect t them in their way home. It must be a nightmare doing this with 1200 students!

More likely money back then. I think the group that wanted to rob us was probably after our bus money. There are always things, but recently I've been aware of a few incidents specifically around phones. We didn't tend to carry such high value items when we were young. Kids just didn't have them because they didn't exist.

In my DD10 year group so many kids are not going on the year 6 residential because they cant cope with being away from home its unreal

Im pretty sure most kids mobile phone or not know to go into shops or to an adult for help this isn't something special you was taught

Because contacting someone to tell you what to do rather than working it out and acting successfully isn't the same as when you rely on someone else to do it for you.

That said, I am glad my kids have phones. It is reassuring to know they can get in touch.

Everyone saying phones should be switched off and in bags do understand their kids just use them in the toilets at break times don’t they? 😬

The question is whether parents are teaching self-help so stringently now knowing that they can be contacted.

Still makes 0 sense to me why a phone impacts this.

I thought the thread was about mobile phones

Well yes but the difference there is a higher chance you would know faster if one your child is missing 2. Have a better chance of you or police tracking their locations or at least recent locations.