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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that if the school says no mobile phones to be teken on trip then everyone should respect that.

177 replies

kreecherlivesupstairs · 21/09/2009 18:38

DD went off for her first school trip, she'll be back on Thursday. She is/was thrilled about the whole thing since she found out about it three weeks ago. I dropped her off at 7.30 this morning, saw her onto the bus, had a quiet grizzle to myself then went for a cup of coffee with another mum. She asked me how much cash I'd given dd, I said none, she didn't need it, she then asked about whether I'd topped her phone up for her. It turns out, she's given her son 100 francs (about 60 quid) and sent his iphone along with him. I am sitting here seething with anger which I know is unreasonable, but ffs, the school made some rules that, imho are worth keeping.

OP posts:
dogonpoints · 21/09/2009 19:32

If there was an emergency involving your child, you'd be called, fir. Plenty of people have stated all teh good reasons not to allow them.

Goblinchild · 21/09/2009 19:35

If phones are taken on school trips:

Someone will lose one and the parents will complain

Someone will break one and the parents will complain

Someone will borrow someone else's phone and use up all their credit and the parents will complain

Someone will run up a massive bill talking to friends back home and the parents will complain

Someone will feel homesick and ring home every few hours and will feel worse, instead of getting over it, and the parents will complain

Someone will send someone else a nasty text and upset them and the parents will complain

Someone will keep all the others in their bedroom awake all night talking on the phone, and the other parents will complain

says it all RustyBear.
What emergencies would you prefer a child to deal with rather than a teacher?
When I'm on a school trip, I sleep with my mobile by my ear, so any parental emergency is dealt with straight away. Parents all have all the contact numbers for the teachers. We all take a school mobile, so parents have a hotline.

piscesmoon · 21/09/2009 19:35

I think it is fair enough if there is a special reason Riven, but mostly they don't need them.

  1. The idea is to get away.
  2. Parents need to let go-by the time a DC gets to go on a residentail trip they are old enough to get a short bit of freedom from mum and dad.
  3. It will be inconvenient and will interrupt (possibly).
4.If they are wobbly a word from home will set off the tears.
  1. Those without phones will feel really left out.
  2. Someone will lose it and it will be the teacher who is supposed to make an effort to find it.
  3. I don't know the age of the DC in question, but I don't think an under 11 yr old one needs one in the first place.

I am sure I could think of 8,9 and 10 if I had time!

piscesmoon · 21/09/2009 19:36

residential -sorry

Goblinchild · 21/09/2009 19:37

The number of residential trips has plummeted anyway over the last couple of decades, I have a dream where all children have virtual reality headsets and can tour the world without leaving their bedrooms.

piscesmoon · 21/09/2009 19:39

I see I crossed with Goblinchild. I am in total agreement.
I feel so strongly about it, that if it was proposed that I went on a residential trip with children I would only go if phones were banned.

LeonieSoSleepy · 21/09/2009 19:42

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piscesmoon · 21/09/2009 19:45

In that case Leonie all you need to do is tell the teacher and let her phone in an emergency. If you don't trust the school staff you shouldn't be sending your DC. It is one time that a parent can't control-and shouldn't.

Goblinchild · 21/09/2009 19:46

My AS son went on a residential week in Y6. He had a designated adult he knew and trusted to be his first point of call.
He went on another in Y9 and the individual risk assessment the school did was to die for, it was a lovely customised care plan to ensure he really benefited fully from the experience.
They also welcomed my input before and after the trip. But his school is fabulous, mainstream and over 1,200 pupils.

LeonieSoSleepy · 21/09/2009 19:47

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LeonieSoSleepy · 21/09/2009 19:47

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MmeLindt · 21/09/2009 19:50

When there are no extenuating circumstances (seriously ill sibling or parent/SN etc) then there can be no reason to send a child to school trip with a phone.

100chf is a hell of a lot of a money to give a child for a 3 day trip. And the child having an iPhone, so that he can play games/send emails/chat etc is not the idea of a school trip.

Leonie
There may be reasons for allowing a phone to be taken, but I have to say "another Columbine" would have never in a million years occured to me.

Goblinchild · 21/09/2009 19:50

I've always though that if DS's school can do such a good job and see him as an individual, there's no excuse for other mainstream secondaries not to do as well.

LeonieSoSleepy · 21/09/2009 19:51

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RustyBear · 21/09/2009 19:53

The junior school I work at have a resource for children with ASD and they often go on school trips - in fact two of the three year six children are currently on a week-long residential in the Lake District. One of the resource teachers is with them and knows them well enough to judge when a phone call home would be appropriate - I agree with pisces about trusting the staff.

I do wonder how my FIL managed to take children on holidays to Spain and Switzerland in the late 50's & early sixties - not only did they not have mobiles, but often there was no phone at all in the places they went to....

LeonieSoSleepy · 21/09/2009 19:53

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MmeLindt · 21/09/2009 19:53

Leonie
That is terrible, that the school does not take your DD seriously. Can you move her to another school?

piscesmoon · 21/09/2009 19:58

It is unfortunate if you have staff you don't trust-if they are not going to treat your DC as an individual when they have special needs then I wouldn't send them. Any chance of changing school?

LeonieSoSleepy · 21/09/2009 19:58

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helpYOUiWILL · 21/09/2009 20:01

sorry to sound thick but how were mobiles and columbine connected?

ChookKeeper · 21/09/2009 20:09

How on earth did we manage before mobile phones ?

DD1 went away with a friend for a week when she was in year 6 -she texted me 52 times and phoned me every night in tears telling me how sad she was and what a terrible time she was having .

I was a wreck and felt so bad about her being so far from me home.

BUT when I spoke to her friends mother guess what? She was having a whale of a time and cried about coming home. She was only contacting me when she was feeling a bit home sick when she as tired.

When she went away with the school later that year there were no mobile phones allowed and she just had to suck it up and deal with it - she had a great time and I knew I could contact her via the head teacher if need be.

Funnily enough it's not actually breaching their human rights to separate kids from their mobile phones and encourage them to develop some independence so no YANBU.

NotanOtter · 21/09/2009 20:11

my kids dont have mobiles
they dont suffer
neither do their brains

BitOfFun · 21/09/2009 20:17

Have to agree that arguing for mobiles on school trips in case of a Columbine incident is, er, a bit extreme. I'm generally not in favour of mobiles on school trips for the reasons Rustybear listed. There may be rare exceptions, but sixty quid credit on an iphone seems utterly ridiculous to me.

StewieGriffinsMom · 21/09/2009 20:20

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seeker · 21/09/2009 20:20

A mobile phone is going to be incredibly useful if there is another Columbine, isn't it?