Delay Smartphones

[JTemperance]

Hi there.

Many of us are concerned about online risks, unsupervised internet access, cyber-bullying and p0rnography, social media and device addiction. There are many reasons why we need to delay giving children smartphones, but when the time comes, the fear that our child will miss out and be excluded without one is very real and often takes over.

Kids For Now is a new website that aims to help parents get together to beat the pressure and delay smartphones.

Please see www.kidsfornow.org.uk or our Facebook group Delay Smartphones UK.

Technology can be great, but it can also be harmful.
Causing a wide range of problems for children, which parental controls can’t always prevent.

Smartphones have unique characteristics that present a unique set of problems.
A pocket-sized mobile internet connection is not necessary for children but it does gives them constant unsupervised internet access almost anywhere with no means of escape from any problems that may arise such as bullying, harassment or grooming. Ultimately, the only child-safe phone is one that is not connected to the internet.

It’s important to use parental controls but they have limited scope to deal with many of these problems and they can even give you a false sense of security. In a recent poll by Teched-Off, 78% of parents weren’t confident that they had adequate parental controls in place.

We need to teach children to be safe online but we need to have realistic and fair expectations of them.
Regulation of the internet has proved to be challenging and is unlikely to ever protect children from many of the problems caused by addictive apps and algorithms.

Whether or not to give your child a smartphone is a personal decision. Many of us consider the risks outweigh the benefits but we worry our child will miss out without one.

Kids for Now tackles this dilemma by connecting parents who want to delay smartphones, so that they and their child know that they are not alone without one. This gives parents the confidence to choose to delay and to support each other in that decision, beating peer pressure on children.

It doesn’t stop at delaying smartphones. Delaying smartphones works alongside internet safety and digital literacy. We still need to protect our children from what they might see on another child’s device. So, we need to talk to other parents, friends and family and explain our concerns and our rules, especially when it comes to playdates and sleepovers.

Lets start delaying smartphones together.

Let kids be kids for now.

Thank you!

Parents are concerned about the risks smartphones bring but fear their child will miss out and be excluded without one. We can overcome this dilemma and resist giving our children smartphones too early by getting together and supporting each other. When parents know there are other parents within their childs school who feel the same thy can help each other delay together and their children know they are not alone without a smartphone.
That's why I started Kids For Now. I think it offers a solution to the problem of smartphones.
If you also think this is the answer then sign-up and start letting others know.
Thanks.
I'm happy to answer any questions here and I promise I'm not getting anything out of this. I'm just trying to make a difference to this issue!

just taken the pledge, thanks for putting this up there on your website. I've been searching for something similar to Waituntil8th in the U.S., but in the U.K. I have a DS who is going to secondary school soon and I don't want the peer pressure of buying him a phone. I hope, fingers crossed, there's an alternative to the Gabb phone in the UK soon.

Thanks Lola36.

Old post but I’ve just been looking into this. Seems like it’s more of a movement in the US. I’ve just finished the book Stolen Focus

Hi Funny Angel, yes, it's not really taken off here yet. Parents are worried about their child missing out and being excluded and this seems to override any concerns about any of the risks and problems that can come from giving a young person a smartphone. There is probably a lack of awareness of the issues too. I think delaying smartphones is the only sensible solution but I don't hear much talk about it. I'd like to see a support network for parents to support each other to delay smartphones. I'm looking for other like minded parents who can help.
Email via the website in the link.

I’ve found that apart from a few friends, most parents don’t actually seem that worried about phone usage. Lots also don’t seem to monitor their kids phones or put any restrictions in place. I find it interesting that that happens. However I also feel like talking about the dangers of the internet isn’t enough. It’s like sending your kids into town on a Saturday night and expecting it to be ok

It's a culture of denial and it's unpopular these days to raise problems. That's how it seems. Even at an organizational level in schools, parent councils and local education authority. Very difficult.
The trouble is, people don't seem to realize that when kids have smartphones it affects all the other kids too not just your own. It's irresponsible. But no parent likes to be told that. So it's seen as judgemental and people hate that. So what can you do? You can't change what other parents do or judge them but parents who already want to delay can support each other. That's the plan. But needs a critical mass.