{SECTION_MENU}

Smartphones and our children

Is your child starting to ask about getting a smartphone? Are you feeling the pressure to give them a smartphone so that they are not left out? If you would prefer not to give your child a smartphone until they are older, you are not alone! The Smartphone Free Childhood movement has really taken off this year. The aim is to try and delay the age at which children are given a smartphone. 

We would like to try and grow a group of parents/carers of children at RPS who are interested in delaying the age their child has a smartphone. The aim of doing this is to help parents/carers and children know that other children also don’t have a smartphone, and to take the pressure away. 

https://delaysmartphones.org.uk/faqs/ provides interesting information in relation to fears about delaying the age to give your child a smartphone.

We hope to build a community where more children do not have smartphones than do.  

Until now there has been an unspoken consensus that when children go to secondary school they get a smartphone. Although there are many practical reasons why children are given a smartphone, there are also concerns over harmful content and negative impact on them. We have been keeping up with what is happening nationally and found many interesting stories (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg2r4rxjd9o).

This article revealed a startling fact; according to Ofcom, 84% of bullying in eight to 17-year-olds is via their phone.

There are lots of alternatives to a smartphone, so that children can still stay in touch with their parents and with each other, via text or call, without the risks associated with being online and/or on social media. This page suggests alternatives:  https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/alternatives

If you are interested in joining this community, we have a Smartphone Free Childhood WhatsApp group for Romsey Primary School and you can join by going to https://whatsapp.smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/. There is no pressure to commit to anything by joining the group; the idea is to start to grow a community, and see what people think.