Cell/mobile phone access for students

[Anonymous]

WaPo has an article in today's edition about the problems that cell phones are posing to this younger generation. Most of us went to school before cell phones were as prevalent as they are today, so our experiences in school, much less life, were markedly different. For instance, if a parent wanted to contact their DC in the middle of the day for an emergency, they would go through the main school office, which would then pass the message on to the DC. Nowadays, parents seem to get anxious when they can't reach Larlo at all during the day. Do you think schools should ban cell phone use during the school day? What are the pros? Any cons?

[Anonymous]

Kids getting murdered in school on a regular basis have contributed immensely to this mind set in parents.

[Anonymous]

I just read the article and it makes a lot of sense to me. Schools really need to take action to reduce the distractions, social pressures, and cyberbullying that are so prevalent during the school day. On many of our school visits, it was really shocking to see how some students would just pull out their phones during class and not pay any attention to the lesson (while a group of adults are visiting nonetheless). I know that parents want to be able to get in touch with their kids during the day in addition to other reasons, but I really think that the negatives of having phones in school outweigh the positives. I wish more schools would follow this example and ban phones during class time. I'm sure most teachers and administrators would probably agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids getting murdered in school on a regular basis have contributed immensely to this mind set in parents.

Honest question: how does a cell phone solve this? I get the anxiety, and cell phone access does nothing to solve the actual safety issue.

[Anonymous]

When I was 16, I was headed back to boarding school and my flight was cancelled. I spent about 8 hours in the airport (most of that crying) because I couldn't get ahold of my parents. I remember calling collect on the airport payphone and since it was before cell phones, my parents had gone on a hike and my brother (who was home when I called) couldn't get ahold of them and he didn't have access to a car. Now, I realize that is an extreme case and most kids aren't going to boarding school...but I also remember waiting around at sports practice and getting nervous when someone was late picking me up or when I wasn't sure where to meet someone. I dont think kids need social media and internet on their phones, but when my kid is in middle school and going to friends houses and sports practice - they will have a phone. I think there is a middle ground between toxic, unfettered access to the internet and social media on your phone and a kid who has a phone with five pre-programmed numbers (family) for emergencies and logistics.

[Anonymous]

Ban them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids getting murdered in school on a regular basis have contributed immensely to this mind set in parents.

Honest question: how does a cell phone solve this? I get the anxiety, and cell phone access does nothing to solve the actual safety issue.

Never said it did. But knowing your kid isn’t dead rather than waiting in some offsite 2 miles away for hours to find is a pretty big motivator.

Since they are phones they could be used to provide intel in here a shooter or to give instructions on escape plans. Or to relay information on treating injured.

Peace of mind is a valuable nugget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was 16, I was headed back to boarding school and my flight was cancelled. I spent about 8 hours in the airport (most of that crying) because I couldn't get ahold of my parents. I remember calling collect on the airport payphone and since it was before cell phones, my parents had gone on a hike and my brother (who was home when I called) couldn't get ahold of them and he didn't have access to a car. Now, I realize that is an extreme case and most kids aren't going to boarding school...but I also remember waiting around at sports practice and getting nervous when someone was late picking me up or when I wasn't sure where to meet someone. I dont think kids need social media and internet on their phones, but when my kid is in middle school and going to friends houses and sports practice - they will have a phone. I think there is a middle ground between toxic, unfettered access to the internet and social media on your phone and a kid who has a phone with five pre-programmed numbers (family) for emergencies and logistics.

None of what you're describing supports the case to have cell phones in use in the middle of the school day. You've cited very strong reasons for kids to have phones in general, but none of these urgent calls about cancelled flights and changes in sports pickup need to occur in the middle of math class. My kids' private middle school does not allow phones during school hours - phones must be kept in lockers and if a kid is caught using their phone, they are confiscated until the end of the day. Phone use is allowed as soon as the school day ends so someone who needs to stay late, needs a ride, whatever, can communicate that with their families. There's no reason for kids to have their devices in class - it's a massive and unnecessary distraction.

[Anonymous]

The bigger conversation that would be a lot of fun (I mean the kind of fun one only finds in this forum) is how completely effed up our kids are because we gave them cell phones. School policies aren't the problem, WE are the problem. The access to toxic social media and secretive chat apps is the biggest parenting fail in history. The phones and apps are bad enough, but the secrecy iOS provides to children under 18 year olds is disastrous. It's very unlikely your kid will die in a mass shooting at school, and more unlikely their phone would've saved them. More likely is they die of fentanyl laced drugs they accessed through Snapchat. Or that they have severe anxiety or other psycho/physical problems from social media exposure. Or that their nudes are floating around school. Or they are watching and being shaped by horrible influencers. Or that they are just generally addicted to screens and living life in a 2x4 collection of pixels. Do you have the courage to take the phone away? To really learn how to use parental controls, as meek as they are? How about buying your kid the Bark phone and telling them you don't care if it's uncool? Pro tip: If your kid doesn't have a phone yet, check out Bark!! We love our iPhones but they are terrible for kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bigger conversation that would be a lot of fun (I mean the kind of fun one only finds in this forum) is how completely effed up our kids are because we gave them cell phones. School policies aren't the problem, WE are the problem. The access to toxic social media and secretive chat apps is the biggest parenting fail in history. The phones and apps are bad enough, but the secrecy iOS provides to children under 18 year olds is disastrous. It's very unlikely your kid will die in a mass shooting at school, and more unlikely their phone would've saved them. More likely is they die of fentanyl laced drugs they accessed through Snapchat. Or that they have severe anxiety or other psycho/physical problems from social media exposure. Or that their nudes are floating around school. Or they are watching and being shaped by horrible influencers. Or that they are just generally addicted to screens and living life in a 2x4 collection of pixels. Do you have the courage to take the phone away? To really learn how to use parental controls, as meek as they are? How about buying your kid the Bark phone and telling them you don't care if it's uncool? Pro tip: If your kid doesn't have a phone yet, check out Bark!! We love our iPhones but they are terrible for kids.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. I can't understand for the life of me why parents think Snapchat is okay for kids. Just last night my DH said that he's concerned our youngest kid's lack of Snapchat is hindering his social life and we had a great conversation about all the things happening on Snapchat that our older kids now confess to that they NEVER told us about when they were younger. The lack of supervision and accountability is horrible. Particularly for pre-teens, but for many immature teenagers too.

[Anonymous]

Our K8 bans cell phones during the school day. All cell phones have to be kept in locker until the end of the school day. Is this not common for middle school or are people only talking about high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bigger conversation that would be a lot of fun (I mean the kind of fun one only finds in this forum) is how completely effed up our kids are because we gave them cell phones. School policies aren't the problem, WE are the problem. The access to toxic social media and secretive chat apps is the biggest parenting fail in history. The phones and apps are bad enough, but the secrecy iOS provides to children under 18 year olds is disastrous. It's very unlikely your kid will die in a mass shooting at school, and more unlikely their phone would've saved them. More likely is they die of fentanyl laced drugs they accessed through Snapchat. Or that they have severe anxiety or other psycho/physical problems from social media exposure. Or that their nudes are floating around school. Or they are watching and being shaped by horrible influencers. Or that they are just generally addicted to screens and living life in a 2x4 collection of pixels. Do you have the courage to take the phone away? To really learn how to use parental controls, as meek as they are? How about buying your kid the Bark phone and telling them you don't care if it's uncool? Pro tip: If your kid doesn't have a phone yet, check out Bark!! We love our iPhones but they are terrible for kids.

This!

Completely agree and am a huge fan of Bark.

[Anonymous]

Documentary: Childhood 2.0. This is a great weekend watch that delves into the impacts and situations that our teenagers face while dealing with social media.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was 16, I was headed back to boarding school and my flight was cancelled. I spent about 8 hours in the airport (most of that crying) because I couldn't get ahold of my parents. I remember calling collect on the airport payphone and since it was before cell phones, my parents had gone on a hike and my brother (who was home when I called) couldn't get ahold of them and he didn't have access to a car. Now, I realize that is an extreme case and most kids aren't going to boarding school...but I also remember waiting around at sports practice and getting nervous when someone was late picking me up or when I wasn't sure where to meet someone. I dont think kids need social media and internet on their phones, but when my kid is in middle school and going to friends houses and sports practice - they will have a phone. I think there is a middle ground between toxic, unfettered access to the internet and social media on your phone and a kid who has a phone with five pre-programmed numbers (family) for emergencies and logistics.

None of what you're describing supports the case to have cell phones in use in the middle of the school day. You've cited very strong reasons for kids to have phones in general, but none of these urgent calls about cancelled flights and changes in sports pickup need to occur in the middle of math class. My kids' private middle school does not allow phones during school hours - phones must be kept in lockers and if a kid is caught using their phone, they are confiscated until the end of the day. Phone use is allowed as soon as the school day ends so someone who needs to stay late, needs a ride, whatever, can communicate that with their families. There's no reason for kids to have their devices in class - it's a massive and unnecessary distraction.

I agree that they should not be allowed during school hours. But I am seeing some schools and parents freaking by having them in the school. I think its completely fine to tell kids who might need them for after school (middle and high school more likely) like for riding the bus or coordinating pickup - that they must leave them off in the locker and if phones are spotted outside of the locker during school hours they are taken away and the parent needs to get them before its returned. I think people who assume a child is going to be safer from an active shooter by having a phone - well...the reality is that they aren't.

[Anonymous]

Our APS bans cell phones during school. It’s actually annoying that I have to go through the office when my kid forgets something.