In January of this year, the Department of Education published guidelines to support parents and parent associations who wish to develop voluntary codes regarding smartphone use among primary school children.
The guidelines came about due to concerns that smartphone use among primary school children increases the risk of cyberbullying and exposure to violence and sexual content and also reduces the number of hours they sleep at night. A recent book, The Anxious Generation, written by Jonathan Haidt, details social deprivation, sleep deprivation, reduced attention spans and mental health difficulties in children and teenagers evident from research since 2010, caused, he postulates, by the increase in mobile phone use since that time.
Many primary schools have taken steps to either totally ban or significantly restrict the presence of smartphones on school grounds. In St. Patrick’s N.S., parents have to complete consent forms if they want their children to bring a device to school but they remain off and kept in the teacher’s desk. The new guidelines contain practical advice and suggestions about devising voluntary agreements among parents concerning the use of smartphones for their primary school age children outside of school time.
In May of this year, the Parent’s Association issued a survey to parents and guardians in St. Patrick’s N.S. for opinions on the introduction of a voluntary agreement at each class level, whereby parents would not buy a smartphone or allow access to social media for their child/ren until they began secondary school. After a positive response to the survey, a meeting was held in the school hall on the topic. A wide range of challenges were aired, as well as possible solutions. Finally, this month, parents were given the opportunity to sign up to the agreement at each class level.
The results have been published and a majority at each class level have supported the move, with a rate as high as 82% in one case. It is hoped that the initiative will help parents who feel pressure to give their children smartphones at an early age. Signing up to the agreement will now be an annual event.
