A photo from the river at Graignamanagh that I took during our trip to Ireland years ago.
Here’s an interesting bit of news:
Parents in a town in Ireland came together to voluntarily ban smartphones for kids as old as 13 by Zoe Rosenberg in a publication called Insider.
I think this is an excellent idea and if I could go back in time, I’d have waited to give our daughter an iphone. We did wait with our son because he was three years older — and smart phones weren’t a thing yet.
But by the time my daughter was in third or fourth grade, a few of her friends were using smartphones. I remember changes at swim meets — before and after smartphones. When the kids were young and nobody had phones, the high school kids played card games with the little ones. They also played “Catch Phrase” and made up word games.
When my daughter was in high school, the middle school and high school kids were no longer talking or laughing. They sat, staring at their screens. I found out later that a lot bullying was going on between the girls — sitting a few feet apart — on their phones.
Here’s an excerpt from the story:
- Parents in Greystones, Ireland, have implemented a smartphone ban for primary school-aged kids.
- The ban is voluntary, but parents said it reached a critical mass that makes enacting it easier.
- The pact seeks to curb anxiety and exposure to unsuitable material, and has won support nationally.
Some kids in Greystones, Ireland, may have to wait until their teen years to partake in the latest viral dance craze, thanks to a voluntary ban on smartphones that has won the support of many area parents.
The Guardian reported that parents in the coastal town, about a 45-minute drive south of Dublin, have joined together to implement the ban that seeks to bar smartphone usage until kids reach secondary school, typically at the age of 12 or 13.
The hope is that the ban will help prolong childhood by lessening the anxiety and exposure to adult materials that smartphone usage often eggs on.
https://www.businessinsider.com/voluntary-smartphone-ban-for-kids-ireland-town-greystones-2023-6?op=1
Not only has smartphone use in toddlers and children been linked to slower brain development, it also has increased anxiety and depression in teens. Not all parents are for the ban, and they aren’t required to follow it. But a large enough population of parents support it to make it effective. I guess parents don’t like to be the “odd one out.”
I think my kids would tell you that I had no problem being strict and saying no. But when it came to the iphone, I had no idea that it was harmful. It was fairly new for kids to have, and it seemed perfect to communicate with them. We started off with Tracphones with no smart features and prepaid minutes when they went to swim camp at USC. Eventually, they got their iphones.
I wrote about families in the Silicon Valley who ban screens for their kids. They are working for the tech companies, and I felt they must know something that we weren’t aware of. You can read that story HERE.
What are your thoughts about bans on smartphones for children?
First…I love your photo. Wow. It’s a stunner. Second? If I had a rewind button, I think we’d parent differently where technology is concerned. I wish I hadn’t fallen into the trap about “safety” (she NEEDS a phone in the event of an emergency, etc. etc.). I think it was my way of rationalizing a bad decision and falling prey to the pervasiveness of phones when our girl was a pre-teen. We held out as long as we could, but in retrospect, I think we could’ve waited even longer. I hear you about phones, social media, bullying, anxiety and more. I hadn’t heard about the parents in Ireland. Cheers to them, I say!
Exactly! For us we held out for several years, but got the phone for safety reasons. But we had no idea about any downside then.
Yep. I know my first cell phone was a brick…given to me by my father-in-law when I was pregnant because he didn’t want me to be stuck on the side of the road somewhere. Early on, it felt like a safety device…but gosh, how times have changed! 😉
Our first phone was a brick too. I think it was attached to the car!
Oh yes…I remember those – LOL! 😂
We’re aging ourselves!
We are, we are. No one would mistake those old clunkers for a phone these days, would they? 🤣
Nope! 😅
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I read that China is doing the same banning electronics during certain times of the day, I believe it was. The issue in America is that most kids are required to have an Ipad in school now to do research, etc. That might not be true for K-2, but beyond, I think it would be. Anyhow, kids should free their brains. Gee, even WE need to do that. The thing is… if I take a break from my Blog for just one or two days, I come back with so many posts to read. THEN I have to decide, do I read them the old posts, when I took a break from reading?? Then I get all stressed out again. I think I need to learn to just move on, if people miss my comments they miss them, but we ALL need a break from technology.
I definitely need to take breaks from electronics. When I’m with my daughter or talking to her on the phone, she gets upset if I’m looking at something online. It is easy to tell if I’m not fully present. Interesting that China is doing this too.
I sort of refused to fall into the trends with my kids, but then again with phones there weren’t many options back then and they too had tracfones and minutes but not until they got their driver’s license. They had to do without or find a regular phone until that point 🙂 Technology was just being introduced in school and there was no requirement to be connected. They used the big old clunky computer at home for research. My grands now have the watch connection Gizmo I think so they can make calls if needed, but no ability to do anything else. I like that option because I know they would be buried deep in a screen if they had the opportunity and they are 11 and 8.
Amazing how quickly things changed with smartphones in a few years. I’m impressed your grandkids aren’t glued to screens.
Oh believe me, if they think they can get away with it their nose will be buried in a screen!
It is addictive. I remember my mom restricted our TV time when we were young. We’d have watched for hours if it was allowed.
There are benefits to being old—smart phones didn’t exist when my daughter was too young for one!
That is a benefit. Kids were allowed to be kids. They learned how to communicate face to face.
Fascinating thoughts, E.A. I didn’t get a cell phone until I left for college, and I’m grateful for that. I see so many young kids totally absorbed in their devices, everywhere I go. Twenty years, no one knew better, but now that the research is showing the potential harm, I wonder if parents are just being lazy by handing their kids devices.
My cousin and his wife work in Silicon Valley and their kids don’t have any tech, and the kids are some of the most thoughtful, curious, and well-manner kids I’ve met. I think there’s something to it. Actually, all of the kids I know who don’t have access to devices tend to be far better behaved and engage than those who do. It’s a small sample size, but I think that town in Ireland may be on to something, and I’d be curious about follow up data on how that goes for them.
Fascinating that your cousin and wife work in Silicon Valley and their kids don’t have screens. I do agree that it makes kids healthier and happier to be free from them. Not only is screen time a danger to brain development and mental health, it’s a common way how vulnerable kids meet their traffickers.
Oof, yes! I hadn’t even thought of trafficking, but reading that game me chills. Gosh, it’s just awful what parents have to worry about nowadays.
I learned that most kids are groomed online and meet their traffickers that way, before meeting in person. So scary.
That is terrifying.
It is!
I have no children but think this ban is prudent. Watching my nieces and nephew grow up, the older ones who didn’t get smart phones until high school were more aware of their surroundings than the younger ones who got a smart phone in grade school. I know the safety issue is usually thought of as a way for kids to contact parents in emergencies, and that’s good, BUT the rest of the time kids, like many adults, bury their noses looking at a screen instead of potential dangers that might be around them.
Yes, it is a good reminder for us to be off our phones and aware of what is going on around us. Also so many kids who grew up with smartphones don’t have good communication skills face to face or even want to use the phone to talk to someone.
I think it’s a very smart idea. Even teenagers should only be allowed regular phones without the social media apps. That’ll stop a lot of issues from developing.
I agree with you. I wish I had more information when my kids were teens.
We bought our kids phones when they were in college. We couldn’t afford before that.
We got our son’s for his high school graduation present, but I think my daughter got hers in 8th grade?
My grandson has one which he always forgets to charge. He’s not fond of the phone but we make him take it with him when visiting friends or on a school trip. The school doesn’t allows the phones otherwise.
I remember phones being a big issue in my kids’ high school. Teachers lost control and kids cheated on tests using their phones.
Now the schools are more tech savvy as they block the apps and messages
That’s a relief!
Yes it is. They know how to block searches which aren’t authorized too.
This is when I am Thankful I grew up when I did. I think a Track Phone without all the Apps, etc.. is perfect for a child.
I agree with everything you said.
I didn’t let the older kids have a phone until they were in junior and senior year of high school, first because phones weren’t out much before then and second because I didn’t see the need. When they were doing after school sports and things is when I thought it was handy for them to have a phone to call me when it was time to pick them up, etc. The youngest got a phone a few years earlier than that but it was a basic phone, just to use to call me not to play games on.
That’s how it was with our oldest. His iphone was his high school graduation present. Our daughter got hers earlier. I wouldn’t have given them iphones if I knew how damaging they could be.
I think this ban is such a good idea. I am so grateful that my kids are pushing for phones yet because I think you are so right about delaying it for as long as possible. Grateful for this post to give me some back up on that plan! Thanks, Elizabeth!
Yes, definitely you want to put it off as long as possible. Also I recommend the tracphones or flip phones with no internet! There’s such a difference in my two children as far as anxiety and depression, and one just missed the whole social media age, while the other was a preteen growing up with it.
I think you’re right, hold off as long as possible. I think the saddest thing you described is how kids changed, previously played cards together, now all stuck in their phones. We saw similar challenges with our kids. We had our youngest son a few years after the first two. His generation was much more reliant on the phone than his brother and sister. Kind of crazy.
So you saw it in your own family, too. My son barely missed the social media lifestyle. It was harmful to my daughter in ways I’m only seeing now.
Parental control is the key. Our grandies have smartphones but our daughter limits their time and the phones shut down after a certain time or after their screen limit is reached…except for actual phone calls. She blocks most of the social media apps and has to approve any applications that they want to download. Sounds controlling, but in this day and age, I’m okay with it.
I would totally be okay with that! You have to be on top of what kids are seeing and saying on social media today.
Somehow when we were young, we survived not being in constant contact with our parents and friends. I think it was healthier mentally and physically – both from the perspective of screens replacing physical activities and from the strain on the heads and shoulders… I wonder what kind of posture issues these kids will have as they grow older. I didn’t have kids, but I think I would have been one of those “mean moms” who didn’t let their kids have phones until they were 25 or 30 (just kidding, but even 12 or 13 seems way too young).
You brought up a good point. The physical strain of looking down at screens all the time does cause problems. I’m so glad I grew up when I did, riding bikes, making trails through the brambles in the woods, and talking on the phone at night with my best friend. I think 12 or 13 is too young.
I think this is a great idea. Our kids didn’t have smart phones until well into high school. But flip phones were just fading away at that time. I’m glad we don’t have young children now because it would be a tough game to balance. Add e-bikes to the mix also. When I see young children playing on a smart phone, it makes me cringe. We raised our kids reading which they loved. Even as adults, and in between technology, they love to read. We all buy too many books, but then again, you can’t have too many books. 🙂 Thanks for sharing and love your photo.
My kids are readers too. I’m so thankful we aren’t raising them in today’s world!
Awesome shot captured 🤩!
I think this this a spot on topic and strategy within parenting. As it is evidence based and proven to be harmful in the statistics of today, I think we can all agree we didn’t notice the possible negative impact it would have on our children.
This makes me think about the amount of school facilities implementing electronic devices& technology usage. Whether it be the introduction of laptops, tablets, iPads, iPhones the list goes on and on. Did Ireland not utilize electronic devices?
I don’t know if Ireland used electronics in school or not. This was one community that decided to put an end to it. Thanks for commenting. Now I want to read more and find out if the ban on electronics is spreading in Ireland and what schools are doing.
Yes! Because post pandemic electronics became very popular in the States. This a great topic! I’m looking forward to that info if you do upload a continued post!
Thank you! I’ll look into it.