Dear Parents and Carers,
As you will be aware, there are increasing concerns that smartphones might be harmful to children’s well-being. There is no doubt that many of the issues that our schools encounter around bullying, unkindness, or access to inappropriate content stem from behaviour on smartphones. Parents and Carers may already be aware of the “Smartphone Free Childhood” group. They are a grass-roots movement, created by parents, that argue that “childhood is too short to be spent on a smartphone.” You may have seen the BBC Breakfast Interview about the campaign, or the short film “A Stolen Childhood”.
The St Ives primary schools have decided to lend their professional support to the group by writing to parents and carers to make them aware of the group, and in particular of their “Parent Pact”. “By signing this Pact, you’re joining a growing community of parents in Cambridgeshire choosing to wait to give their child a smartphone until at least the end of Year 9.
The Pact is anonymous, but the more of us who sign, the more powerful it becomes in shifting the social norm in our community. Plus we’ll use the data to show the Government how much this matters to parents across the country, so that they take urgent action to protect children from the harms of smartphones and social media. Your choice – and your voice – really is powerful.” As a group of schools, we recognise that this is absolutely a matter of parent choice, but we also recognise the potential value of this movement. We know that many of our families feel a pressure to provide smartphones for their children because they know (or their children tell them) that all their friends have them.
We know that many parents and carers find themselves providing smartphones for their children even though they have their own very strong reservations about doing so. This is an opportunity to reduce the pressure on families; if children know that none of their peers have smartphones, they are less likely to feel they will miss out by not having one of their own. Some studies suggest that the average UK 12-year-old now spends 29 hours a week – equivalent to a part-time job – on their smartphone.
This leaves little time for the real-world activities and relationships that enable them to learn essential life skills. The resources and community that Smartphone Free Childhood provide may support you to make a decision for your own children. With best wishes St Ives and surrounding villages primary schools.