Our 12 year old granddaughter has a smartwatch...when I sked her whether she uses it during the day she said, no, her parents have set it so she cannot access it during the school day for anything other than the time...she also cannot access the web from it any time. She needs one, as I'm sure you were going to ask why she needs one, because she babysits and no one has landlines anymore. She needs to be able to get help and ask for advice when she is in charge of small children. There are ways to minimize troubles. (Don't get me wrong, too many of her friends have unlimited screen time. This is a parent problem, not a child problem.)
She babysits after school...and she walks home (approx. a couple of kilometres) with a group of friends...pretty liberated childhood, I think. She stops at the library to get books, etc. She has learned to trust herself, the world and to speak with adults (the librarians, the shopkeepers, neighbours) that she meets.
I walked or biked to school, usually alone, from first grade until I had a drivers license, when I became more popular for my de facto transportation operation:-)
I never thought of it as being liberated, just normally autonomous.
I recently spoke to 200 educators about school technology best practices. Of course, one of the policies I discuss is being a bell-to-bell Phone-Free School. Multiple elementary school principals raised their hands and told me about kids with doctor's notes allowing them to wear a smartwatch because of anxiety. This allows the students to text their mom when feeling anxious. Heads were nodding all over the room. We know this is a ridiculous solution - pediatric care is way behind on this issue. I was left speechless. But it's the unfortunate reality of some schools.
Well said! And get rid of all school provided screens too. At our local public school, it’s screens 24/7 - even in English class! I tell parents to ditch screens and they tell me they can’t, that’s where all the homework is. Unbelievable. Details here:
I don't object to the policy that you're advocating for, but your infographic "Sales of Apple Product by Unit" isn't the right way to advocate for it. The y-axis are scaled differently, and the data that it's showing isn't specific to children.
Mobile phones began worldwide as manually interconnected party lines over radio frequencies. Such was what was well-known to two-radio technicians (like myself) until analog cellular took over. "Mobile phone" is nothing more than a colloquialism like TV, which is decreasingly broadcast and received by a rooftop antenna.
Well, in Ireland, Britain, and Australia, ‘mobile phone’ is the term used for GSM cellular phones.
I used ‘portable phones’ to refer to DECT handsets, which were connected to landlines.
English is a versatile language with different terms used in different countries. For instance, ‘football’ refers to different sports in Ireland, the US, 🏈 Australia (even within Australia, it refers to different codes like Rugby League or Australian Rules). Outside these countries, football = soccer ⚽
Since there are more cellular phones in use in North America than in the entire British empire combined, it is a matter of colloquial semantics of little concern to those who know nothing of what a mobile phone was before cellular phones came to exist. In America, football is football and soccer is soccer, and I wouldn't miss either one if they ceased to exist.
Agreed that no devices of any kind at school is preferable to even a smart watch. However, in terms of the potential for distractibility, I think a smart watch (especially with limited functionality) is also vastly preferable to a smart phone. I imagine there are many parents that would be willing to make the change from a smart phone to a smart watch that wouldn't be willing to make the leap straight from smart phone to nothing at all.
Point being, as far as policy decisions go, if parent pressure limits the decision to a ban that excludes smart watches or no ban at all, I'd say the ban that excludes smart watches is still a big step in the right direction that's worth taking.
The parents of children who send them to school with smartphones or smartwatches need to receive a call to pick up their child who has been suspended for violation of the behavior code.
I don’t think a smartwatch is a hill to die on. It is pretty easy to see if a student is using it. Kids can message friends and parents using school-issued devices as well. If a kid is using it, then they aren’t allowed to have it on. But believe it or not, most use it as a watch during school hours. And like another poster said, it allows some parents the option of not going the smartphone route.
I’m in Australia and last year my kids’ high schools banned smartwatches. While there was some pushback from parents who had provided these in lieu of a smartphone, the schools have held firm.
The definition of best practice phone free school includes all personal electronic devices that transmit - receive messages (phones/watches/earpieces/video 'AI' glasses/wearables/personal mobile device) - You can find this definition written into the model legislation https://beccaschmillfdn.org/act/ and outlined in the substack by Deb Schmill https://www.afterbabel.com/p/how-to-and-how-not-to-mandate-phone. In the model legislation all personal devices are stored away for the day and not accessible to the student for the entire school day (with limited 504/IEP exceptions). We need to get the correct phone free school legislation passed in the states (and overseas) and we need to address the problematic use and harms incurred with school issued internet connected computer use in schools (ipads/chromebooks). The current proposed federal legislation "Focus on Learning Act" mirrors the state best practice legislation framework and definitions https://www.kaine.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/focus_on_learning_act_bill_text1.pdf
There are some children that benefit from having access to health-related technology in school. I have type 1 diabetes and have a continuous glucose monitor. It alerts me when there are important swings in my blood sugar that need to be addressed. Parents could share this data with the teacher (what if he/she cannot be at school?). I know this is a small percentage of kids, but it is an issue.
Our 12 year old granddaughter has a smartwatch...when I sked her whether she uses it during the day she said, no, her parents have set it so she cannot access it during the school day for anything other than the time...she also cannot access the web from it any time. She needs one, as I'm sure you were going to ask why she needs one, because she babysits and no one has landlines anymore. She needs to be able to get help and ask for advice when she is in charge of small children. There are ways to minimize troubles. (Don't get me wrong, too many of her friends have unlimited screen time. This is a parent problem, not a child problem.)
Flip phone is the solution
This is a parent problem that is having devastating effects on their children.
She babysits while attending classes at the school?
She babysits after school...and she walks home (approx. a couple of kilometres) with a group of friends...pretty liberated childhood, I think. She stops at the library to get books, etc. She has learned to trust herself, the world and to speak with adults (the librarians, the shopkeepers, neighbours) that she meets.
Sounds like she's finding the balance between online and offline nicely!
I walked or biked to school, usually alone, from first grade until I had a drivers license, when I became more popular for my de facto transportation operation:-)
I never thought of it as being liberated, just normally autonomous.
Why would learning to trust oneself be a thing?
I recently spoke to 200 educators about school technology best practices. Of course, one of the policies I discuss is being a bell-to-bell Phone-Free School. Multiple elementary school principals raised their hands and told me about kids with doctor's notes allowing them to wear a smartwatch because of anxiety. This allows the students to text their mom when feeling anxious. Heads were nodding all over the room. We know this is a ridiculous solution - pediatric care is way behind on this issue. I was left speechless. But it's the unfortunate reality of some schools.
Well said! And get rid of all school provided screens too. At our local public school, it’s screens 24/7 - even in English class! I tell parents to ditch screens and they tell me they can’t, that’s where all the homework is. Unbelievable. Details here:
https://gaty.substack.com/p/school-time-has-become-screen-time
I don't object to the policy that you're advocating for, but your infographic "Sales of Apple Product by Unit" isn't the right way to advocate for it. The y-axis are scaled differently, and the data that it's showing isn't specific to children.
My school in Western Australia has banned mobile phones, including smartwatches, for three years now.
And no parent has my phone number. They can't text me.
Mobile phones haven't been sold for decades in America, having no market with the introduction of cellphones.
I used to install, remove, and repair them in the early 80s.
Mobile phone is the term used widely in Australia, Europe, Britain, etc. for cell phones.
Mobile phones began worldwide as manually interconnected party lines over radio frequencies. Such was what was well-known to two-radio technicians (like myself) until analog cellular took over. "Mobile phone" is nothing more than a colloquialism like TV, which is decreasingly broadcast and received by a rooftop antenna.
Well, in Ireland, Britain, and Australia, ‘mobile phone’ is the term used for GSM cellular phones.
I used ‘portable phones’ to refer to DECT handsets, which were connected to landlines.
English is a versatile language with different terms used in different countries. For instance, ‘football’ refers to different sports in Ireland, the US, 🏈 Australia (even within Australia, it refers to different codes like Rugby League or Australian Rules). Outside these countries, football = soccer ⚽
Since there are more cellular phones in use in North America than in the entire British empire combined, it is a matter of colloquial semantics of little concern to those who know nothing of what a mobile phone was before cellular phones came to exist. In America, football is football and soccer is soccer, and I wouldn't miss either one if they ceased to exist.
Agreed that no devices of any kind at school is preferable to even a smart watch. However, in terms of the potential for distractibility, I think a smart watch (especially with limited functionality) is also vastly preferable to a smart phone. I imagine there are many parents that would be willing to make the change from a smart phone to a smart watch that wouldn't be willing to make the leap straight from smart phone to nothing at all.
Point being, as far as policy decisions go, if parent pressure limits the decision to a ban that excludes smart watches or no ban at all, I'd say the ban that excludes smart watches is still a big step in the right direction that's worth taking.
The parents of children who send them to school with smartphones or smartwatches need to receive a call to pick up their child who has been suspended for violation of the behavior code.
I've been retired from teaching third grade for almost nine years, and I'm so glad I don't have to deal with this dilemma.
If you actually believe that 6 out of every 10 kids own a smartwatch I have some beachfront property in Idaho to sell you.
Might be a lucrative business. :-)
I don’t think a smartwatch is a hill to die on. It is pretty easy to see if a student is using it. Kids can message friends and parents using school-issued devices as well. If a kid is using it, then they aren’t allowed to have it on. But believe it or not, most use it as a watch during school hours. And like another poster said, it allows some parents the option of not going the smartphone route.
I’m in Australia and last year my kids’ high schools banned smartwatches. While there was some pushback from parents who had provided these in lieu of a smartphone, the schools have held firm.
Super well written! Thanks for sharing :)
The definition of best practice phone free school includes all personal electronic devices that transmit - receive messages (phones/watches/earpieces/video 'AI' glasses/wearables/personal mobile device) - You can find this definition written into the model legislation https://beccaschmillfdn.org/act/ and outlined in the substack by Deb Schmill https://www.afterbabel.com/p/how-to-and-how-not-to-mandate-phone. In the model legislation all personal devices are stored away for the day and not accessible to the student for the entire school day (with limited 504/IEP exceptions). We need to get the correct phone free school legislation passed in the states (and overseas) and we need to address the problematic use and harms incurred with school issued internet connected computer use in schools (ipads/chromebooks). The current proposed federal legislation "Focus on Learning Act" mirrors the state best practice legislation framework and definitions https://www.kaine.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/focus_on_learning_act_bill_text1.pdf
Need to shut down VPN too!
Along similar lines, a post on children and 'smart' watches from last month: https://keithcutter.substack.com/p/stop-exposing-children-to-radiation?r=16nbbo
There are some children that benefit from having access to health-related technology in school. I have type 1 diabetes and have a continuous glucose monitor. It alerts me when there are important swings in my blood sugar that need to be addressed. Parents could share this data with the teacher (what if he/she cannot be at school?). I know this is a small percentage of kids, but it is an issue.