{"id":271149,"date":"2025-04-01T06:42:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T06:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/01\/the-uk-government-wouldnt-ban-smartphones-in-schools-these-parents-stepped-up\/"},"modified":"2025-04-01T06:42:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T06:42:12","slug":"the-uk-government-wouldnt-ban-smartphones-in-schools-these-parents-stepped-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/01\/the-uk-government-wouldnt-ban-smartphones-in-schools-these-parents-stepped-up\/","title":{"rendered":"The UK Government Wouldn\u2019t Ban Smartphones in Schools. These Parents Stepped Up."},"content":{"rendered":"
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The idea of getting her eldest child a smartphone had long felt inevitable, said Daisy Greenwell. But by early last year, when her daughter was 8 years old, it filled her with dread. When she talked to other parents, \u201ceveryone universally said, \u2018Yes, it\u2019s a nightmare, but you\u2019ve got no choice,\u2019\u201d recalled Ms. Greenwell, 41.<\/p>\n

She decided to test that. A friend, Clare Fernyhough, had shared her concerns about the addictive qualities of smartphones and the impact of social media on mental health, so they created a WhatsApp group to strategize. Then Ms. Greenwell, who lives in rural Suffolk, in the east of England, posted her thoughts on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if we could switch the social norm so that in our school, our town, our country, it was an odd choice to make to give your child a smartphone at 11,\u201d she wrote. \u201cWhat if we could hold off until they\u2019re 14, or 16?\u201d She added a link to the WhatsApp group.<\/p>\n

The post went viral. Within 24 hours the group was oversubscribed with parents clamoring to join. Today, more than 124,000 parents of children in more than 13,000 British schools have signed<\/a> a pact created by Smartphone Free Childhood, the charity set up by Ms. Greenwell, her husband, Joe Ryrie, and Ms. Fernyhough. It reads: \u201cActing in the best interests of my child and our community, I will wait until at least the end of Year 9 before getting them a smartphone.\u201d (Year 9 is equivalent to the American eighth grade.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n