More and more schools are going phone-free to combat the documented harms smartphone use inflicts on kids. These range from negative impacts on academic outcomes and disrupting learning to exacerbating bullying and other discipline issues among students. Los Angeles public schools recently voted to ban phones during the day, and Governor Gavin Newsom called for similar restrictions statewide. New York City has similarly signaled that it may pass such a ban within the next few weeks. With the number of phone-free schools growing by the day, how can parents help make the transition to a phone-free school day easier for themselves, their children, and schools alike?
Here are five practical steps parents can take right now to prepare for a phone-free school year:
First, talk to your child and back the schools up.
Start talking to your child before the school year starts about the new policy and why they need to abide by it. Help your child get on board with the change by conveying a positive attitude about it and helping your child to understand the rationale behind the new policy, using resources like Away for the Day's research on the benefits to students of schools going phone-free.
Second, have your child memorize your number and other emergency numbers.
Parents are often concerned about their child being able to get in touch with them if needed during the school day. There is no reason a child can't go to the school office to call a parent if needed, so help your child memorize your phone number, your spouse's number, and any other emergency contact numbers they should know so they can call you as needed from a school phone. Make it fun by offering rewards for each phone number they memorize.
Third, make proactive plans with your child.
Rather than being in touch with your child throughout the day for constant coordination about plans for after school pick-ups, make a plan proactively each morning before they go to school about their pickup that day. By planning ahead, you can ensure everyone has the same expectations, reducing the need for ongoing communication. Using a written calendar on the refrigerator or other communal space where this information is visible to kids throughout the week can also help. That's what parents and children did in the days before cell phones and it seemed to work out just fine. The habit of planning also instills in children a sense of grown-up responsibility.
Fourth, avoid texting or calling your child during the school day.
Parents, you don't want to be the reason your child gets in trouble for violating the new school policy, so don't call or text your child's cell phone during the school day. If you need to reach them during school hours, call the school office instead to relay a message. Make it easier, not harder, for them to follow the policy by abstaining from contacting them until after the bell rings. If your child is anxious about not being able to contact you, remind them that teachers also have their cell phones in case of a true emergency.
Finally, don't give your child a cell phone in the first place, or switch to a dumb phone.
The ideal way to help your child adapt to a new phone-free policy is to not give them a cell phone, especially a smartphone, at all. They won't be tempted to check a phone they don't have. More and more parents are opting out—often banding together with other families in their community to make the transition easier. Some parents are not giving their children any cell phone until they are able to drive. An even greater number of parents are delaying smartphones until 16 or even 18, and instead giving their child one of the growing number of non-smartphone alternatives, like the Gabb phone, Bark phone, Light phone, or Wisephone.
Maybe you've already given your child a smartphone. It's never too late to make a change and switch them to one of these other options. A new school policy banning phones will only make that switch easier since phones will no longer be part of the social dynamic of the school day, so your child won't have to fear missing out by not having one. If making the switch or delaying giving them a cell phone or smartphone feels too hard, then try at least not sending them to school with the phone and have them leave it at home. That will help them easily abide by the new policy.
The evidence is in that school phone bans work. They improve academic outcomes and reduce behavioral issues. Parents, you can be part of the solution to protect the school day from phones.
Clare Morell is the Director of the Technology and Human Flourishing Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Her forthcoming book, The Tech Exit: A Manifesto for Freeing Our Kids, will be published by Penguin Random House.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
