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Keeping phones and smartwatches from disrupting school
Your One Step :
✓ Help your child take a break from their phone or smartwatch for the school day.
We are hearing from educators how disruptive our kids’ mobile devices are to the learning environment - both phones and smartwatches.
Schools can re-calibrate and more clearly communicate their mobile device policies to all stakeholders. There are now more best practices available than ever before! But schools can't do this alone. They also need our help!
Did you know?
During school hours, 97% of students use their phones for a median of 43 minutes - the equivalent of a class period each school day (CSM, 2023).
A typical teen receives 237 notifications per day - about a quarter (60!) during the school day (CSM, 2023).
72% of U.S. high school teachers say cell phone distraction is a “major problem” in the classroom (Pew Research, 2024)
What parents can do
Parents and caregivers play an instrumental role in keeping mobile devices from disrupting the school day. We can support schools as they roll out new policies. And, we can also help reinforce healthy tech habits at school - no matter what the school's mobile device policy is.
Know the school’s mobile device policy and proactively support it.
If you are uncertain about it, ask at your school office for a copy. If it doesn't include smartwatches, talk with the principal and see if they'd consider updating the policy. Have a conversation with your child about when it is vs. isn’t appropriate to use their phone, watch or earbuds at school. They may see classmates break the rules, but that doesn't mean it is OK.
Talk with your child about their tech habits at school.
Explore with your child how the use of phones, watches, or earbuds in school affects everyone, not just the person using them.
Try these 3 talking points
to start conversations with your child:
Even if you don’t check it, having your smartphone nearby (e.g., on your desk or in your pocket or bag) weakens your capacity to learn and remember new information (research study, 2017)
Any off-task activities you do on your phone or school device during class distracts neighboring students, so your actions affect your classmates' ability to focus and learn (per several studies)
If you are on your phone during all the "in between times" at school (lunch, passing periods, waiting for class to start) when you could be chatting, you lose opportunities to build friendships (Simon Sinek)
Turn off disruptive features during school.
Make any mobile devices less "sticky" by limiting what is accessible during the school day. Your child's teachers (and classmates) will be SO grateful!
For iPhones, teach your child to use Airplane Mode, Do Not Disturb, or to turn off their phone during the school day. If they have a lot of apps on their phone, coach them to turn off as many app notifications as possible.
For Apple Watches, you can find easy instructions to set up “Schooltime” so their watch doesn’t interrupt the school day.
Need to get a message to your child? Call the school office or "delay-send" your text.
We get that devices help with the logistics of family life, but that shouldn't come at the expense of our kids' learning or school experience. Unless it's necessary for medical reasons, get in the habit of calling/texting the school office - they are happy to get a message to your child.
Alternatively, many phones now have a feature that lets you send a text at a later time, so if you need to text your child about after-school plans, try "delay-sending" the text so it arrives at the very end of the school day. Learn how to do this on an iPhone here!
Encourage your child to check in with an adult at school first.
We're also hearing from educators that during school students sometimes call a parent for support instead of using the adults at school as their first point of assistance. School is an IDEAL place for growing the independence and problem solving muscles! Encouraging our children to check in with their teacher, support staff, or counselor - instead of messaging or calling us for help - is one of the ways they learn to get through hard feelings and tasks. Of course, there are times when we need to get involved or pick them up from school. If that's needed, the school can get in touch with us!
Our blog posts are often inspired by our monthly OneStep newsletters. In our email newsletters we give one simple monthly step towards healthier tech use. To get our tips and updates from ScreenSense direct to your inbox - click the ‘Sign up’ button!
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Thank you
Harbor Point
Charitable Foundation
for the generous support of our work.
