The Kids for Now story, by founder Sam Rice

Sam is on a similar mission to us so we asked him to guest write a blog about why he started campaigning.

I founded Kids For Now last year when I realized the lack of support for parents who, like me, are concerned about the risks of giving their child a smartphone but are afraid their child will miss out without one.

I live in the west of Scotland with my wife, our 2 primary school kids and the cat. Our oldest child was born nearly ten years ago and right from the start we were worried about the impact technology would have on our children.

At that time smartphones were still pretty new and regarded as impressive and expensive pieces of technology. It still wasn’t common to see young people with them at that time. However, it wasn’t long before we started to see teenagers, and then, younger children with smartphones. This never seemed right to me and I worried what impact this technology would have on my children and their generation.

I looked for support but didn’t find anything. Internet safety campaigns seemed to assume that being online was beneficial for children and they didn’t even suggest delaying their access to the internet.

So, unfortunately, I wasn’t surprised when it wasn’t long before many tragic stories appeared in the news showing the impact this was having on young people. I was frustrated that nobody seemed to question whether or not children should actually have smartphones at all when to me it seemed so obvious that this was at the heart of the problem.

Technology can be great, but it can also be harmful, causing a wide range of problems for children, which parental controls can’t always prevent.

A basic mobile phone without an internet connection allows children to stay in touch with friends and family. But smartphones have unique characteristics and present a unique set of problems for children and young people. Children don’t need a pocket-sized device with a camera that gives them unsupervised internet access almost anywhere at any time. When we were children, if we were bullied, we could find some security and respite at home. However, smartphones offer children no means of escape from cyber-bullying, harassment or grooming.

The built-in digital camera allows children to capture and share explicit photos and videos of themselves and others. Smartphone apps use persuasive design, artificial intelligence, and algorithms, gathering data on them, changing their view of the world, and driving them toward addiction.

So, ultimately, the only child-safe phone is one without internet.

Many parents, like me, consider that the risks of smartphones outweigh the benefits. But we worry our child will miss out without one. Kids for Now tackles this dilemma by connecting parents of children in the same year at their school who want to delay smartphones. This connection lets them know their child is not alone without one and helps beat the peer pressure on children. It gives parents the confidence to choose to delay smartphones and allows them to support each other and stick to their decision.

Delaying smartphones is only one of a range of tools we have at our disposal to deal with the impact technology is having on this generation of children and young people. It works together alongside internet safety education, parental controls, and regulation. Of course, children need to learn to use technology safely. But they can do this without owning a smartphone. We need to teach children to be safe online, but we need to have realistic and fair expectations of them. They need our help! I agree with many experts who say that smartphones and social media are not suitable for children under 16.

Even if we do delay smartphones, we still need to protect our children from what they might see on another child’s device. So, we need to talk to other parents, friends and family and explain our concerns and our rules, especially when it comes to playdates and sleepovers.

Kids For Now allows parents to sign-up and delay smartphones for their children whether they are at primary school or secondary school.

We believe many parents would jump on-board if they simply knew about it.

Although we believe that smartphones are not suitable for children under the age of 16 we also believe that each family is different and the important decision about when to give your child a smartphone is a personal choice. Many parents wouldn’t sign-up to delay until age 16 and so, to encourage take-up we suggest age 14. However, parents can, of course, delay for longer.

We have a separate form to encourage parents of primary school-aged children to sign-up.

Checklist:

• Delay smartphones as long as possible.

• Give your child a basic phone without internet for safety and to stay in touch.

• Use parental controls at home. I would recommend using third-party software.

• Try to supervise your child whenever they are online and don’t let them use devices in their rooms.

• Educate yourself about the latest trends and risks.

• Talk to your children openly about what they and their friends are doing online and teach them about the risks and how to be safe. Encourage them to come to you with any questions about anything that might happen.

• Talk to other parents to let them know you are delaying smartphones. Encourage them to do the same.

• Talk to other parents before agreeing to a playdate or sleepover to let them know your concerns and ask that all devices be put away or else closely supervised.

• Sign-up to Kids For Now to get connected with other parents in your child’s year at their school to reduce peer pressure and support each other. 

Find out more at Kids for Now.