‘Over-anxious’ parents are so scared of losing touch with their children they are skirting no-smart-phone school rules by giving them smart watches
- Parents are giving their children smartwatches to get around school phone bans
- Children as young as eight wear devices to stay in constant contact with parents
- Many Australian schools have ‘no smartphone’ policies to reduce distraction
- Last week, Education Minister Dan Tehan proposed a national smartphone ban
- Victoria and NSW both have plans to ban smartphones from schools next year
‘Over-anxious’ parents are so scared of losing touch with their children they are giving them smart watches to take to school despite anti-smartphone rules.
All NSW primary school students are banned from using smartphones while Victoria is set to ban the devices from all state schools, primary and secondary, next year.
Some parents have found a loophole in ‘anti-smartphone’ rules and are sending their kids to schools with smart watches instead, according to The Herald Sun.
‘Over-anxious’ parents are so scared of losing touch with their children they are telling them to break the rules and refuse to take off smart watches at school (stock image)
Cyber safety educator Leonie Smith said schoolkids as young as eight were being given connected smartwatches for texting and calling their parents.
‘A lot of parents are already trying to get around mobile phone bans by giving their children smartwatches. They have this fear that says they need to know where their kids are all the time,’ she told The Herald Sun.
‘There’s even a group of parents out there who have told their children, “if someone tries to take your smartwatch off you, that’s not a trustworthy adult”. How are teachers supposed to deal with that?’
Ms Smith said some parents were actively confronting school principals to pressure them into lifting mobile phone bans.
Cyber safety educator Leonie Smith said parents are giving their kids smartwatches as a loophole around phone bans. ‘They have this fear that says they need to know where their kids are all the time,’ she said (stock image)
The ‘smart watch loophole’ comes after Education Minister Dan Tehan urged state education ministers to ban the devices in classrooms across the country.
Last week, he said that mobile phones presented a distraction for students in the classroom and that practical solutions had to be found.
‘What we need is for teachers to understand whether mobile phones are preventing people from learning or not and if it is the idea that they all be put in a basket at the start of class and picked up at the end of class,’ Mr Tehan told The Daily Telegraph.
The ‘smart watch loophole’ comes after Education Minister Dan Tehan (pictured) urged state education ministers to ban the devices in classrooms across the country
Victorian public school students will be banned from using their phones from next year.
In July, state Education Minister James Merlino said phones were a ‘major distraction’ and caused ‘cyberbullying’ among students.
Meanwhile, NSW has already banned mobile phones and implemented strict guidelines in secondary schools.
So far, no other states or territories have introduced phone bans in schools.
Many schools have taken it upon themselves to limit use of mobile phones within classrooms. Students (pictured) have locked their phones in electronic Yondr pouches (pictured) from 9am to 3.30pm at Wauchope High School since May 6
However, many schools have taken it upon themselves to limit use of mobile phones within classrooms.
For example, students from Wauchope High School on the NSW coast have been locking their phones in Yondr electronic pouches from 9am to 3.30pm since May 6.
Students lock their cases on docking stations when they enter the school in the morning and unlock them as they leave.
Student suspensions dropped by a third and negative incidents dropped by 10 per cent during a four-week trial of the technology.
Students lock their cases (pictured left) on docking stations (pictured right) when they enter the school in the morning