Harrodian recognises that concerns around children using smartphones and children are ever present and ever changing.
We also acknowledge that it can be a confusing and contentious issue for parents and do not wish to add to this. However, we want to provide some guidance around the two key options that parents will take:
- Delaying the age that their child is given a smartphone (before moving to number 2)
- Providing their child with a smartphone with controls and systems in place
1. DELAY SMARTPHONES
Mr Guy Holder, our Head of PSHRE, works in partnership with other Heads of School at Harrodian (in particular our Head of Upper Prep Mr Peter Hardie) to promote the Delay Smartphone campaign to parents. To read more about this, please visit the website by CLICKING HERE.
This is a grass roots parent-led movement for which Mr Holder is an ambassador, as a parent himself. He has presented to Harrodian parents and to parents of his son’s primary school. One such presentation can be seen here:
As of November 2023, 135 Harrodian parents have signed the pledge to delay giving smartphones to children until they are at least 14 years old and delay the use of social media amongst children until they are at least 16 years old. This number continues to climb.
2. SMARTPHONE GUIDANCE & CONTROLS
For those parents who have already given their children smartphones or who are considering doing so, there are various recommendations. One guide, by parenting expert Sue Atkins, has five key points under the banner ‘Digital Seatbelts’:
- Parental Controls
- Open Dialogue
- Tech-Free Zones
- Family Technology Contracts
- Education About Digital Dangers
We strongly recommend reading Sue’s post for further tips by CLICKING HERE :
At the request of our parent community, we have created our own video demonstrating how to set up and monitor parental controls. It is approximately 6 minutes longs and features Mr Guy Holder and Mr Alastair Lydon (filmed and edited by Upper 6th student Talha).