Inside town that banned kids from having mobile phones - with astounding results

[Gefn]

T is one of the toughest decisions faced by parents – when to give in to their younger children’s constant demands for a smartphone.

Startling recent figures from communications regulator Ofcom show that 20 per cent of kids have a smartphone by the age of three, and that rises to 55 per cent between the ages of eight to 11.


But the residents of one seaside town in Ireland have decided they do not want their little ones to spend their most formative years peering into a tiny LCD screen.

The entire parent population of Greystones in got together to agree not to until they were in secondary school.


https://www.the-sun.com/news/8985991/inside-town-banned-kids-from-mobile-phones/

[Gefn]

Interesting article.

I think most of us who are over 40 grew up without cell phones and we came out pretty great!

(And recall life before Television Streaming)

[Free Vulcan]

It really revolves around good parenting. Doesn't matter what it is: TV, radio, talking or texting on the cell phone, internet, video games, even books - if you don't parent the child and limit their use, the usual problems will arise.

My sis put my foot down with my nephew around 5th or 6th grade and made him do non-online, real world things because he was getting so addicted to video games. Now he's a freshman in college with varied interests both online and in physical reality.

[Cyber Liberty]

I didn't get a phone as a child, and I turned out pretty grumpy and antisocial.   

[Bigun]

I didn't get a phone as a child, and I turned out pretty grumpy and antisocial.   

Cellphones didn't exist when you were a child you grumpy old phart!

[Cyber Liberty]

Cellphones didn't exist when you were a child you grumpy old phart!

I was born young and crotchety, and it's been downhill ever since.