Michael Fordham, Principal of Thetford Academy, reflects on the growing challenges posed by children’s access to phones and other devices, offering practical advice to parents on online safety, digital boundaries and supporting young people’s wellbeing.
I am sure very many young people in Thetford have received a new device for Christmas, whether that be a phone, tablet or laptop. Without wanting to be the Grinch, I think it is a good idea to return to a topic I find myself commenting on increasingly, which is how parents can make phone use safe.
It is widely recognised now that the online world is a dangerous place. Bullying today is far more likely to be online than off, and the risks of accessing inappropriate content are extremely high. I think parents still tend to overestimate risks outside the home and underestimate the risks online. I have on occasion had parents raise with me concerns about the safety of their child walking to and from school, while at the same time allowing them unsupervised phone access at all times.
The first thing to do with any device is to ensure that you have put appropriate controls in place. All broadband and mobile phone providers offer these controls. Find helpful guidance from the NSPCC by clicking here.
But children, especially teenagers, are particularly smart when it comes to evading control settings, so I would also encourage you, where possible, to look at other measures. A very good starting point is not to allow your child to have a phone in their bedroom at night: this is as much for their mental health as it is their safety. “But it’s my alarm clock,” I often hear. The good news is you can buy a cheap alarm clock from Amazon for a few pounds! If a child is unwilling to hand their phone over at night time, then that should raise some alarm bells for you and raise some questions about whether they should have a phone in the first place.
As parents, we all want our children to be happy and safe, but I think we as a society have still not fully realised the harm that unfettered access to devices can cause.
Michael Fordham
