More parents sign pact not to allow smartphones for kids under 14
More and more Dutch parents are signing a pact not to give their child a smartphone before they turn 14. The parents of over 24,000 children have signed the pact, initiated by journalist Danielle Batist, actress Thekla Reuten, and journalist Merel Uildriks.
The Smartphonevrij Opgroeien pact, which translates to growing up smartphone-free, aims for “a society in which the pressure to give primary school children a smartphone disappears.”
The organization believes that children will also have a happier childhood as a result. “When we give our children access to the whole world in their pockets, we give the whole world access to our children,” the organizers said.
“For many parents, it is a relief that they are not the only ones with concerns. As soon as you know that parents at every school are concerned, there is room to work together,” journalist Batist told Nieuwsuur.
Some schools have banned smartphones in the classroom, but peer pressure does not stop at the school door, Batist said. “The pressure continues through group texts and school media. And ultimately, it is the parent who decides whether a child gets a smartphone, not the school. That is why it is so valuable when parents can find each other.”
Critics believe it is better to teach children how to use technology responsibly, instead of banning them from having it. But Batist believes that learning to use a smartphone can wait until the teenage years. “The child’s brain is not ready for it yet. Many apps are designed with addiction mechanisms. Children are extremely sensitive to that. Precisely because they need stimuli, but do not yet have good impulse control,” she told the program.
