Smartphone Free Childhood

This is a parent-led initiative at Little Chalfont Primary School that is supported by the school.

Supporting Our Children's Wellbeing Together

At Little Chalfont Primary School, we believe in fostering a childhood free from the pressures and risks associated with smartphones and social media. 

In a powerful display of our school community coming together, so far over 100 parents have signed a Parent Pact pledging not to give their children smartphones before the age of 14 and to delay access to social media until 16.

This initiative, part of the national Smartphone Free Childhood movement, is designed to ensure children can grow, play, and develop without the negative effects of digital distractions.

Why Delay Smartphones and Social Media?

More and more scientific research is backing up parental experience to show that early smartphone and social media exposure can be harmful to children. Some of the biggest concerns include:

• Mental Health Impact – Studies show that children who spend more time on social media are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.
• Addictive Nature – Social media apps are designed to be highly addictive, with children spending an average of 4 hours per day on their phones by age 12.
• Exposure to Harmful Content – Research shows that 40% of children are exposed to inappropriate content within a week of joining social media.
• Reduced Sleep and Focus – Screen time before bed significantly reduces sleep quality, with studies linking smartphone use to an increase in attention difficulties.
• Cyberbullying – Over 60% of teenagers report experiencing cyberbullying, with younger children being particularly vulnerable.

There are many great sources of information on the challenges that come from Smartphones and Social Media. Here are a few:

• An excellent 12 minute video from Papaya Parenting
• A half hour summary of the leading book on the subject, The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt 
• An excellent and entertaining documentary called “Swiped” on Channel4
• A five minute impassioned plea from Hugh Grant (yes, THE Hugh Grant!)

We have a longer list or resources on the subject available here.

A Community Effort to Reduce Social Pressure

One of the biggest challenges parents face is peer pressure – both for themselves and their children. Many parents feel forced to give their child a smartphone simply because “everyone else has one.” The Parent Pact at Little Chalfont Primary helps remove this pressure by creating a unified community approach.

Today, 94% of of primary school parents think smartphones are harmful. Yet, 90% of children have smartphones by year 7. This happens because the social pressure becomes unbearable once the majority of children have smartphones in a class.

The Parent Pact aims to break this cycle by enabling parents to socially coordinate and to have the confidence that their child won’t be socially excluded if they don’t have a smartphone.

Learn More – Watch Our Parents' Meeting

To help parents make informed decisions, we held a Parents' Meeting in January 2024. Below are resources from the event:

• 📽 Watch the Full Recording: Video [the entry code is 5f8ba!H3]
• 📄 Download the Presentation: Presentation
• 📈 See the Survey Results: Survey Results

We’re not anti-tech, we’re pro-childhood

We recognise that technology has immense benefits, and young people should be able to enjoy the opportunities it creates – when they’re ready and when it’s safe to do so.

But childhood is precious and fleeting. All children should have the opportunity to learn, develop and grow free from the addictive-by-design algorithms and age-inappropriate content of social media and smartphones.

The Smartphone Free Childhood Movement recommends that if parents want to give their child a phone, that they give their child a simple phone instead of a smartphone until the end of Year 9 (at the earliest). That means you can keep in touch when they’re out and about using calls and texts, without any of the harms associated with smartphones and social media.

When children want to use the internet, we recommend that they do so on a shared family computer, which could even have WhatsApp on it if you feel comfortable with that. This way they can get acquainted with the digital world and stay connected to their friends without the temptation of having it in their pocket 24/7.

For a list of alternatives to smartphones, see here.

Why do I need to do this now? Can’t I wait?

We recognise that for parents and carers of children in younger years that this challenge may feel a long way off. However, it is far easier to engage with this topic before it becomes an issue. As children start to get smartphones in the later years of primary school, it is much, much harder to socially coordinate. We therefore encourage all new parents to sign this pact so that it is not something that you have to worry about during your time at Little Chalfont.

The 2024/5 Year One class are a great example of this. 80% of the children are enrolled in the Parent Pact.

What about when they go to secondary school?

Little Chalfont Primary is leading the way on this in the local area. This effort is part of a national initiative. The parents at Little Chalfont are looking to engage other local primary schools and secondary schools so that by the time our children go to secondary school, most new parents in the secondary school will have signed the pact in advance of the transition. 

Join the Movement – Sign the Parent Pact

Since launching nationally in September 2023, over 90,000 parents have signed the Smartphone Free Childhood pact, including 1,400 parents in Buckinghamshire. Little Chalfont Primary is ahead of the curve and is currently leading the charge.

You can see the Buckinghamshire league table here.

You can see how many parents have signed the pact in your class here.

We invite all parents at Little Chalfont Primary to join us in this commitment and help protect childhood from digital harm.

👉 PLEASE SIGN THE PARENT PACT TODAY: https://parentpact.smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk

And if you’d like to be part of the conversation, join the school Whatsapp group here.