According to BBC reports, a headmaster from East Sussex, England, has called on the parents of his pupils to put their mobile phones away when they pick up their children from school. The head of Pashley Down Infant School in Eastbourne appealed to parents in a newsletter to have more conversations with their children instead of spending time on screens.
Parents staring absentmindedly at their screens outside the school gates while their children stream out after a day at school – this is an image the headteacher wants to change. The children often come out of the classroom “excited or relieved”, hoping to be greeted by their caregivers, only to find them “scrolling, typing or talking on the phone”. “It’s sad to see something like this,” the headteacher told the BBC.
A development that he deeply regrets and wants to actively reverse. For this reason, the English headmaster recently asked parents in his newsletter to leave their smartphones in their pockets when they pick up their children from school. The main aim is to “bring the joy of conversation back into the community,” the headmaster emphasises.
The English headmaster’s initiative has been met with a positive response from parents, he said. Outside of school, one mother told BBC Radio Sussex that it was “nice for the children to have mums, dads and grandparents looking out for them with big smiles on their faces, rather than being engrossed in their phones”.
Another person stressed that it is important to “be present for the child,” especially at the beginning and end of the school day. In addition, the head teacher has observed that the language skills of children entering school have declined in recent years.
Many schools therefore have to work intensively on developing vocabulary and language skills. The growing concern about children’s language development is due to a lack of conversation at home, the headteacher explains to the BBC.
Just a few weeks ago, a headmaster from Notting Hill called for a more radical measure – albeit to get his students’ “100 percent mobile phone addiction” under control.
To get young people away from their screens, the English school principal announced plans to introduce a 12-hour school day that begins at 7 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m. The extra hours at school will be filled with activities such as dodgeball, basketball, art, theater and cooking classes.
The 42-year-old also believes that the students’ parents have a duty to protect their children on the Internet. In his opinion, parents who do not do this should be reported to social services or prosecuted.
A study by the Zurich University of Applied Psychology has shown that parents’ use of mobile phones can affect the development of their children. The consequences are significant for the development and bonding ability of small children, according to the study. In the so-called still face experiment, for example, researchers asked the mother to stop reacting to her baby with a suddenly stony face.
As a result, the babies became very stressed and tried to regain their mother’s attention by kicking, waving their arms and crying. “Similar reactions could be triggered by constantly looking at the smartphone. Babies could become resigned because the liveliness of their facial expressions is missing and they are constantly focused on the smartphone,” the researchers emphasise.
Serious allegations are rocking the Graz University Hospital. A neurosurgeon is said to have taken her underage daughter into the operating room and actively participated in the operation.
A young man dismantled his suitcase at Mallorca airport shortly before departure in order to avoid the additional fee for hand luggage.
