“I don’t know if an outright ban is the way to go, or even if it’s feasible.”

Jemima Headey, from north-west London, is one of many parents whose children are facing new school rules around mobile phone use.

Sixty north London schools are reviewing their phone policies after a campaign by the Childhood without a smartphone (CFS).

The association also encourages parents to delay purchasing a smartphone until their children are at least 14 years old and to delay their access to social networks until they are 16 years old.

The BBC London asked parents – some of whom are also CFS campaigners – what they think of children using smartphones.

Jemma also said it was an important conversation to have.

“There are good things about the Internet and social media, but our children need to be able to navigate it safely,” she said.

“I think we need to put pressure on the government, on the phone companies, on big tech to protect our young people.”

The charity also directs parents to other types of phones, such as “brick” phones that only allow calls and texts, or other models that can access podcasts and music, but not. Internet access.

Some parents, like Carla Francome, are conflicted.

Her children are seven and nine years old.

“I think high school is a good age to give my kids phones because I’d like them to call me if they have a problem, but I want them to have an old brick phone,” he said. she declared.

“It’s so difficult because I would also like them to have access to the cards but not to everything else, otherwise they will be Whatsapping their friends all evening.

“That said, it’s what I do. So if it’s good enough for me, why can’t I let my kids do it?”

Meanwhile, Fiona Dear, in Bounds Green, said: “I think social media is really damaging and this need to check our phones all the time, I don’t see how teenagers can really deal with that.”

Schools that implement or work to avoid the use of smartphones during the school day include private, public, primary and secondary schools.

Belmont School in Mill Hill, King Alfred School in Hampstead and Queens Park Community School (QPCS) in Brent have agreed to work towards completely removing smartphones from schools and only allowing ‘brick’ phones basic (which only offer texts and calls), according to SFC.

At Queen’s Park Community School, a secondary school also in Brent with more than 1,300 students, smartphones seen will be confiscated for six weeks, while if a brick phone is seen it will only be held for a day.

Stacey Holohan has an 11-year-old son, who has a smartphone that he uses to make calls but doesn’t have social media.

Her school also doesn’t allow cell phones, which she agrees with but also doesn’t think a child should wait until 14.

Stacey said: “They go to school, some travel very far. How will they communicate with their parents if something happens?

“If there’s an accident and they’re late? It’s more peace of mind for the parents.”

Eliza Krigman is a mother from Haringey and an active SFC campaigner.

She told us she plans to talk to parents about the importance of having a phone without internet access and give them the opportunity to consider alternatives to smartphones.

“The evidence is there,” she said.

“Smartphone use is linked to, and partly responsible for, the mental health epidemic we are seeing among young people.”

Nova Eden, SFC regional manager for north London, said the aim was to prioritize how children spent their time, as childhood is short and wastes valuable time which can be used in more fulfilling ways, such as spending time with family or learning new skills.

“What we are advocating is not ‘never,’ but simply ‘not yet,’” she said.

“Although children’s brains are still developing, it is much healthier for them to enjoy their childhood through play, rather than being glued to smartphones and social media.

“Our campaign is not suggesting not having a phone, but rather a brick phone or flip phone that allows calls and messages, but does not present the dangers of having the internet in a child’s pocket for 12 hours a day, where strangers can reach him.

“Children don’t need smartphones, they need a childhood.”

According to SFC, in north London more than 2,500 parents from almost 200 schools have given their support, while across the country hundreds of thousands of parents have joined the movement.

In north London, the campaign has focused on schools in Barnet and Haringey and will now turn its attention to Ealing.

As SFC pointed out, delaying smartphone use can go a long way in protecting children’s mental health, but there are other factors to consider.

Do we also need to learn healthy digital habits?

Dr Faye Begeti, doctor of neurology and neuroscientist, highlights the importance of this subject.

On Instagram, she said children need to understand why it is necessary to remove phones from classrooms, to allow them to develop healthier digital habits as they get older.

She shared these tips on how to do just that (it’s also for parents):

• Turn off notifications
• Keep your phone in a defined location/room (i.e. don’t carry it around the house with you but have a place you go specifically to check the phone)
• If you feel like checking it out, wait five minutes and then see if the feeling goes away.
• If you want to reduce the time spent on social media, every time you go, log out so it’s not as easy to have a quick check
• Remove apps from the phone’s home screen so you have to search for them.

Source: Book The Phone Fix, by Dr Faye Begeti