Brighton Council Urges Delay on Smartphones for Children
brighton & Hove city Council is advising parents to hold off on giving their children smartphones until age 14, citing growing concerns over online safety and criminal exploitation. The council recommends “cheap, old fashioned” alternatives for younger children.
Emma Daniel, cabinet member for children, families and youth services, stated, “The dangers to your child of criminal sexual exploitation are so great that it’s now come to a point where we have to say to parents that it isn’t safe.”
the call for caution comes amid alarming statistics on online offenses.The NSPCC reported that UK police recorded over 7,000 offences of sexual communications with a child in the 2023/24 period.
while acknowledging the need for exceptions - such as for children managing medical conditions like diabetes who rely on smartphones for monitoring – the council is emphasizing the risks associated with early smartphone access.
Several schools in the Brighton & Hove area are already taking steps to limit smartphone use. Four primary schools have implemented outright bans, while three secondary schools are utilizing lockable pouches where students store their phones during the school day.
The move is echoed by experiences elsewhere. Damien McBeath, headteacher at the John Wallis Academy in Ashford, Kent, reported a positive impact after banning phones at his school. “we certainly know that young people aren’t safe when they’re online. Many of them are seeing images that are deeply disturbing and it’s being normalised,” McBeath said. “We found when we gave children a break, for just the seven hours a day that they’re in school, children prefer it this way. They prefer having that human contact. If you speak to children, very few of them say they prefer to be locked in a room doom scrolling.”
