Minister discourages people from buying smartphones for children this Christmas

People should consider “other wonderful things that can be provided for children” if they are thinking of buying a smartphone as a Christmas present, Minister for Education Norma Foley has said.

She said there is evidence that buying smartphones for children is not in the interest of their health and wellbeing and “there’s a whole suite of information out there that’s telling us if your child is in primary school, refrain from purchasing the [smartphone] for them.”

The Fianna Fáil TD made the remarks after she confirmed the Government has approved plans to provide resources to support parents and parent associations who wish to develop voluntary codes on smartphone use among primary schoolchildren.

The policy follows on from initiatives in Greystones and other parts of the country where parents voluntarily agreed not to buy smartphones for their children while they are in primary school.

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Ms Foley said new guidelines and resources will “empower parents to make informed decisions around the purchase of smartphones” and said they “will feel less pressurised in terms of feeling obliged to purchase a phone.”

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Labour Party education spokesman Aodhán Ó Riordáin TD dismissed the guidelines are “meaningless”, argued they “won’t be worth the paper they are written on” and suggested the minister should be focused on addressing teacher shortages.

Ms Foley defended the Government’s efforts to increase the supply of teachers at a time of “near full employment in this country”, pointing to increases in the number of teacher training places and other measures.

She also said “it behoves us in education to tackle an awful lot of issues” and smartphones are a key issue identified to her by parents and guardians.

Ms Foley said smartphones facilitate access to sexual and violent content as well as cyberbullying and “parents want to be supported to make the right decisions, to prevent that happening, particularly for younger children.”

At a post-Cabinet press conference she was asked if she had a message to parents who are under pressure from their children to buy them a smartphone.

Ms Foley suggested that parents will be pleased they “aren’t working in isolation” and other parents “will buy-in with them” as a result of the new guidelines.

She also said: “We’re just a number of weeks out from Christmas now where people will be considering what they will be looking for and wishing for, and hoping that Santa might bring, or that somebody within their family might purchase for them”.

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Ms Foley added: “Think of all of the other wonderful things that can be provided for children.”

Asked if her message was do not buy phones as Christmas presents she said: “I’m saying is consider what you’re doing.

“Everybody has autonomy to do whatever they want to do. I accept that.

“But I’m saying all of the evidence points towards saying that it is not best practice, it is not in the interest of health and wellbeing for children ...

“There’s a whole suite of information out there that’s telling us if your child is in primary school, refrain from purchasing the [smartphone] for them ...

“This isn’t a war on phones now. This is just smartphones.”

Ms Foley said she does not think it is appropriate for children to have a smartphone at primary school level.

She said she has no issue with children having basic phones that allow contact with their parents.