{"id":72800,"date":"2025-03-31T15:41:58","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T14:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?p=72800"},"modified":"2025-03-31T16:41:21","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T15:41:21","slug":"sheffield-parents-unite-to-protect-children-from-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/03\/31\/sheffield-parents-unite-to-protect-children-from-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheffield parents unite to protect children from social media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An increasing number of Sheffield parents are signing Smartphone free childhood\u2019s<\/a> pact to choose to \u201cwait to give their children a smartphone until at least the end of Year 9″.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to their parent pact statistics<\/a>, parents from over 149 schools across South Yorkshire have signed the agreement. The school with the most signatures is Hallam Primary School, where 158 parents have agreed not to get their child a smartphone until they are at least 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, a Sheffield secondary school, Forge Valley, banned the use of mobile phones in school entirely. While another school, Firth Park Academy, introduced Yondr pouches<\/a> to stop students having their phones out during the school day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smartphone free childhood was started in Suffolk last year by two mums, Clare Fernyhough and Daisy Greenwell, who were concerned about phone usage in young children and it is steadily increasing in membership across the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite parental concerns, however, last week, a report from youth parliament<\/a> concluded that social media should not be banned for under 16\u2019s in the UK. The investigation said banning teenagers from using any social media is neither \u201cpractical nor effective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wania Eshaal Ahmad, the chair of the committee, said: \u201cSocial media companies should do more to protect young people from violent and harmful content. Tech companies must be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the youth parliament\u2019s conclusion, many parents do believe that children should not have access to social media until they are 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One parent, whose children go to Walkley Primary School in Sheffield, said that she \u201cdefinitely\u201d believes there needs to be a cap implemented by the government due to the countless online dangers to young people, especially \u201cnot knowing who is on the other side of the screen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said that she will get her children \u201can old phone with no socials just to keep in touch with them\u201d once they start secondary school, believing that the \u201crisks [of social media] outweigh the benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another 33-year-old mum said that she is \u201cterrified\u201d for her 10-year-old son to start secondary school since his peers will likely already be on social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said: \u201cParents these days have no idea who their kids are talking to online, what friendships they\u2019re making and what videos they\u2019re watching. I think the only way to reassure parents is for the government to flat-out ban social media, then I\u2019d be more reassured and open to my son having a smartphone. It\u2019s difficult to balance the safety of being able to contact my child, but not wanting him to be exposed to Instagram and X.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Ofcom<\/a>, by the age of 11, nine in 10 children will have a smartphone, and 70% of parents have expressed concern about their child being bullied online. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sheffield parents are signing an agreement to not give their children smartphones until the age of 14. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":58756,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1284,9,313,338],"class_list":["post-72800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-parents","tag-sheffield","tag-social-media","tag-south-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\nSheffield parents unite to protect children from social media - Sheffield Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/03\/31\/sheffield-parents-unite-to-protect-children-from-social-media\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sheffield parents unite to protect children from social media - 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