Should parents confiscate their kids' phones before bed?
18 June 2018, 12:39 | Updated: 18 June 2018, 15:30
With one top boarding school revealing they lock away younger pupils' phones at bed time, is it time parents took their youngster's screen time more seriously?
Prince William and Prince Harry's old school, Eton, has revealed that they confiscate phones from their boarders before bed time and return them in the morning.
But should all parents be doing this?
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Kids are glued to their phones from the moment they wake up and stay glued to social media, YouTube or mobile games for most of the day.
Schools generally (depending on the headteacher's rules) have a ban on the use of mobiles during the day but, but could it be a good idea to restrict their phone usage even further by confiscating mobile devices before bed time?
Eton school take phones from pupils at 7pm before returning them at 8am, but for the rest of the day the phone is with the pupil.
Could banning phone at bedtime be beneficial? | Picture: Getty
In France, President Emmanuel Macron has announced a ban on mobile phones in all schools from September but as the UK doesn't have this law some parents are considering taking a leaf out of Eton's book and imposing their own rules at home.
Social media has been proved to be linked to feelings of anxiety and low self-esteem in youngsters and one young person involved in a study by 5Rights Foundation told researchers: "Scrolling forever gives me a sick feeling in my stomach".
When this is considered, the case for banning phones before bedtime seems even more potent, as well as the fact that making bedrooms a phone free zone also contributes to better sleeping patterns.
Author of Why We Sleep Matthew Walker said that phone screens "fool your brain into thinking that it’s still daytime, even though it’s nighttime and you want to get to sleep" so by keeping your kids phone out of their room at bedtime you could aid a better night's sleep too.
Would you implement this rule with your kids?
