The mother of two elementary school children challenged the Marshwood school board last week to play a greater role in reducing the use of smartphones by younger students.
Citing research that shows the damaging effect of smartphones on students, Christy Woods of Union Street asked the RSU 35 Board of Directors at this month’s meeting to distribute information from Wait Until 8th, a national organization that encourages parents to limit use of smartphones.
“Most data supports a connection between [smart phones] and juvenile depression, anxiety, reduced sleep, fentanyl deaths, and more,” said Woods, whose children are in fifth and third grades.
Board Chair Joe Long, announcing the district’s creation of a page on the Marshwood website specifically geared toward parents, said he was inspired to fast track the page after a recent conversation with Woods. Besides hosting flyers parents want sent home, it would also provide links to summer and vacation programming, gifted and talent programs, gun safety resources, special education news, and eventually a calendar for parent conferences.
In making her request, Woods noted more than half of U.S. children have smartphones by age 11 and that American teens spend more than seven hours a day on screen media, not counting school and homework.
“Common sense would dictate we try to change direction,” she said, offering board members a handout listing her sources.
Woods believes many parents are feeling hopeless, that it is inevitable kids will soon have their “noses buried in a phone, and they’ll be surrounded by friends with their eyes not on each other, but on screens.”
She noted that cell phones are available that look like smartphones with GPS, texting, music and basic calling functions, but without the access to the internet.
“They offer this peace of mind, but without handing your kid unsupervised internet access – and without handing the internet unsupervised access to your kid,” she said.
The informational flyer Woods hopes to see distributed comes from the non-profit Wait Until 8th, which has been endorsed by schools nationwide and featured on national television.
For those who believe it’s not the district’s place to get involved, Woods argued that schools have long provided guidance on healthy choices from encouraging reading and eating fruits and vegetables to putting limits on screen time.
“Considering the board’s mission of supporting the development of the student’s whole self and ensuring students are challenged by learning opportunities that meet or exceed standards, it is most definitely the district’s place to take action,” she said.
Woods predicted the government will eventually set guidelines for children’s use of smartphones, given that the devices have been intentionally engineered to be addictive.
“But that will be too late for hundreds of Marshwood students,” she said. “I am begging you to have the courage to do something now.”
