AS more and more schools crack down on students using their mobile phones, savvy kids are coming up with clever ways to by-pass the ban.
Keen to stay in touch with their friends throughout the day, pupils are reportedly going back old methods of communications.
One mum shared the savvy trick on TikTok, leaving parents stunned[/caption]
Two teen students are sneakily looking at a smart phone together during lesson time.[/caption]
This comes after one mum took to social media after she discovered their trick, and other parents were impressed by their quick thinking.
In her viral post, Valerie Dickenson said: “In case you haven’t heard, to get around the phone ban a bunch of high school kids are creating a Google Doc with their friends so they all have real time access to it, so they can just type into it during class time.
“So they’ve basically just reinvented the AOL chatroom,” the mum said.
Google Docs allow multiple people to type and view the same document at one time, meaning they could chat together while on school laptops or computers, which often have other methods of communication blocked.
After outing their savvy method, parents joked they’re “un-covering old methods.”
“Wait until they discover passing notes,” one commented.
“Kids will always find a way, but honestly the creativity involved is a skill worth developing,” a second said.
And a teacher chimed in: “As an educator I’m honestly so proud of them.”
Meanwhile, other parents shared the nifty ways their kids got around tech bans.
“I blocked my kid’s computer from watching YouTube so he opened a Google Slides and inserted the video link and watched it that way. I couldn’t even be mad,” one mum said.
“My kid sends me emails when she’s at school, they’re smarter than we know lol,” another said.
But one teacher insisted schools are always a step ahead, he explained: “This was a thing years ago and most have already prevented it from happening, teachers are always 10 steps ahead of students.”
“Wait until they realise IT can read it even when deleted, every key stroke,” someone else wrote.
Earlier this year a report revealed one in four children spends more than four hours a day online — even though most schools ban phones.
Their growing obsession has led the Children’s Commissioner for England to warn harmful content is slipping through the net at home.
Dame Rachel de Souza argued schools were just one part of the solution and parents should be better supported in setting appropriate boundaries for screen time.
The poll found a quarter of eight to 15-year-olds spent four hours on phones, tablets and consoles each day.
Another fifth spent three to four hours a day on the devices, it also revealed.
A second poll for Dame Rachel found 90 per cent of secondary schools and 99.8 per cent of primary schools already imposed phone restrictions.
How long should kids be on screens?
Dr Amanda, who’s a parenting expert and child psychologist gave a general guide for parents who wish to limit screen time.
Age 1-3 years old
How long: 5 minutes per year of life in one sitting
Dr Gummer says: “If you are really hoping your child will learn from the screen time they have then one rule of thumb is that on average children can concentrate for 5 minutes per year of their life (i.e. 15 minutes at age 3).”
Age 1+
How long: 1 hour per day
Dr Gummer says: “For younger children we feel that around 1 hour per day is a sensible limit to aim for on a regular weekday.
“Once you add together time on mobile devices, TV, computers and other devices with screens this may not seem like much (and remember children may get screen time at school).”
Age 2+
How long: 2 hour per day
Dr Gummer says: “Various sources including the American Academy of Paediatrics recommend no more than 2 hours per day (for children aged 2 and over).”
Children of all ages
Over two hours a day is excessive usage
Dr Gummer says: “A recent study saw some detrimental effects in teenagers that used more than 3 hours per day of screen time and consider this ‘excessive usage’
