This One Change Can Transform Your Child’s School Experience

The benefits of a phone-free school extend far beyond academics

As a parent of 4 kids myself, I know that parents want to give their children every advantage. It’s why we cart them around to early morning swim practice, after-school music lessons, and SAT prep classes. 

But at ScreenStrong, we have come to believe that the most impactful advantage we can extend to our children is also one of our simplest and most overlooked: giving them a phone-free school day. 

ScreenStrong has been helping schools go phone-free for a better part of the last decade, and we are excited to see that the movement is picking up steam and getting the attention of parents and administrators across the country. 

But as more and more people talk about phone-free schools, we realize there are still a lot of misunderstandings about how a phone-free school will benefit our kids (hint: it goes way beyond academics) and what a phone-free school even is. So let’s talk about some of that today. 

What is a phone-free school anyway? 

“But wait,” many parents tell me. “My child’s school is already phone-free. They aren’t allowed to take out their phones in class.” 

Yes, this is the “policy” at most schools today. Kids are not supposed to take their phones out of their backpacks or pockets in class. But what many teachers will tell you is that those phones do come out in class, leaving teachers to constantly remind students to put them away… put them away… put them away. 

If tweens and teens can have phones on their person, those phones come out in the classroom, during passing periods, and during lunch breaks. This means phones are not only interfering with our students’ learning time but, worse, with their social time as well. 

A phone-free school is a school that requires that all phones be collected and stored at the start of the school day and picked up by students at the final bell. And this bell-to-bell approach offers many advantages. 

What are the benefits of a phone-free school? 

The benefits of a phone-free school are numerous, giving children an advantage academically, socially, physically, and emotionally. 

Improved academics: It’s estimated that students spend about 25% of classroom time on their phones, and 44 studies have shown the use of phones in class is correlated with decreased academic performance. Conversely, students who did not have access to their cell phones in class scored a full letter and a half higher on tests (that’s the difference between a C+ and an A-!)

Improved social connection & sense of community: If students are looking down at their phones, they aren’t looking up at what — or who — is in front of them. 30% of teens say they wish they had more friends, yet 54% of teens say their phone prevents them from being present with the people around them, preventing real friendships from forming. 

Improved physical health: Screens keep kids sedentary and sleep-deprived. It’s estimated that 50% of teens are sleep-deprived due to screen use, and children with over 5 hours a day of screen time are twice as likely to become obese. On the other hand, schools that banned the use of smartphones during passing periods, lunch, and recess saw a noticeable increase in physical activity during these break times. 

Improved mental health: The link between smartphone use and anxiety & depression in teens is now well studied and well documented, but to remind you of some statistics: 30% of girls between 12-17 suffer from major depression, social media doubles the risk of both anxiety & depression, and self-harm is up 62% from the previous decade. 

Better grades, happiness, and overall health. It’s everything we as parents want for our kids, yet we get in our own way, often preventing schools from going phone-free due to some common misconceptions.

Common myths about phone-free schools

Like I said, at ScreenStrong, we’ve been advocating for this change in our schools for many years now, and there are some dangerous myths that parents perpetuate that prevent administrators from adopting these policies and giving our children what they need and deserve from their school environment. Here are the most common. 

“I need to be able to contact my child during the school day.” 

Constant texting can disrupt your child's focus and hinder their ability to develop independence, confidence, and problem-solving skills. If your child needs to reach you during the school day—or if you need to contact them—a phone is available in the main office. 

“My child needs to have a phone in case of a school shooting.” 

Imagining your child in a school shooting is a horrific thought. But phones can make students less safe in emergencies, distracting them from important directions and revealing their location to a perpetrator. School security experts advise reducing phone use to protect students.

“Our school does not need to be phone-free all day. Teachers can just collect phones at the beginning of every class.” 

This places a tremendous burden on teachers, taking time out of every class period to manage student devices. Also, remember that school is about more than academics. It’s about developing social bonds and learning to work with others. By keeping phones away from bell-to-bell, we give our children greater opportunities to socialize and bond with their peers during passing time and lunch. 

“Our children won’t learn how to use phones responsibly if we take them away.” 

School is your child’s job right now. The first step in teaching responsible phone use is recognizing when it’s appropriate to use a phone and when it isn’t. Just as adults know they can’t be distracted by their phones at work, a phone-free school day provides the necessary structure for students to learn to be free from their devices for extended periods. This practice helps them develop the executive functioning skill of self-discipline, which they will need to succeed in college and in life.

“My child doesn’t use their phone in class. Why do they need to be punished?”

Phone-free policies are not a punishment. They are a gift to our students, one that they may not recognize at first but will come to appreciate in time. 

ScreenStrong’s Kids Brains & Screens curriculum educates kids on how screens and screen overuse affect the brain and empowers students to take control of their time. It’s available as a book for individual families to buy and read together, as well as a curriculum for middle and high school students. 

Stay tuned for our Substack next week, when we dive into how you can support a phone-free policy at your school using our new Phone-Free School Guide! Until then, stand up for your kids, stand out from the crowd, and stay strong!

ScreenStrong Resources

Melanie Hempe, BSN, is the founder of ScreenStrong, a nonprofit organization, and the author of the Kid’s Brains and Screens Series for students and parents. She is dedicated to preventing and reversing childhood screen addictions by providing scientific evidence and community for families around the globe. Her educational material is filled with everything she wished she had known before her oldest child suffered from a screen addiction. ScreenStrong has created what every family needs—education and the community—to skip toxic screens through adolescence so teens can reach their full potential.

Visit here for educational material and ScreenStrong.org to learn more and join the community that is saving childhood.