No child in primary school should have a mobile phone, according to Senator Seery Kearney.
Last week, the Dutch Government announced they were banning all smart devices in secondary schools. In Kerry and Wicklow, there has also been a ban on smartphone use in certain schools.
On Breakfast Briefing, Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery-Kearney said we need to "bring back childhood" and "restore that special place and special time in a child's life".
"No child, once they're in primary school, should have a mobile phone," she said.
"You need a collaboration of all of the parents and teachers in order to ensure that no child is left behind and that everybody is on the same page."
Social skills
Senator Seery-Kearney said children are missing out on "key developmental social skills" when they use mobile phones at primary school age.
"Because they're stuck in phones, they're not necessarily having that uniform shared experience," he said.
"[On the Internet] children are exposed to bullying and we have seen terrible consequences for that in children taking their own lives and thinking about taking their own lives.
"The whole experience of being bullied online is just so horrific and it does strip away their childhood."
Boy lying on floor of bedroom using mobile phone (MBI / Alamy Stock Photo)'Embrace technology'
Senator Seery-Kearney said she is not calling for a total ban on technology in schools, but believes there should be greater controls on Internet access.
"Children as young as Junior Infants have a specific class in most schools, if not all schools by now, where they're on an iPad that is supervised in the classroom," she said.
"They're developing their skills and their computer skills, their engagement skills – that's done in an appropriate and supervised way."
'Pacifier'
Issues only arise when children have access to their own devices, according to Senator Seery-Kearney.
"You will hear that from younger than Holy Communion age, children are having their own phone," she said.
"Why do they need a phone? They don't at that stage, and in some cases, it becomes a convenient pacifier."
Little boy play games on smartphone (Ivan Kmit / Alamy Stock Photo)Senator Seery-Kearney said in order for this ban to work, all parents need to come to a consensus.
"If you don't have all of the parents on boards, and if you don't have it as a code of conduct in school, then your child could be the child that's left out and no parent wants that experience for their child," she said.
"It would be much easier if it came from the Department of Education and that's where I'm championing for it to happen."
