Mum's 'Wait Until 8th' campaign is something we all NEED to think about
The vast majority of adults on this planet has a smartphone; and out of curiosity on a scale of one to ten, how addicted are you? 11, 15, 20 even?
That very question has many answers, many of them will skirt around the truth.
No one ever wants to admit that they're addicted to their phones, our lives aren't online; but in truth they are.
We all have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, WhatsApp, we spend our weekends listening to Podcasts, or moreover we'll claim we only use our phones for work purposes, forgetting we do have a quitting time…
Nonetheless, in the modern era we now exist, how do we keep our children from latching on to the very thing we crave so much?
We have rules in place; screen time allowance, chores for the iPad, no phones in the bedroom, no Snapchat, Minecraft on rainy days only and no one is allowed their own personal phone until they're 14-years-old.
But it's increasingly hard to stick to the rules we put in place; why?
Because nowadays everywhere you turn, there is a child who is in possession of their own smartphone.
So when is it time to draw a line? Can you keep denying your 10-year-old a smartphone when their eight-year-old team-mate has one?
Us parents are constantly feeling pressurised to bend the rules and conform to what other parents are allowing, but what we're sometimes forgetting is that children should be children.
Should our seven-year-olds know how to perfectly re-create a smokey eye look thanks to YouTube? Is it natural for our 12-year-olds to be taking countless selfies on their holidays, sending them home to their endless list of Snapchat friends we've never met?
Wait Until 8th is a campaign that is gaining a lot of attention Stateside as parents are coming together requesting others not to give their child a smartphone until they are at the very least 8th grade students.
The campaign is hard to argue with and it's something many of us need to think about for our children before indulging their endless pleas.
8th graders are typically 13-14 year-olds, and when we think about it realistically, what is it our children would need a phone for before this age?
The website have listed several reasons for their stance including; sleep impairment, addiction, academic distraction, relationship interference and cyber bullying.
However, what stood out to us the most was the inclusion of the anxiety, depression and sexual content risk associated with smartphone usage.
Creator of the group Brooke Shannon believes: "All children should experience a childhood filled with outside play, long afternoons with books and puzzles and time without the presence of a screen."
Personally, we'd love to see a movement such as this on our shores, so our children can see the true beauty in this world.
But, we're asking you – should our children be allowed to live their best childhood, creating the greatest memories or should they be stuck on their phones at the tender age of seven?
Do we as parents need to look at ourselves and draw back our usage to set a good example, or simply stick to the rules we put in place?
We'd love to hear your thoughts on the debate…