Parents' mobile use harms family life, say secondary pupils

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nParents who continually check their mobiles can leave children feeling upset and ignored, suggests research

By Judith Burns Education reporter

An overuse of mobile phones by parents disrupts family life, according to a survey of secondary pupils.

More than a third of 2,000 11 to 18-year-olds who responded to a poll said they had asked their parents to stop checking their devices.

And 14% said their parents were online at meal times, although 95% of 3,000 parents, polled separately, denied it.

The research was carried out by Digital Awareness UK and the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

Among the pupils:

• 82% felt meal times should be device-free
• 22% said the use of mobiles stopped their families enjoying each other's company
• 36% had asked their parents to put down their phones

Of pupils who had asked their parents to put down their phones, 46% said their parents took no notice while 44% felt upset and ignored.

Despite this, only a minority of parents (10%) believed their mobile use was a concern for their children - although almost half (43%) felt they spent too much of their own time online:

• 37% said they were online between three and five hours a day at weekends
• 5% said it could be up to 15 hours a day over a weekend

Research last year by DAUK and HMC showed almost half of secondary pupils were checking their mobile phones after they had gone to bed, amid warnings that they were arriving at school tired and unable to concentrate.

According to the new research, almost three-quarters of pupils (72%) said they were online between three and 10 hours a day - but for 11% this could rise to 15 hours at weekends and holidays and 3% said it could reach 20 hours.

And children's greatest worry about their own online use was lack of sleep, with 47% highlighting it as a major concern.

But among parents, only 10% worried about children's time online leading to sleep deprivation.

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Image captionPupils worry about sleep deprivation through going online at night

Mike Buchanan, headmaster of Ashford School in Kent and chairman of the HMC, which represents leading private schools, said it was time for parents, teachers and pupils "to rewrite the rulebook" on mobile devices, which "have become an integral part of life at school, work and play".

"Our poll shows that children are aware of many of the risks associated with overuse of technology but they need the adults in their lives to set clear boundaries and role model sensible behaviour.

"To achieve this, we need to join up the dots between school and home and give consistent advice," said Mr Buchanan.

'Wake-up call'

Emma Robertson, co-founder of DAUK, said too few parents knew how long their children were online, particularly at night, "or what they are actually doing online".

"We hope these findings will be a wake-up call for families and motivate them to have serious conversations about the safe and healthy use of technology," she said.

The research comes ahead of the HMC's spring conference, which will explore new ways of working between schools and families in both the state and independent sectors.

Parents and pupils at a leading academy chain, which runs both state and private schools in England, were invited to take part in the research earlier this month.

Applying Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs In Our Classrooms

By Tony Kline, Ph.D.

simple truth:

Before expecting students to reach their potential, teachers need to meet students at their current levels.

research tells us:

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a popular motivation theory that is widely referred to in educational circles.  In this theory, Abraham Maslow suggested that before individuals meet their full potential, they need to satisfy a series of needs.  It's important to note that Maslow based his theory more on philosophy than on scientific evidence.  If interested, you can find limitations of this theory here.  However, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs can provide teachers a reminder and framework that our students are less likely to perform at their full potential if their basic needs are unmet.

At times it can be confusing to apply theory into the practical realities of a classroom.  So let's talk specifics.  We may have a limited influence on the home lives of our students.  Though once they enter our school, we have the opportunity to assess student needs and then work to adapt our instruction to meet their needs.  Below are the general stages in order and descriptions of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:

Are any students entering our classroom without their Physiological needs met?  Is this student getting all of their basic physical needs met?  These basic needs include food, water, sleep, oxygen, and warmth.  If all students have these needs met, the next stage is Safety.  How safe and secure does this student feel in their home?  What about in our school, and specifically in our classroom?

Do all students have a feeling of Love & Belonging in our classroom? Does each student feel that they belong to a group?  Do they have strong relationships with their peers?  The next stage is Esteem.  Do all students feel good about themselves?  Are we giving powerful verbal feedback to support their self-esteem?  Do they believe that their peers think positively about them?

Maslow's final stage is Self-Actualization.  In theory, if students have all of the previous stages met, they can achieve and create at their full potential.  Do we automatically assume that all students should be achieving at their full potential once they enter the classroom?  We know that this is not a reality, we just need to look at ourselves when we're impacted by any of the characteristics noted above.

try this:

• To support our students' physiological needs, we can ensure that all students have access to water in their rooms.  Water bottles are a simple solution and research shows the many benefits of hydrated students.
• To support our students physiological needs, we can ensure that we have nutritious snacks available.  Foods with slow-burning complex carbohydrates (such as granola bars) can help students sustain energy levels throughout the morning or afternoon.
• To support our students physiological needs, we can ensure that if a student is in desperate need of sleep, they are allowed to take a short nap at school.  If not, research indicates that sleep-deprived students learn less and may even disrupt the learning of others.
• To support our students' safety needs, we can continuously equip students and monitor the climate of our classroom to decrease bullying.
• To support our students' love and belonging needs, would all students feel like our classroom has a family or close-knit feel?  Are we actively making sitting arrangements and putting students in groups where they feel supported?
• To support our students' esteem needs, we need to provide affirmative, concrete, and transparentfeedback so that students know their specific strengths and can articulate when they've used them to succeed in our classrooms.  Do we create opportunity for peers to share specific positive feedback with each other?
• In theory, when we support students in all of those stages noted, students can perform at their fullest potential, which is the self-actualization stage.  Do we always expect students to perform at their best, even if they are in need of support in lower stages?

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