I am a firm believer in that it takes a village to raise healthy kids! As a mom of three and as an educator, this belief stands equally strong from either perspective. The more schools and families are in partnership with routines, values, and expectations...the stronger we raise our kids! As we enter year two of a district wide cell phone ban and I enter my first year in administration...I feel this more now than ever! The issues I see coming into my office on a daily basis nearly all stem from unregulated cell phone use. More often than not, our kids are struggling with social emotional challenges through blue lit screens in isolation...often long after the house has gone to sleep. My post today comes after students have visited my office to report bullying incidents that happened at 1:00 or 3:00 in the morning on a video chat. It follows the panic attacks at school because phones have been taken. If follows an alert sent to my email on a Saturday night as High Risk for mental health threats following a student's social media post. Every day, I see the residual effect of unregulated cell phone use and I wonder, what are families seeing? How are they struggling? Are we doing all we can to work together here? Or are our kids suffering from the disconnect between school and home? I think now, more than ever, is a critical time for us to align and rekindle that "village" partnership that was once the foundation of raising healthy kids.
I have shared a short article that seems to capture this idea in hopes that families will read it and want to begin dialogue with me, teachers, each other...on just how important it is to recognize the dangers of unrestricted cell phone use for our children...especially older teenagers!
Whether this is a one time read and done or this sparks a series of future conversations...my hope nonetheless is to form a bridge between the two most important stakeholders in your child's life...YOU and Us...WE need to be in this together.
Read Article Here: Beyond the School Ban: Why Healthy Phone Habits Require a Family-School Partnership
I can be reached at tlbroad@rsu64schools.org...anytime!