A powerful new movement is urging British parents to reclaim Christmas from smartphones, as over 165,000 people sign a national pact to delay giving the devices to children.
The Growing 'Smartphone Free Childhood' Movement
The campaign, called Smartphone Free Childhood, began as a WhatsApp group before going viral across the UK. It is now a community of more than 350,000 people. Co-founder Daisy Greenwell says the goal is to 'dethrone the phone' and support families in the battle against digital addiction. The group is pushing for greater government support to reclaim childhood from what they term 'Big Tech's addictive algorithms'.
Their central call is for parents to band together by signing a 'Parent Pact', agreeing to delay giving a child a smartphone until at least age 14, and access to social media until 16. The movement has garnered celebrity backing from figures including singer Paloma Faith, writer Jack Thorne, and actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
Five Key Tips to 'Dethrone the Phone'
The movement's advice, echoed by England's Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza, centres on five practical strategies for families.
1. Delay, Delay, Delay: The core message is to postpone smartphone ownership for as long as possible. For children under 11, the advice is no phone at all. For ages 11 to 14, a basic 'brick' phone for calls and texts is recommended. Only after that should a smartphone with strict parental controls and clear boundaries be considered.
2. Create Phone-Free Zones and Times: Protect key moments from screens. The campaign suggests making meals, the school run, the first hour of the morning, and the hour before bed device-free. 'Small, regular boundaries beat total bans,' says Greenwell. A key recommendation is to charge all phones overnight outside bedrooms to improve sleep for adults and children alike.
3. Make Devices Less Intrusive: Implement small barriers to reduce mindless scrolling. This includes turning off non-essential notifications and removing social media apps from the home screen. 'Small barriers make a big difference,' Greenwell notes.
Leading by Example and the Stakes for Mental Health
4. Model the Behaviour You Want to See: Both the campaign and Dame Rachel de Souza stress that children copy adults. Parents are urged to consciously put their phones down during conversations and explicitly state they are giving their full attention. 'Children don’t do what we say - they do what they see,' Greenwell emphasises.
5. Band Together with Other Parents: Signing the pact provides solidarity, reducing the social pressure on individual families to provide a smartphone early. The movement believes collective action is key to changing norms.
The push comes amid serious concerns about the impact of smartphones on young minds. Research indicates teens addicted to smartphones are twice as likely to experience anxiety and three times as likely to struggle with depression. Recent Ofcom data reveals children aged 8-14 spend nearly three hours online daily, with 13-14-year-olds averaging four hours.
Dame Rachel de Souza, who has launched a new online safety guide titled 'What I Wish My Parents Knew', has called for adults to lead by example this Christmas. 'I can't tell you how many children tell me about sitting at dinner and the parents are on the phone,' she told the Press Association. 'The kids are crying out for the engagement... So this Christmas, let's turn them off.'
She has warned that if the situation does not improve, she will call for an Australia-style ban on social media for under-16s by the end of the year. Her concerns are shared by the schools watchdog Ofsted, which has warned social media is 'chipping away' at children's attention spans.
A recent survey for Yondr underscores the festive challenge, finding that nearly half (48%) of parents plan to allow phones at the Christmas dinner table this year. Nearly a third of parents said children no longer properly interact with relatives during the holidays.
