A delegation of three mothers from Bergeijk returns satisfied from The Hague. “Our mission was successful. We have received full attention to be more aware of the smartphone, certainly close to children,” says Tessa van Dooren. We told our story on radio, television and to Lower House.
On Tuesday, the three offered a petition to a few members of the House of Representatives in The Hague to make more policy for smartphone use. “We don’t love rules either, but now there are none that makes the brake look off.” Almost twenty MPs came to the petition moment. “It was nice to see that the MPs are also father or mother and recognize the problem. Jesse Klaver talked about it more often with his son of 11.”, he told Tessa.
In Bergeijk, the wish has been growing among parents for some time to make that smartphone less prominent because parents notice that children have less physical contact with each other. That is why the Parent Initiative Growing Former Growing Bergeijk was erected earlier. In an information evening it turned out that many parents are struggling with smartphone use. It was also found that children get a smartphone at an increasingly younger age. This increases the pressure on a parent to also indicate here.
Nationally there is also the desire to limit the use of the cell phone among children. ‘Smartphone -free growing up’ is called the national club that represents 500 schools and 6500 parents. The Parent Movement from Bergeijk recommends having children start up to the age of fourteen with a so -called Startphone, a simple Nokia without social media and the internet. There can also be contact with friends at a family tablet at home via online channels, such as WhatsApp.
The tip from Bergeijk is to talk about it as long as there are no rules. “That is why we made talk plate. We also gave them to the MPs. There are mainly questions such as;” What do you like to do without a smartphone? ” There are also challenges on it as a day without a phone. ” According to Tessa, the reactions were only positive. “A Member of Parliament even saw something in a national smartphone-free day.”
