‘This is how a summer without smartphones turned out for us’
Derived
The idea of taking her two daughters’ smartphones arose after reading a study. “Nine in ten teenagers have a telephone and 70 percent use social media several times a day,” says Melissa. “And worst of all, half of the kids are distracted by it and a whopping 82 percent say social media has no positive effect on their self-confidence.”
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More confidence
Melissa decided to take a summer without smartphones – just to see what that did to her daughters. ‘After a week I noticed a change,’ she says. “The girls are more confident and their interest in certain things has returned. So they read books again and they started painting – they now have time for that again. They are not distracted by their smartphone and no one responds to what they are doing. They also talk more and actively listen to each other’.
‘Start with a short period’
Many parents ask Melissa how she managed it. ‘Simple’, she explains, ‘you take the smartphones and if they ask for them, you don’t give them.’ And what if your child is away and he needs to contact you? “Then they just borrow someone else’s phone.”
According to Melissa, you certainly don’t have to let the test last all summer. ‘Just start with two weeks. You will be amazed at the result.’ And what if your child misses his smartphone? “Believe it or not, my kids have never once complained about not having a smartphone.”
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