Picture break time with no phones. Kids talking, kicking a ball, maybe swapping snacks. Sounds like 1995? It might be your child's school soon.
In the Netherlands, education minister Willemijn Aerdts wants smartphones banned in schools for the whole day, lessons and breaks. The plan has a lovely name, “At Home or in the Vault”, and she hopes it starts on 1 January 2027. Many Dutch schools already do this. The new rule is for the ones that don't.
Pennsylvania goes “bell to bell”
Across the ocean, Pennsylvania just passed a law that does the same from 2027-28: no personal phones from the first bell to the last, lunch included. Smartwatches too. The House vote was 141 to 62, and Governor Josh Shapiro is expected to sign. His line: “It's time to get back to the basics in school and let our kids be kids.”
Pennsylvania joins roughly 30 US states with full-day bans.
“But how do I reach my child?”
Good news for worried mums: schools must give parents a phone number or email to get a message through during the day. And there are exceptions: kids who need a phone for a medical reason or a disability, children who use it to translate while learning the language, and lessons where a teacher really needs it.
Not everyone is cheering. One superintendent said losing the choice to set his own rules was “incredibly frustrating”. The teachers' union, on the other hand, backed the law to cut distractions.
Why now?
The Dutch minister talks about “addictive algorithms, unwanted contact and harmful content”, and says “children deserve a safe environment in which to grow up.” A Pennsylvania senator put it shorter: teachers shouldn't have to compete with smartphones for attention.
So, a tip for tonight: ask your kids what they'd do at break with no phone. Then enjoy the look on their face when you say “we used to play marbles”.