Local Fianna Fáil Senator, Eugene Murphy, has welcomed new resources to help support parents who wish to develop voluntary codes regarding smartphone use among primary school children.
Senator Murphy was speaking following confirmation from his party colleague and Minister for Education Norma Foley, that new guidelines designed to help support parents amid concerns regarding primary school children’s potential exposure to cyber-bullying and other online harms, will be issued to all primary schools in the coming weeks.
“More and more reports are being published on the damage being done to children by certain types of mobile phone use, social media use and internet content. Children and teenagers can be exposed to content that is damaging their mental health and often parents can be left feeling powerless.
“My colleagues are of the view that Ireland can be, and must be, a world leader in ensuring that children and young people are not targeted and are not harmed by their interactions with the digital world
“These new guidelines introduced by Minister Norma Foley are designed to see initiatives being rolled out in schools containing practical advice and suggestions about devising voluntary agreements among parents concerning the use of smartphones for their primary school age children.
“We must make it easier for parents to limit the content their children are exposed to and I was delighted to hear Minister Foley say that as part of a wider package of supports for parents, she will provide funding to Webwise, the Irish internet safety organisation, to deliver new web safety lectures for parents,” Senator Murphy stated.
