Kids will realise banning phones in school is best thing for them – and it might encourage parents to stop scrolling too

I KNOW that one of the worst things I do as a parent is spend endless hours on my phone when my six-year-old is around.

An appalling, mind-numbing addiction which sees me scrolling through social media, reacting to WhatsApps and emails and dealing with mundane online tasks.

It’s harmful now and harmful for the future, because I know that when he starts begging for his own phone in a few years’ time, my argument will be weakened as I try to resist.

So I was elated when Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the , said he supported a “”; on mobile phones in to “alleviate pressure on school leaders and but also parents”;.

Bingo. So hopefully, in five years’ time when my son starts secondary school, you would like to think that will mean phones used in schools will be out and learning will be fully back in.

Daniel Kebede was speaking out after a report revealed that 79 per cent of secondary- school pupils were allowed to bring phones to the premises but were told not to use them during the school day and were asked to keep them out of sight.

But just under eight per cent are forced to to be locked away at the start of the school day and only 3.5 per cent are banned from bringing them on to the premises altogether.

Which is shocking. And what I find truly baffling is that Daniel has faced some opposition to this common-sense ban from our very own government.

Education Secretary says there’s no need for it because headteachers already have powers to confiscate phones from students during the school day.

But it is clear from this new report by the Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza that very few of them are enforcing this, and a ban across the board is needed.

Teachers don’t have the time or the energy to do battle with every kid that slips a phone out of their pocket during lessons.

Phillipson dismissed calls for a ban earlier this year, saying it is a “headline- grabbing gimmick”; but the protection of our children is no gimmick.

This new report has shown that nearly a quarter of children spend more than four hours a day on an internet-enabled device.

If a ban on phones throughout the school day was in place, there’s less time for potential online abuse or them seeing disturbing, harmful and damaging content.

Valuable lesson

It would mean they can concentrate on learning, playing and interacting face to face instead of scrolling.

I can’t think of one good reason not to bring it in.

In 2018, officials in said their kids under 15 had to keep their phones in their bags throughout the school day.

It had such a positive effect, with more social interaction, more physical exercise, less and better concentration, that they are now making kids hand them over at the start of the day.

, too, has banned phones in public schools.

Surely we all want here too.

They may be the biggest protesters at first but once they all realise they are in the same boat, they will suck it up and it will become the norm.

One day they may realise it’s the best thing that ever happened to them.

They will realise it may have saved them from online danger while they actually enjoy learning, and these days which are supposed to be the best of their lives.

It may make them realise that you don’t need to be on your phone all the time to enjoy life.

And it might just encourage parents to put down their phones too — and teach us all a valuable lesson.

Mickey takers at ITV

ONE of his gross actions since he landed on planet .

According to Kimberly Hines, he leered at AJ Odudu and used homophobic language to because he’s “old school”;, he’s “72”; and doesn’t know about “he, she, they”;.

She says poor Mickey can’t help “behaving like a little boy around women”; because he was a star in the 80s and 90s.

Yes, we all remember him, pre , good looking, bit of a charmer.

But I’m not quite sure how that excuses him. His actions are unacceptable.

If you want to take £500,000 to appear on a TV show that is aimed at people four decades younger than you and is starring people four decades younger than you, surely it’s a wise idea to do your research.

He is a disgusting has-been who simply has .

ITV saw him as the big signing, but the sooner he goes, the better.

He’s giving OAPs a bad name.

Looks like Rory’s Poppy could be well over Pa

RORY McILROY’S four-year-old daughter Poppy delighted fans when she showed off her own golfing talents this week at .

Rory let super-cute Poppy take on a winding putt of around 25 feet after telling her that the ball only needed a gentle touch.

And she did just as she was told and got it in.

You’ve got to wonder if she has some in-grown talent or if the poor child has been made to watch far too many rounds of .

Grub's up for real

EVER wondered what we will be eating in 2050?

Well, I can tell you – worms.

It may sound far fetched – and reminds me of the spaghetti-eating episode in Roald Dahl’s The Twits.

But some of the world’s finest chefs have met up in to work out what we will be dining on in the future and the menu included grilled mealworms, the larval form of a species of yellow beetle, spiced with paprika.

The chefs were at first reluctant – and who can blame them.

But after trying the dish they said it was apparently tangy and delightfully crisp.

I’d rather eat cardboard.

A style too far

HE’S got the legs to pull off the itsy-bitsy, teeny- weeny shorts, and the pose proves he has the confidence to sport any outfit.

But what on Earth is doing with that moustache?

His overgrown facial hair makes it look like he’s about to burst into song with a rendition of YMCA.

Please get rid of it, Harry. There are some things that should never return to fashion, and moustaches are one of them.

Sweary genius

I LOVE Anna Barrow’s style.

This brave woman, below, is paralysed by motor neurone disease and has saved recordings of her voice in a bank so she can still swear at her husband Martyn if she loses the ability to speak.

What a genius idea.

She started making the recordings after her diagnosis in 2023 with random sentences, but “most importantly”; the swear words.

At the moment she doesn’t need to use that bank.

I hope it stays that way and Anna manages to retain her speech while telling that disease to “f*** off”;.