Frequently Asked Questions

16 is a stretch goal, not a rule. The honest aim is as late as reasonably possible, and every year gained matters — some families will land earlier than that, and that's still a win.

Families are all at different stages, and there's no judgment here. You can still join, still hold off on social media specifically, and still help build momentum for younger classes and other families.

A simpler phone for calls, texts and maybe maps, with no app store and no social media. For a lot of families this isn't a stopgap — it's the actual plan right up to 16. See Resources for more.

Parents can still organise at school and class level without the school's involvement. School support is welcome, genuinely useful, and never required.

Yes. A school that chooses to support the initiative can be given secure access to manage its own class list and pupil totals, and its contact details.

Only if you choose to show it. When you register, you can pick an anonymous supporter code instead (for example, "AD00001") that's shown publicly rather than your real name. Your real details are never shown to anyone except site administrators, and are never shared publicly.

No. Children's real names are never shown publicly. We ask for a real first name at registration so the information behind the scenes is genuine, but public participation figures are always shown as counts, not names.

East Cork is our pilot area. If it works well here, we'd like to see the same approach used in other areas across Ireland — see About.

Yes — Smartphone Free Childhood Ireland runs a national pledge and WhatsApp groups right across the country. We focus on what they're lighter on: real local schools, classes, and physical get-togethers here in East Cork. Worth signing both.