Oxford Hills students look back at a full year under a cellphone ban

Story by Jacob Murphy
April 14, 2026

Excerpt: " 'It's gotten easier. You get used to it. It's just like a new habit,' said Joseph Bobrowski, a sophomore at the school.

"Inside a world history class, students are working on a group project based on the Industrial Revolution. There were no phones in sight, which would have been unusual to see a year ago.

" 'Everyone would be on their phones, be it texting, gaming, but now there's a lot of people actually talking and laughing,' said Caelynn St. Laurent, a sophomore.

" 'It's kind of reminiscent of pre-cellphone, in terms of kids interacting with each other and just being kids, which is great,' said school principal Paul Bickford.

"It follows the logic of a new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The report tracks schools that use lockable pouches for phones, a system that was implemented at Portland High School."

Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/public-safety-and-emergencies/health-and-safety-alerts/oxford-hills-students-look-back-at-a-full-year-under-a-cellphone-ban/ar-AA23egiT

#SmartphoneBan #LetKidsBeKids #BellToBell #TeenMentalHealth #MainePol #CellPhoneBans #PutThePhoneDown #SmartPhoneAddiction #TooMuchScreenTime #TechAddiction #LetKidsBeKids

I don't quite get #JanetMills. She vetoed the #DatacenterMoratorium, but passes a #CellPhoneBan in schools. 🤷🏼 I want to say, "Good for her," but...

#Maine public schools will soon be required to #BanPhones during school day

by Max Williams, WGME
Mon, April 13, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Updated Thu, April 16, 2026

PORTLAND (WGME) -- "By August 1, all Maine public schools will be required to ban phones for the entire school day.

" 'It's a distraction, and they are there to learn,' phone ban supporter Dan Melnick said.

"Signed into law as part of Governor Janet Mills' supplemental budget, it will allocate more than $300,000 to implement. The new policy is a '#BellToBell' policy, meaning phones are allowed on school property but cannot be used at any point during the school day."

[...]

"Experts say too much screen time has been linked to depression and, in some cases, suicide.

" 'It is very dangerous, because we're talking about people whose brains are not fully developed, and as it develops, it's creating certain neurocircuitry that is hard to undo,' Northern Light Acadia Hospital Medical Director of Pediatric Inpatient Services Dr. Nadia Mendiola said."

Read more:
https://wgme.com/news/local/maine-public-schools-will-soon-be-required-to-ban-phones-during-school-day-governor-janet-mills

#MainePol #CellPhoneBans #PutThePhoneDown #SmartPhoneAddiction #TooMuchScreenTime #TeenMentalHealth #LetKidsBeKids

Parenting trends in 2025 are pushing toward natural consequences and kinder discipline. Forget perfection—what if connection & values led the way instead?

Learn more below!

#ParentingTrends #ModernParenting #FAFO #GentleDiscipline #parenting #LetKidsBeKids #IttyBitty4Life

http://ittybitty4life.com/2025/09/12/whats-new-in-parenting-trends-that-are-shaping-families-in-2025/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Older article, yet the #HumanRights issue of #ChildMarriage is still a problem, globally, to this day.
While many folks in Western nations in #GlobalNorth are quick to judge #BIPOC in #GlobalSouth for the abusive, oppressive practice of child marriage - they don't seem very aware that it happens in Canada, UK & US too.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-may-17-2021-1.6029349/child-marriage-is-a-hidden-crime-and-it-s-happening-in-western-nations-says-survivor-and-advocate-1.6029454

I believe in ending ALL child marriages everywhere.
I support the work of #TooYoungToWed organization.
https://tooyoungtowed.org/main/index

#LetKidsBeKids #BanChildMarriage #ProtectChildren #ChildrensRights #SaveTheChildren #KidsFirst #EducationIsKey #HelpChildren #SocialJustice #JusticeForChildren #BanChildBrides #BanChildGrooms

Kids these days…
watching their silly toilet people videos.

Back in my day, we only watched the most sophisticated and exquisite content.
…like FЯED and ASDFmovie.

Totally unlike kids of today. Yeah.

#LetKidsBeKids #ASDFmovie #FRED #EarlyYoutube #SkibidiToilet #Throwback #FeelingOld but not bitter.

I've been raising funds to provide food kits & cover healthcare costs for Gypsy kids living in outskirts of Puducherry. Gypsy community mostly collect garbage including food & non-food items. They eat the food & try to reuse or repair the non-food items to use or sell it later on. They choose not to wear clothes as it's their way of living. If you've anything extra to spare, do consider contributing 🙏🏼🪷

https://www.paypal.me/lifedivineschool

#crowdfunding #donate #letkidsbekids #Wednesday #charity #mutualaid