Frequently Asked Questions

The background is set out on The Issue, and Smartphone Free Childhood Ireland covers the evidence in depth. This site concentrates on the practical side: parents acting together locally, and giving children better things to do.

Any child whose family has joined East Cork Reclaim Childhood. The name comes from The Amazing Generation by Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price, where the Rebels take on the “Greedy Wizards” who build apps to keep children hooked. Our quarrel is with the Wizards, never with other children. We treat Rebels as heroes and want to encourage them in any way we can — see For Kids.

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.

Yes. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, neighbours, teachers and coaches are all welcome. Join as a supporter — no account or password needed — to be counted, share ideas, or offer to help. You can also volunteer for a particular activity, such as marshalling on the Greenway cycle, straight from its page on What's On.

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.

Action Groups are how things get organised. There's an East Cork Action Group for the whole area, a group for each school, and under each school a group for each year — for example, all of 6th Class — with individual class groups below that where a class wants its own. There are also groups for particular activities and events, like the Midleton Badminton Group. Each group has a convenor: the person others can contact, who sets out what the group is for. Any registered parent can join a group or step forward as convenor — see Action Groups.

The East Cork Action Group especially needs more members. If you could help get things going across the area, please join it.

Everything that's on is listed on What's On. For each activity you can sign your registered Rebels up, so the convenor knows who to expect — for weekly sessions like badminton, one sign-up covers the regular sessions. Once you've signed up, you'll see the activity's WhatsApp group link, if it has one, for updates on the day. Some activities, like the Greenway cycle, also need volunteers, and anyone can offer to help on the activity's page.

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.

Not to the public. Anyone who isn't logged in sees only numbers for each school and class. Other registered parents, once logged in, can see the children in each class by their Rebel code name — and by first name as well, but only if you choose that when registering your child. Surnames are never shown. You can change these settings at any time by editing your child's details.

It's organised around East Cork schools, but parents from anywhere are welcome to register or join as a supporter, and to borrow the idea for their own area.

East Cork Reclaim Childhood is an extension of the work of Smartphone Free Childhood Ireland (SFCI), bringing it to a local level. SFCI leads the national movement, with its pledge and WhatsApp groups right across the country. ECRC concentrates on the local, practical side: parents in the same East Cork schools and classes acting together, and activities that get children out and together. Families are welcome to take part in both.