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Rockville Centre forum urges parental limits, community action on student smartphone use
Summary
At a district-sponsored forum, a clinical social worker and local parents discussed links between smartphone use and youth anxiety, encouraged family-level limits and collective pledges such as "Wait Until Eighth," and noted the district's existing 2007 cell-phone policy that already prohibits use during the school day.
Rachel Schwartz, a licensed clinical social worker, told parents at a Rockville Centre Union Free School District presentation that smartphones and social media can amplify anxiety in young people but that parents can take practical steps to reduce harm.
"Generally speaking, your kids are okay," Schwartz said, adding that parents should focus on helping children tolerate discomfort and build resilience rather than overprotecting them. She recommended concrete limits — for example, no phones before school, keeping devices out of bedrooms at night, and removing phones during family meals — and urged parents to model their own device habits.
The forum included sustained discussion about district policy and community action. A school…
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