Wake County mom wants kids off their screens at school

WAKE COUNTY, NC (WTVD) -- Meredith Campbell is a busy mom.

She has five children - four boys and one girl.

"I care a lot about what kind of people they grow up to be, and I have serious concerns about what they're exposed to and what that means for them in the future," Campbell said.

She, like four of her children now went through the Wake County public school system.

"I grew up in this county and I met my best friends at school," she said. "It makes me sad to think that kids are sitting at lunch on their phones between classes looking at their phones when they could be having relationships with people."

To enhance those relationships, she's proposing a "No Device Policy" to the school board, emphasizing she wants to work with the board on this.

She's also started a Facebook group with several other moms called "Kids Before Screens" to get their message out.

Last week, she brought her idea to the school board in person with Sonya Detwiler, who, like Campbell, is a Raleigh mother.

"At school and on campus if there was a no-device policy, then that would cut down a lot on the exposure to bad things kids are looking at," Campbell said, namely, cutting down things such as pornography.

She's sent a petition around as well to see how many parents think like she does.

"I talk to my kids about it," Campbell said. "I talk to them about what might come up on a screen - what they should do, how they should react, and what if someone at school shows it to them?"

Currently, the Wake County school system has a "Bring Your Own Device" policy in place, which allows students to bring their own smartphones, laptops and tablets to enhance their learning.

Campbell said she realizes students need their phones in times of emergency so she proposes kids put their phones in their backpacks for the day.