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29th Apr 2019

Navan GAA club bans parents from using phones on the sidelines

'Sometimes kids just want to look up to see their parents cheering them on.'

Anna O'Rourke

A GAA club in Meath is asking parents to put away their phones – for the sake of their children.

The Pride of Cubs nursery at Navan O’Mahony’s has banned phone use on the sidelines.

A new sign at the nursery, where kids aged four to six years old are trained, urges mums and dads to pay attention as their little ones “learn a new skill.”

“Navan O’Mahony’s ‘Pride of Cubs’ nursery is a phone-free zone,” the sign reads.

“During this one hour, please put your phone away, watch your child learn a new skill and play.”

It’s in response to the levels of phone use by parents, said club PRO Jackie Murray, which was leaving children disappointed.

“The decision was taken after trainers noticed that parents were constantly looking at their phones instead of watching and encouraging their child to develop and share in the whole excitement of improving their skills,” she told Breaking News.

“The nursery teaches girls and boys from four to six years of age camoige, hurling and football and sometimes kids just want to look up after catching a ball or using a hurl to see their parents cheering them on.”

Navan O’Mahony’s was founded “long before” mobile phones were ubiquitous, Ms Murray added, and the club wants to see families living in the moment together.

There has reportedly been a positive reaction to the new rule so far – though it has yet to be enforced as bad weather meant the nursery was cancelled over the past weekend.

It is hoped that this ethos will spread throughout the club and that eventually there will be no phone use on sidelines at all.