Let’s do this together YOUR COMMUNITY CORNER

The old Noel Coward song “Don’t put your daughter on the stage, Mrs Worthington” should be updated to “Don’t give your daughter an iphone” for the 21st century.

You may have wondered why it’s been so quiet on The Dark Lord front in the last week. Well, it’s because I’ve done what I’d been threatening to do for the last year.

No, not lock her in a dungeon and throw away the key, although I have been tempted on more than one occasion. I decided to get rid of her iphone once and for all. It’s gone – I’ve sold it and her Apple ID has been deleted.

I gave her my old iphone for her birthday last year because we were going into lockdown and she needed to stay in touch with her friends. A year later and I bitterly regret ever having given her such powerful technology. It’s caused more rows and misery than I ever knew was possible.

I should make clear that although the iphone has gone, it will eventually be replaced by a simple Android phone as I do need to keep in touch with her.

The problem with the Apple system is that its parental controls can be easily hacked by techie kids, and I simply had no control any more over my daughter’s access to extremely dodgy apps and she just removed any tracking software I installed.

It’s been a total relief and I wish I’d done it sooner. After the big switch off, she did spend an inordinately long time lying on the floor wailing that I’ve ruined her life, but now that there’s nothing to scream about, she seems much happier. Or should I say, not as miserable.

If I can save just one family from making the same mistake as me, then admitting my total parenting fail will have been worth it.

Email me at siobhan.mcnally@mirror.co.uk or write to Community Corner, PO Box 791, Winchester SO23 3RP.

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