You don't have to ban phones from school if students just don't have them.

From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Megan McCarty Carino.

A survey by the nonprofit organization, Sense Media found 42% of children in the U.S. have a cell phone by the age of 10.

Several states and local school districts have moved to restrict phone use in school over concerns the devices are harming learning and

mental health. Meanwhile, over in Ireland, one town has taken a different approach. A year ago, a group of

head teachers in Greystones asked parents to sign a voluntary pledge that they would delay

buying phones for their children until at least age 11.

The BBC's Leanna Byrne checks in to see what effect it had.

Good morning.

Good morning, Ratchie.

Hi, Mabel.

At the gates of St. Patrick's Primary School, groups of children in blue uniforms wave goodbye to their parents and hello to their head teacher, Rachel Harper.

The school has been on the news in Canada, the US, India, France, Spain from a trailblazing initiative that taps into a heated global debate while their smartphones are damaging young people's mental health.

We could see phones creeping in actually in a very small way with nine-year-olds and ten-year-olds, you know.

And we were as teachers dealing with kids being left out or kids being upset.

Our major survey found that by the time they leave primary school, nearly three

quarters of children in Ireland have their own smartphone. And a smaller poll found that a

quarter of six-year-olds do. We find, and as a group of principals, that they were just growing up

so quickly. We found like we would have second class going swimming and, well, they would be

around the age of eight and nine.

And already they were very body conscious.

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