Hugh Grant blasts ‘pathetic’ rules at elite private schools, reveals breaking point

Hugh Grant, the British actor, has not shied away from voicing his opinions, and during one of the events, he expressed his disappointment towards the so-called “elite private schools” for their excessive reliance on screens as opposed to physical activities.

The actor discusses how parenting in contemporary times has become challenging, going as far as bashing what he calls “pathetic” restrictions and excessive screen time in the classrooms.

Grant was speaking at an event titled Close Screens, Open Minds, which took place at the Knightsbridge School in London, and said,

He's “another angry parent fighting the eternal, exhausting and depressive battle with children who only want to be on a screen.”

He lamented the fact that schools have low mobility real-world experiences and life encouragements, both of which enable this practice.

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“Pathetic” rules and the breaking point

Grant very clearly articulated exactly what it was that made him snap.

“The final straw was when the school started saying, with some smugness, ‘We give every child a Chromebook, and they do a lot of lessons on their Chromebook, and they do all their homework on their Chromebook,’ and you just thought, ‘That is the last f–king thing they need,’ and the last thing we need.”

The Frustration is not only with the gadgets, but also with the so-called “silly” limitations that hinder kids from spending time outside.

“They’re the ones saying they’re not going to play outside today because it’s raining, or they can’t go on the climbing frame because it’s windy,” he argued, per the Telegraph. “It’s pathetic. It seems to me that there is space here for a hero school, a set of schools, to break the mold.”

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Joining the movement for healthier school environments

Grant contributed to the efforts of the American origin psychologist and writer Jonathan Haidt, whose campaign suggests forbidding smartphones for children younger than 14 years old and allowing access to social media only after the age of 16. The Purpose? To counter what Haidt describes as a screen-induced dependency “mental health epidemic”.

Grant highlighted parents' responsibility by saying,

“I think that once you get a critical mass of parents who are outraged by EdTech, as well as all the other issues, the phones, etc., that is when politicians listen because they’re scared of that,” he said.

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A glimpse into Grant’s life as a parent

Grant, while protective of his family’s privacy, has, on rare occasions, shared his thoughts on fatherhood. He spoke earlier on The Kelly Clarkson Show, sharing how he resorts to unusual means to find calm in the storm:

“I do a lot of hiding in the loo, I do a lot of sleeping in there now.”

Grant and his wife, television producer Anna Eberstein, have five children together.

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A growing debate about screens in schools

Parents who deal with screen time for small children, especially ‘learning’ activities, are greatly concerned about early exposure and will find resonance in Grant’s remarks. His comments feed into a broad cultural discourse on the digitalization of school-aged children and the intersection of education, child and adolescent mental health, and childhood in contemporary society.