Peter Andre reveals strict rule that made Princess and Junior ‘kick off’
He has explained his reason behind the new rule.
Peter Andre has opened up about the no-phone rule that initially left his children, Princess and Junior, ‘rolling their eyes’.
The 52-year-old TV personality is a father to Junior, 20, Princess, 18, Amelia, 11 with former wife Katie Price and Theo, eight, and Arabella, who is 15 months old, with GP Emily Andre.
He recently attended a parliamentary screening – hosted by Lord John Nash and Joe Powell MP – of Fabio D’Andrea’s film Another Way, in which he plays the dad to a teenage boy called Josh who attempts to take his own life after being bullied.
The movie aims to raise awareness about the dangers of smartphone use among teenagers and has inspired Andre to implement some of the lessons in his own household.
Speaking to The Sun at the screening, the Mysterious Girl hitmaker explained that he had now banned phones at the dinner table for his two eldest children.
‘It’s really interesting about my oldest two having been quite popular on social media [Princess has 758k followers and Junior has 530k on Instagram].
The hit singer starred in a movie about teenage mental health that screened in parliament (Picture: Piers Allardyce/Shutterstock)‘And I remember that when social media first started, we had no clue. It just looked like a bit of fun.
‘It was again that nice little imagery of this really fun thing, being on your phone and you could play games and you could do all this,’ he said about the evolution of the phone.
Instead, he said it ‘lures you in’ and has now become his kids’ job, focusing around interactions, followers and brands.
After telling his daughter there are ‘no phones and no TVs’ at dinner, he said: ‘At first they rolled their eyes, they kicked off. That lasted all of two days. They never said anything since.’
He advocated for the ‘little things’ parents can do to place boundaries around phone use in the home because ‘everyone kicks off about it, but eventually they do it’.
He explained that his children have a large social media presence (Picture: Piers Allardyce/Shutterstock)Elsewhere, during a discussion about the emotional movie which portrays stark scenes of teenage suicide, the I’m A Celebrity star admitted he felt ‘very out of [his] depth’ when it comes to protecting his children from their phones.
Reflecting on the hypocrisy of his own phone usage and urging parliament to help stem the crisis as well, he shared: ‘You can’t have a phone or just tell your kids, it’s not that easy. We need backup. We need the government’s help. We need the schools’ help.’
The award-winning composer D’Andrea is pushing to ban social media before the age of 16 through an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
‘Social media apps have become breeding grounds for propaganda, false narratives, and online abuse,’ the filmmaker said in a statement.
D’Andrea is known for his work with high-profile figures to raise awareness about pressing social issues.
D’Andrea has a track record of working with stars to raise awareness on social issues (Picture: Piers Allardyce/Shutterstock)In the past, he has collaborated with Spice Girls star Mel B on a movie about domestic abuse, Love Should Not Hurt, and mental health with actor Russell Tovey, Something Left To Love – to name a few.
The issue around teenage mental health, violence against women, and the harmful repercussions of unchecked online activity were explored in Netflix’s smash hit show Adolescence.
The four-episode show, starring Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper, follows a 13-year-old boy accused of the murder of a female classmate as we uncover exactly what drove him to commit this violent crime, and the impact on him and his family.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed an initiative to make the show freely available to secondary school students in the UK in hopes of ‘openly talking about changes in how they communicate, the content they’re seeing, and exploring the conversations they’re having with their peers’.
Need support for your mental health?You can contact mental health charity Mind on 0300 123 3393 or text them on 86463.
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