Mom explains why she breaks the school's phone ban to ensure her son has a secret burner phone on him at all times

Angel Ericson (@angelericson072289), a mother, went viral on TikTok for openly scoffing at her kids' schools' ban on cell phones amid concerns over their safety. She justified her stand through a video posted in September 2025.

The mom from Rochester confessed that she deliberately keeps a burner phone in a little pouch and places it inside her kids' bags so they can use it to call her during an emergency. Ericson explained that she asks her children to keep their phones on DND and not use them until they're needed. "If I am the problem, find a better solution. A phone ban when you can’t keep active pew pews out of school is wild," she added. Standing firm in her decision, Ericson wrote, "I stand on everything I just said. Find a better solution, worry about the bigger picture," in the caption. Moreover, the mom told Newsweek that she feels safe knowing that her kids can contact her whenever they want. Ericson said that she strongly insists that school-going kids must have a phone at all times. "However, I do not agree with having phones out during class, nor do I agree with kids making teachers' lives hell over it," she added. Moving on, she proposed a solution and said, "I believe a helpful solution would be to have a sleeve with pouches on every door of the classroom; students could put their phone in the pouch on the door and be able to collect them before the bell rings, while still being able to access them in the event they need to get ahold of their parents."

Many schools have prohibited smartphone use, but it turns out that parents are more concerned about social media specifically, rather than the phones themselves. The National Parents Union found that the majority of parents are against schools banning smartphones. In fact, they feel that kids having access to phones while away from home is essential, as they call their parents in case of an emergency. When Ericson posted the video, she received overwhelming support from people, especially the parents. The video went viral, getting over 3 million views online. Reacting to it, @carleigh.baby commented, "I'm sorry, but a phone ban in a world that is so heavily powered by technology just doesn’t make sense to me." @resident.st0ner.girl shared, "I got an email today telling me that the entire district's phones and internet were out. So, in an emergency, everyone has to wait for their phone to turn on to call for help? That's wild! I told my kids, Phones on silent in your backpack. If you touch it and it's not an emergency, you'll lose it."

@lalaacosta14 said, "Omg, thank you; like, how are you going to say that our kids can’t have a phone to call us in such an event when we have to worry every single day that if we send them to school, will they come home? It’s almost cruel." @niki_lavender said, "It's so sad that we have to talk to our kids and make a plan for this situation. So dang scary. We have already gotten 2 students with pew-pews this year. Last year a student had a bag of pew-pews, and then another had ammo. They had lists, and I was a mess finding out my daughter's name was on it! I kept her home for a few days. I don't think I will ever forget that feeling as a mom knowing what could have happened had someone not told a teacher. My kids no longer attend that high school, and I thank God every day for keeping our kids safe that day!"

You can follow Angel Ericson (@angelericson072289) on TikTok for lifestyle content.

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