SUFFERING teachers are used to the odd craze in the classroom but the newest cyber phenomenon is being stopped before work time becomes feed, walk or clean your cyber pet time.

While cyber pets may have come as a joy to parents, who saw the benefits of a virtual pet rather than one which ruins your carpet and rips your curtains, teachers at Lytham Church of England Primary School are greeting the pets to the new school term with a complete ban.

Acting head Pam Johnson said: "We had to stop the craze before it got out of hand. The pets can be very distracting as they demand a lot of attention - usually in the middle of lessons."

Deputy head of Lytham St Annes High School, David Spencer, said: "We recognised the threat of the pets and were worried about the alarms and disruption so we banned them straight away."

Many other schools have recognised the problem and bans are active at: Hawes Side Lane County Primary, Marton County Primary and St Cuthberts RC Primary School.

The pets, which look like electronic key-rings, come in many forms of pet including: cat, dog, rabbit and even dinosaur.

They are like a dependent child and need looking after just as much - neglect will lead them to die.

Pam Johnson said: "I would like to see the children spend more time learning to look after each other rather than these pets."

As cyber life becomes more and more forbidden in schools, it has now fallen on the adults to take over the parenting. Many are taking them to work.

What price a cyber creche?

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