This school year, millions of American students are returning to classrooms under a new rule: no phones. Thirty-six states now ban or limit student cellphone use, and Kansas recently implemented its first statewide ban while Indiana’s “bell to bell” law took effect, keeping phones out of sight from the first bell to the last.

The research behind these bans is solid. Devices capture attention, even when they’re off. Classrooms are calmer without them.

This is good news for parents. During the school day, one major source of distraction is being removed. While a phone ban may solve a classroom problem, it doesn’t solve what happens when kids take their phones home.

Imagine a 14-year-old on a Tuesday night, bedroom door closed, homework finished. Someone she’s been talking to online asks for a photo. She’s said no before. This time she’s tired, and it feels easier to block the person and move on than to explain what happened to anyone else. Nothing about her day looked unusual. Nothing about it will come up at dinner.

This is the kind of moment that can happen quickly and quietly, behind a closed bedroom door.

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