It’s common for parents to wonder, “What age should a child get a cellphone.” Giving a child is a difficult question to answer as there are so many factors that go into getting a child a mobile phone.
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This video answer some of the considerations that parents should weigh when determining if kids having cell phones is appropriate.
Some of the considerations when giving a child is maturity level of child, having open lines of communication, if a child can take care of it, parents ability to monitor, what type of phone would be appropriate for the needs of their family, and what problems your child could encounter. There is no set age when a child should get a mobile phone.
Many parents want to give phones for children’s safety--they want to be able to check in with their child whenever or have their child be able to call when needed. But phones can put a child in danger for bullying, predators, and inappropriate behavior, including receiving or distributing nude images. Nude images on phones constitutes as child pornography and can have legal ramification for your child if they view or distribute these images. For more information on what to do if you find nude images on your child’s phone, visit Smarter Parenting and search our blog.
For some parents, a basic cell phone for kids is the right option as they don’t have all the features that could get a child in trouble.
While some fall on both ends of the monitoring spectrum with some believing that they should offer their child total privacy while other parents believe they should monitor 100%. While we don’t have a set percentage, we advocate strongly that parents should monitor their child’s phone use. How much monitoring is up to the parent and is dependent on the maturity level of the child. There are multiple applications that can help a parent monitor their child’s phones.
Monitoring of a phone is important to prevent your child from bullying/being bullied, possible predators from having access, and sharing or seeing inappropriate images.
Buying a mobile phone for a child is a big decision and is one that should requires multiple discussions and making sure boundaries are in place before buying a mobile phone for a child.
