What age would you get your child a smart phone?

im waiting until mine are at least 16

amp.theguardian.com/books/2024/mar/21/the-anxious-generation-by-jonathan-haidt-a-pocket-full-of-poison

When they can afford to buy one themselves.

I am not kidding 😂 I will buy them a phone with no apps on it if they want to call or text me/their dad/friends, but absolutely no apps. If they need to facetime for a school project they can use the family computer, which is in a communal space.

Me and DH work in tech. We are not luddites, we are simply protecting our children. I hope that their friends' parents have a similar view.

This book just came out and explains the scientific evidence we have so far on the effect of smartphones on children and teens. Really recommend.

www.penguin.co.uk/books/456971/the-anxious-generation-by-haidt-jonathan/9780241647660

It was peace of mind for me to be able to track her phone via Life 360 and Google Family Link.
I have it on a child account so that she could only download PEGI 7 apps with our permission by password, disabled Youtube etc. She's sensible and I've had no issues with her phone use, she's 11 now and always messages when she's leaving school.

Why did your 9 year old need a smart phone though? A basic Nokia that allows calls and texts is all that would be needed

I don't think kids should have smartphones until at least 13. The longer they avoid them the better.

I would wait as long as possible. Childhood has changed so much in the past decade or two and not for the better. Part of the change is related to the unnecessary restrictions and lack of freedom and independence that seem common for children nowadays. But one huge part of the puzzle is the ubiquity of smartphones, tablets, etc. The two things are related, of course. Some parents seem to think that the real world is more dangerous for their children than the virtual world, that staying indoors looking at screens means they are keeping their children safe. In fact, the disadvantages hugely outweigh the benefits IMO.

Smartphones and their techy cousins aren't the only reason for the explosion in depression and anxiety among children and young people, or for the decline in educational achievement. But they are a significant element in all of that. No child needs a smartphone. I would wait until age 13 at the earliest.

Direct your friend to smartphone free childhood (on Instagram). They share loads of data around why smartphones are harmful and what people can do instead. There’s a huge grassroots movement among parents to try and move away from primary-aged children being given smartphones (or being left out for not having one).

My DD is 6, but there’s no way she’ll be getting a smartphone while she’s still at primary school. Parents who say that they’ve set them up to be ‘safe’ are kidding themselves.

When starting secondary school, at the absolute earliest. And even then the phone would be locked down/restricted with no access to social media or YouTube. I may also limit data/internet access.

Maybe even a "dumb phone" would be preferable, though it'd depend how comfortable they are with being taunted by mean peers 🙄

Already having conversations about this with my 9yo.

Yes, that will really deter all those under 16 year olds who buy their own smartphones.

Year 6 heading for secondary...

I firmly believe a child is safer without a smartphone than with one. When I leave my 13 year old at home alone I take his phone with me. If there are any emergencies he can go to a neighbour's. I know some people won't get that but he is safer. He is not allowed bring his phone out of tge kitchen. I might sound nuts but he has broken trust with the phone on 2 occasions.

I wish smartphones were banned for under 16s, it would save all this worrying about them being the only kid in school without one.

My children had them in year 5, aged 10, when they started to walk to and from school by themselves, and go to the park and friends houses without us.

Love to see them police that 😂

@TheValueOfEverything Personally if my 8yo is going to be late home from school I would like to know. Without him having a mobile phone I would have had to do what my mother would have done - waited 15 minutes and then set out to find him. Now he is in secondary he has a smartphone so I can see where he is anyway, but even in juniors it was useful that he could call me on his brick phone if he had a problem or delay.

I also think it’s important kids learn to deal with situations that might happen eg when walking to and from school alone - without needing to phone their parents. Many times that phone call isn’t going to help much anyway. Eg comments from older boys (learn how to either walk away safely or stand up for yourself), forgetting something (go back for it), a bike puncture (wheel it to your destination on foot), a detour to a mates house after school (call your parents from the house to let them know you’ll be late home). Smart phones give a false sense of security and may even prevent kids learning to be streetwise - on top of all the harms and risks they already carry in terms of internet access and screen addiction.

Secondary school. He had a dumb phone from year 4 as that was when he started cycling to school and back on his own. It was just so he could call in case he got a puncture or something.

Age 12, year 7 at absolute earliest. My dd (age 11) walks home from school and doesn’t need a phone to do this, we live in a safe area, it’s a ten minute walk and I work at home. She is one of only a few in the class without a phone but I am holding out. It’s not affected her social life or her safety. She’s sad to see how many friends are now glued to their phones even as they walk to school and enter the playground, like little addicted zombies. Smart phones are stealing childhoods.

The rule here is 12th birthday

In the Guardian today- UK ministers considering banning sale of smartphones to under-16s

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/10/uk-ministers-considering-banning-sale-of-smartphones-to-under-16s?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

There's currently a drive on where parents are banding together to propose a school ban on smartphones. These are the same parents willing to ban it at home. A few schools in our are on board. It is the work of the devil.

Giving an 8 year old a smart phone is lazy, crap parenting.