To think that giving your young child a smartphone is very stupid?

I personally don't have any children myself yet, but if I did, I'd be very reluctant to let them have a phone before the age of 16.

Good luck with that one 😂

The main thing is to train the kids to use the phones safely as well, have accountability and access to their search history etc

A lot of adults aren't tech savvy so they aren't necessarily aware of what their kids are consuming.

Some games like Roblox aren't safe - creepy adults playing in there too. A child I know was getting groomed in there and also joining self harm groups at the age of six.

This is about parents not changing default settings from "anyone can contact me/add me to a group" to "only those on my contact list can add me to a group".

Yabu

there’s a huge difference between simply getting a kid a phone with unrestricted access to everything and getting them one with appropriate parental restrictions and supervision.

kids need phones these days to get into the gym, access their homework portals, pay for the bus and being able to contact parents is extremely handy!

different apps should be introduced at appropriate ages and regularly monitored.

ours both had phones to go to secondary school, they had no need for them before that

Two words: Cass Review

www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/10/what-cass-review-says-about-surge-in-children-seeking-gender-services

My 9 year old GC has to do homework and submit it online. Laptop/Ipad etc all the same as a smart phone. My GC has both. She uses both for research. She's parented closely and we are all switched on. The children talked about in the article are 12 and 14, when younger children are sucked in to the dangers, it's a parenting issue and it won't be the only thing that they are being neglected on.

I personally don't have any children myself yet, but if I did, I'd be very reluctant to let them have a phone before the age of 16

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I just love parenting advice from folk talking out if their backsides.

My youngest got a smartphone aged 8 in the pandemic to keep in touch with friends.

Not stupid. It supported her wellbeing and connection.

We supervised her use of it

So DFOD.

I have one aged 8yo and HD wouldn't know what to do on SM. He just plays games on a tablet for set times.

I personally don't have any children myself yet, but if I did, I'd be very reluctant to let them have a phone before the age of 16.

I'm just wondering how this child (who won't turn 16 until 2040 at the very earliest as they do not exist) is planning to pay for bus fare, access their homework portal for secondary school and keep up with their peers in an increasingly digital world?

I think letting 9 year olds on WhatsApp is asking for trouble and massively irresponsible.

I have a 9 year old and almost none of her friends have a smartphone. Lots of kids around here seem to get one in Year 6 though there seems to be a growing movement in our school community to hold off till longer (I’m aiming to hold off on a smartphone till 13/14.)

My daughter is nearly 9 and I would say a third of her friends have phones.
I got one when I was about 11 but all I could do in those days was phone, text or play snake and I had to keep topping up if I wanted to text or call out 😂
I do plan to get my dd a phone when she starts secondary school so we can be in touch but sounds like whatsapp is a bit dangerous. I do hear that that is how kids arrange stuff though (like adults do!)
Very interested in suggested alternative safer chat platforms/phones etc.
We used to call each other on the landline to arrange meeting up (and have a gossip) but very much not done now!

Yanbu
My ds is 10 and won't be getting a phone until he is making his own way to and from school (probably September next year)

He has a tablet and access to YouTube via the tv. He has absolutely no need for a phone. He wants one. But he's not getting one yet.

Giving a kid an unrestricted smart phone is stupid.

Giving a kid a smartphone with limitations, keeping an eye on it and teaching them how to use it appropriately is fine.

In your scenario you're withholding a daily thing from a kid until they are 16, and they are then thrown into a world they have no idea about, at an age with little parental input and no idea how to navigate.

My 6 year old has a phone, no SIM card, no SM no different to an iPad/ tablet.

I’m in my 40s and didn’t have a phone until my late teens. But when I think of some of the things I got up to as a younger teen where I’d have no way of contacting my parents if I was in trouble, it makes me shudder. My eldest, age 14 has a phone. I want him to be able to contact me if he’s out and needs me. I also want him to be in contact with his friends. He knows we have access to his phone and can check it whenever we want to until he’s a bit older. I’m not worried.

My 8 year old has a phone, she uses it for games and kids YouTube but doesn't have access to social media and doesn't have a SIM card so no phone number.