To be shocked that 97% of 12 years olds have smart phones?

Hand me downs and a £10 a month contract.

Nokias??? Are you sure you dont mean iPhones??

At my DDs school im sure any kid with a Nokia would be the laughing stock of the school

So there's not a single parent in the whole school who's decided not to let their dc have one?

Actually, I was watching The Word more like 11 years old.

Yes, with TVs, I had a TV in my room, my friend's did and as young teenagers secretly have it on late at night watching The Word or other sich unsuitable programmes for a 13 year old. We were into grunge music which had a very depressing message about living, Just 17 offering advice on salad dieta for impressionable girls that wanted to look like Kate Moss.

Because we have people stuck in credit cycles. We’re a country based on consumerism.

A friend's daughter goes to a school where they have been asked to not have smartphones. I have no idea whether they have to sign a contract - I think everyone just complies. It's a bit irritating though because if the Tube is broken, it would be useful to have Citymapper available.

This is an interesting article: https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/parenting/article/children-under-16-smartphone-ban-mental-health-parenting-rb68pnxpb

I actually think the groups (WhatsApp, messenger etc) are not great for kids. Getting back to your phone and finding 300 messages (most of which are nonsense) would drive anyone crackers.

Year 7 dc here- all homework and communication from school is through an app. Kids are expected to message teachers eg about clubs, music lessons on the app too. Everyone has a smartphone in secondary school.

But being in poverty now doesn't mean you were always in poverty.

Lots of children will own hand-me-down phones from other family members, plus a cheap simcard from somewhere like GiffGaff, or their parents will save all year and get a cheap second hand phone online for £50 etc.

Right, but poverty means not being able to afford lots of things that aren't at all expensive. And we're told that more than 3% of people live in poverty.

‘Also a special function for YouTube videos because there’s so much junk on there but also so much valuable stuff. DD is working through a multi-video sketching tutorial atm but I don’t want them watching hours of unboxing videos or Mr Beast walking on hot coals to win a car or something.
’

we blocked YouTube on devices and our kids can access it only on rhe main family TV —— that’s also works…

Sorry i meant smartphone in general..

I don’t know what happens, because everybody has one…

Making the children buy a particular type of phone is actually worse in imo than banning them. How does everyone afford iPhones?

Mobile phones aren't especially expensive.

So if a kid doesn't have a phone, what happens?

I'm pretty confused by it, when we're always hearing about how many people are struggling financially. I just wonder how this tracks with 97% of parents seemingly being able to afford to get phones for children?

It’s like everything though isn’t it. Moderation. Children / teens who have never been allowed even say junk food go off the deep end once they have their own money and cannot be stopped. Binge eating junk at every opportunity on play dates/parties while mum/dad isn’t looking stopping them.

Everything is ok in moderation if done right. Better to have a wine with family Sunday dinner at an appropriate age then be let loose to the streets at uni never had.

Hell even tv. Some parents ban it bar 30mins. Those are the children on play dates glued to the tv because it’s almost never allowed.

Dare say I’ve even had veggie children trying to sneak a ham sandwich. I didn’t allow it but they sure tried. I also didn’t tell on them. But I wasn’t going to be the one giving them meat behind their parents when if they haven’t been used to it could upset their stomachs.

Ok, I concede that I have no experience of parenting a teenager nor any idea of the differences in maturity between 10 and 16. I’ve been glad to read the measured posts about it because it has calmed me down somewhat.

I mean fair enough, I see your point there. Didn’t think that one through 😂
Perhaps 17/18 is too old. But I certainly don’t agree that 12 is the right age either.

That's exactly who I was thinking of when I wrote that.

My 12 year old and all his friends only have bricks. They are in year 8 of a prep and I think not being in the senior school yet has helped.

@Errors You have a 6 year old. How much of what you’re posting about teenagers is based on experience of parenting a teenager and how much is media scares as being terrified is a bit extreme.

WhatsApp isn’t mandatory on a phone. Add age limits to block apps on phones. Add parental controls to prevent any app being downloaded without approval. Add time limits on use and block certain contacts after a certain time of day. Check the messages that are sent, check search histories and photos. No phones in bedrooms over night.

I dint think children should have phones before year 6 but it’s possible to manage their access and use without insisting they have a brick phone.

@Errors

Toddlers in prams using iPads is an issue with parenting though, not smart phones or technology.

I don’t like seeing DC at restaurants glued to phones or tablets either. It wasn’t an option when my DC were that age and they coped fine. It seems very different on our regular visits to Spain where DC of all ages interact with each other and adults (even in bars late at night!)

Not really sure that has anything to do with banning smartphones though.