Do you thing that this is to young?

Buffy81 · 2023-03-31T19:36:39+00:00

I was watching todays episode of the chase and this was one of the questions: According to the research firm Childwise, on average, what age do children get their first phone? A 7 B10 C 13 Turns out that its 7! Why dose a 7yr old need a phone on the first place? They are only going to be in year 3 or 4 at school? My eldest is 8 in year 4 has no need for a phone and I don't know of any off his friends that have one.. If I was to let him have a phone, it wont be until he is older and a bit more mature. What do you think?

Maybebabyno2 · 31/03/2023 20:48

I would imagine a lot of 7 year olds belong to multiple households so have a phone for contact.

YouCantBeSadHoldingACupcake · 31/03/2023 21:08

Mine has one, but it's a cast off from his older siblings, has no SIM card so is basically a small tablet. He won't get one with a sim in it until year 6 when he will walk himself to and from school.

DutchCowgirl · 31/03/2023 21:14

My kids also used our old phones as small tablets … no sim, no social media, just music and games in the car on longer journeys.

EggyBreads · 31/03/2023 21:20

Thats crazy. I have a 7 year old, he does have one and neither do any of his friends. How utterly depressing.

Phoebo · 31/03/2023 21:25

7 is insane, just no need! Even 10 is too young

iusedtobeasize8 · 31/03/2023 21:26

Mine were all 11 for when they a
started secondary school

DancingWithBroccoli · 31/03/2023 21:27

My youngest got one at 8. I think it was because his older brother at 10, needed one for walking to and from school, and we thought we'd give the younger one my old phone so they both have one. He's 9 now, doesn't use it much. Occasionally video calls his friends while playing Roblox, or sends the odd text. He's perfectly lovely and well adjusted! It hasn't done him any harm and he's not doing anything bad with it!

I think tech seems to really get people quite annoyed these days! Some people seem quite militant about screens. Both my boys have phones, PCs, access to Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite etc.. they use it all sensibly. We talk a lot about internet safety etc... My boys are v well adjusted, good at school, polite, etc.. they also have other interests - both are competitive athletes in their chosen sport and train multiple times a week - the screen time doesn't detract from anything.

Let's all just accept each other's parenting choices and crack on :) phones can be helpful at times. All good!

DustyLee123 · 31/03/2023 21:28

I’m assuming it’s a hand me down when someone gets an upgrade. Mine only got them for high school.

Friolero · 31/03/2023 21:29

That's very young, especially as an average as lots of kids must be getting them much younger than 7.

I got my oldest a phone when he started walking to school alone in Year 6 (age 10/11).

PalePinkPhoneCover · 31/03/2023 21:31

Here they get them in Year 4 due to 3 tier system and Y4 being expected to walk home alone.

Year 2s and above are allowed them at school on contact change over day as well. So thats why I'd guess many 7 year olds have phones.

Jules912 · 31/03/2023 21:34

I got DS 10 one recently as we're just starting to leave him at home alone ( but will have to a lot more when he start high school next year), he said he was among the last in his class to get one. So far he is happy with no social media but I'll let him have WhatsApp next year if it's true everyone has it.

thegrain · 31/03/2023 21:35

What sort of average? Mean? Median? Mode?

Shocking and we should all be ashamed of what our society has become

thegrain · 31/03/2023 21:36

Jules912 · 31/03/2023 21:34

I got DS 10 one recently as we're just starting to leave him at home alone ( but will have to a lot more when he start high school next year), he said he was among the last in his class to get one. So far he is happy with no social media but I'll let him have WhatsApp next year if it's true everyone has it.

Don't. Whatsapp is evil. They all bully each other on it.

Lovelyring · 31/03/2023 21:41

I'm hoping to hold out as long as I possibly can. I dare say it will always be sooner than I'm happy with. I actually feel ashamed of how dependent I am on my phone and how much time I waste on it and want to protect dc from that for as long as possible.

There is no way I'll give them one in primary.

LondonQueen · 31/03/2023 21:41

Y6 seems the sensible time to get them a phone. They can start walking to/from school independently (if you live close enough) in preparation for secondary school. Anything younger than that is mostly unnecessary.

Justtrying · 31/03/2023 21:42

Totally agree with you, but dd got the school bus from reception. Rural area. Bullying kicked in, which was dealt with but we gave her a brick so she could contact us on a parentshield sim so only approved numbers which were close family. Upgraded to a smart phone at 11. If it hadn't been for the bus we would have waited until 11.

ItsThePlayBusDingDing · 31/03/2023 21:43

My 8yo has a phone.

She uses it for messaging her older sibling who lives away, she messages her dad when she's with me, and me when she is with her dad.

It's not a big deal imo.

TeaNbiscuits74 · 31/03/2023 21:46

DD used to tell anyone that would listen that she’s had a phone since she was 5. She didn’t. What she had was occasional supervised access to an old handset with no SIM card, to play a few games that I had selected for her.

She got a proper phone (old handset but with SIM card) in Year 6 because she has started walking home from school alone, going out without an adult etc.

She can call / text and has some games and music, but no social media. She did ask for WhatsApp early on, but I said no and explained my concerns about large group chats, bullying and strangers getting her mobile number. She’s now quite glad that she doesn’t have WhatsApp, but apparently most of her class do. She often mentions that she’s heard that there has been rudeness/ bullying on the group chat, and this has put her off wanting it.

In my opinion, it is social media that is the risk rather than the hardware. A phone is practically the same as a tablet these days.

nofilteronme · 31/03/2023 21:56

We set up an old phone with a SIM when DD was 7- because we were in lockdown so that was her way of keeping in touch with friends, and her grandparents.

Certainly wouldn't have been that young otherwise.

InhaleAndExhale · 31/03/2023 22:00

I think it’s too young.

But I do think it’s partly a ‘class’ thing. From my anecdata, the middle classes are horrified about phones before before year 6…

But if everyone around you gives phones to their 7/8 year olds, then you start to think it’s normal.

My three kids didn’t get phones till Y7 and tablets till Y9. So we are probably quite unusual now.

Ttbhappy · 31/03/2023 22:03

DancingWithBroccoli · 31/03/2023 21:27

My youngest got one at 8. I think it was because his older brother at 10, needed one for walking to and from school, and we thought we'd give the younger one my old phone so they both have one. He's 9 now, doesn't use it much. Occasionally video calls his friends while playing Roblox, or sends the odd text. He's perfectly lovely and well adjusted! It hasn't done him any harm and he's not doing anything bad with it!

I think tech seems to really get people quite annoyed these days! Some people seem quite militant about screens. Both my boys have phones, PCs, access to Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite etc.. they use it all sensibly. We talk a lot about internet safety etc... My boys are v well adjusted, good at school, polite, etc.. they also have other interests - both are competitive athletes in their chosen sport and train multiple times a week - the screen time doesn't detract from anything.

Let's all just accept each other's parenting choices and crack on :) phones can be helpful at times. All good!

Yes but it has a knock on affect, it's not just one person's choice. If all the other kids have one...

thispostisaboutyou · 31/03/2023 22:09

Honestly... DD1 had one at 8. Her dad would never let me speak to her on his time and it was hell for both of us. I got her a basic call and text phone only but he upgraded it to a smartphone within a year... and that made me regret her having a phone because she's still too invested in her login bonuses etc. But on balance it was still worth that first year when I could talk to her

pointythings · 31/03/2023 22:10

Mine are adults now so things were different, but they each got a dumb phone when they started secondary. They got smartphones when they were 14 and 12 because we got a household deal.

If I had kids now I would consider a sim free smart phone to use as a tablet, but nothing else until start of secondary school and then with restrictions.

UneFoisAuChalet · 31/03/2023 22:14

Well, my third child got a phone at seven. The older two got theirs at 10/11 - just before senior school. Basically, the youngest whinged non stop about how the others had phones and he wanted one blah blah blah. Nothing upsets that child more than witnessing his older brothers enjoy privileges that are denied to him.

It’s shit parenting admittedly but it’s not the hill we were going to die on. And interestingly, he rarely uses his phone. It’s left on the kitchen worktop for me to charge. It pings constantly with all the year six group chats that he ignores.

Spiderboy · 31/03/2023 22:18

My 7 year old got a hand down phone. Played games on it mostly. Half their class had phones ant the time and I only gave them a phone due to lockdown and them being pretty isolated. 2 years on, every single classmate has a phone and DC talks with school friendly regularly. It’s also used for walking to and from school.