What age for a mobile phone?

[user1478188491]

Interested to hear, what age do you think is appropriate for kids having a mobile phone?

My niece got her first phone last month.
She was 12 in January.

When do you feel it’s appropriate for any person to have a highly additive device snd the whole world in their pocket??

I got my child one for Christmas when they were in year 6 . So they were 10 . It stayed home when they went to school until they hit senior school x

My kids and most of their friends got their first mobile in Y7, coinciding with walking in their own to school etc.

My youngest is getting her first phone (it will be a flip phone) in September for school going back. She was 12 in April. She keeps it for a year then moves onto a smartphone.

What? 🧐

I have heard this a lot thank you for your input , seems to be a popular time for phones.

It does depend on the child, but generally when you can hold out no longer, either for safety (growing independence) or because the child is missing out on social time because of it. But no earlier than 12 imo and no social media until at least 14/15, limited daily screen time, no apps installed without permission etc.

My daughter is pretty responsible and will be walking home from school on her own- yr7. She’ll get a phone at 16, possibly a Nokia style phone at 14. Look up the smartphone free childhood.

I gave my 10 year old son an old phone of mine earlier this year. He is starting to get more independent such as going out with friends without an adult, popping to the shop on his own, or staying indoors alone for an hour at most, so I wanted him to be able to contact me if he needed. He's starting secondary school in September, so he'd definitely need one then.
I did put a Parentshield SIM card in the phone though so he is really restricted with what he can do, like no social media. It also records his phone calls and saves his texts so I can see them remotely.

Eh?

More schools are only allowing non smart brick phones. So look at local policies.

These days I would say 'as late as practical' for smart phones, unless required for eg bus apps, and then locked down as tight as you can.

OP I think this is one of the biggest debates in modern parenting right now. Have you heard of the smartphone free childhood movement? They are recommending an age of 14 for first smartphone. Equally you hear of some parents giving phones to 7-8 year olds.
I think a decade ago parents didn't really think too deeply about it, but I think these days parents are becoming more aware of the negatives and I think the average age will slowly start to rise. My primary school is totally banning smartphones on site from next year. Some secondary schools are too.

I think in 5 years time it will become socially unacceptable to give a young child a smartphone, and I think there will be lots of alternative devices on the market to fill the gap.

My 10 year old has a ‘brick’ type phone. He won’t be getting a smart phone until at least 14 in line with the smartphone free childhood parent pact. There is so much evidence about the dangers of smart phones. It isn’t just the inappropriate content they might access, it’s the addictive nature of the dopamine spikes linked to checking for likes and messages etc. I don’t want my child to be a slave to that.

Mine had them later because they still weren’t ubiquitous, dd1 was 13, dd2 was 12 (had brick phones prior but because of going to music camps). They had some social media but was via family computer in living room I could monitor. There’s a fine line between protecting them and stifling their ability to communicate, make friends etc.

My niece got one when she was 11.

I’m tempted not to get DD one until she’s 16. I appreciate that’s over the top and probably won’t happen. If she could do with a phone for safety reasons before then, it doesn’t need to be a smartphone.

First mobile age 11 just before heading to secondary. 'Smart' phone but no social media or data.

‘Dumb’ phone when they start secondary, smart phone with parental controls at 14. Then I guess no parental controls when they finish secondary.

My son had his first mobile phone, when he started Year 7, at secondary school. He was 11, very nearly 12 as an October baby. Ironically, he refuses point blank to take it to school, in case it gets lost!! He can't use it in school anyway, it's an automatic detention if he did and it would be confiscated. So in some ways I see why he doesn't take it. His walk home is short too.

Once they start walking alone to school so Yr 6

They definitely need on once they start secondary school

It is needed once they start secondary school because most school bus passes here are on an app, plus homework is usually set via online portals.

Mine got theirs just before they started year 7.

Mine both got them just before secondary school, mainly because they made their
own way there. Some of their friends had phones much younger than that

Mine were 12, going into secondary school. And it was time enough for them. Wouldn't want it any younger.

It used to be end of Y6 as standard in our school, but increasingly parents are deciding only to give brick phones at that stage because of mounting evidence of how negative smartphones are for children. My DD is going into Y6 and we have told her there will be no smartphone until she is 14 at the earliest but she can have a simple Nokia for going to secondary school so she can call and text. The school arranged a talk for the Y5 and Y6 children from a charity dealing with young people’s mental health and many of the children who attended said for themselves that they didn’t want a smartphone yet after hearing some of the statistics.

Most of the local secondaries are also tightening up their phone policies - quite a lot are saying only brick phones are allowed on the premises from now on.