October 1st, 2019 | Updated on June 29th, 2022
It seems like every day our concerns about technology go up while our kids becoming more and more entranced by mobile technology.
These dopamine-inducing devices are not good for young children, who are still developing.
Their brains are fragile and susceptible to the kind of instant gratification that these devices provide.
Screens are also detrimental to eyesight. There are quite a few negatives of giving your child a phone, but there are many positives as well.
For example, the peace of mind parents get knowing their child can call them when they need to or call the police in an emergency is unparalleled.
1. When To Buy Your Child A Phone
The answer is different for every child, but they will definitely ask for one before they are ready. Any child under the age of six shouldn’t even be using mobile devices according to neurological experts, and they should not have their own until they are at least ten.
Not everyone will follow this, but the longer you can put off buying your child a phone, the more responsible they will be with it in the long-run.
Not only are mobile phones useful, powerful, and advantageous, they are also expensive and distracting. They can also show your kids things they shouldn’t see.
There is even a campaign to encourage parents to wait until their child is in the eighth grade to give them a phone. The Wait until 8th campaign makes some good points when it comes to kids and phones.
They generally only need one to call or text. This means you can do away with the internet data, but what are some specific phones that are recommended for children?
2. Recommended Phones For Kids
Whatever you buy for your child’s first phone, you should make sure it is inexpensive. Either way your kid will not be responsible enough yet to properly use, store, and keep safe an expensive device. It is better to go with something cheaper.
For any child under eight, they only usually need phones because of their complex caregiving arrangements. A phone with a tracker is a helpful and useful tool in this regard.
According to the experts at the site MoneyPug, which is used, among other things, to compare mobile phones, Jiobit doesn’t have calling functions. If you want your child to be able to call you and the other parent, the Republic
Wireless Relay is a screen-less phone that provide children the ability to call their parents. Kids between nine and 13 are still young, but they can be moved up to a voice phone at this point.
Ideally you would get a phone that works on your carrier’s network. The Kyocera Cadence LTE is a good choice.
So is the Nokia 3320 3G. Finally the Doro 7050 works on prepaid plans, which can be helpful when budgeting a child’s data plan. All low cost smartphones are good choices for this demographic.
The main difference between phones for kids 13 and up is that you should still have location tracking and the ability to monitor their functions.
To keep your child safe, you have many options. Some of these include limiting your child’s data plan and utilizing parental control apps.
3. Keeping Your Kid Safe
Above all, parents are mostly concerned with keeping their kids safe. To accomplish this, you can buy one of the phones above that comes with geolocation tracking, but you can also use parental control apps to keep watch over where they are, what they are doing on their phone, and how long they are on it.
You can also utilize these apps to turn off the internet when your child is supposed to being homework, chores, or sleeping.
The amount of screen time will be logged, so you can see to it that they aren’t spending too much time on their devices.
Whenever you decide to buy your kid a phone, you should buy them something inexpensive that has the right restrictions. Then you should utilize parental control technology to monitor their activities.
This may seem invasive, but with so many malicious actors, inappropriate websites, and mature content, protecting your children should be at the forefront of these efforts.
When you take the time to understand what your child will have access to, you will be able to make better choices and teach them how to properly and responsibly use smart phones.
