This easy-to-follow guide is designed to help parents when it comes to buying their child their first mobile phone. We’ll talk about some of the key things to consider from a technology point of view and the things that parents need to be aware of when it comes to their child using a mobile phone. The guide is primarily aimed at the parents of those aged 10-16, but it will be relevant for children of any age who are at an appropriate developmental stage.
Top Tips for Parents and Buying Your Child Their First Mobile Phone:
– Buy a simple first mobile phone for your child. – Buy a SIM or contact your mobile phone provider about adding your child to your existing contract, so they use your mobile phone, your number and could share your call and data allowance. – Set Mobile Network parental controls on your child’s phone. – Set app Store parental controls on your child’s phone. – Use the parent control features to keep your child safe. – Set the voice, texting and spending services that your child should use. There are also apps you can use to help keep children safe using the internet on a mobile phone or computer. Make sure you have set up parental controls to block age-inappropriate content on sites such as YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram but be aware that with some web browser apps like ‘Google’ there is a separate setting to enable.
Understanding the Decision
Buying your child a mobile phone can feel like a really big decision. It can seem like everyone else has a phone, all parents say no if you don’t want your child to be left out, and then what would you need to consider if you do decide to buy one? Here in this guide, we’ve created a list of big-picture questions about buying your child a phone, which aim to encapsulate the full consideration set.
We’ve split these questions into two groups: The first group digs deep and tries to help you understand what stands behind your decision, and the second group aims to give you an idea of what practicalities are associated with buying a child a phone. You don’t need to start working through the questions in order! Instead, just pick out those that you find most helpful, interesting, or challenging.
This guide is concerned with smartphones and all the complex uses, pleasures, and risks associated with the use of those devices. Parents face a difficult decision today in considering whether to equip their children with a mobile phone. The decision is difficult in large part because of the sometimes subtle, sometimes severe, sometimes both pressures children are very often under to get a phone. Compliance with ‘the crowd’ is a significant aspect of this. You have to ask yourself whether you would buy your child a phone if the circumstances were exactly the same but the child’s peers pressured you not to buy the phone rather the other way around. These questions can help you consider how much real control you have over your decision, even though from a legal standpoint children under the age of 18 are your investment and support till they become adults.
Age Considerations
The first subject that needs to be thought about is the child’s age, as the question must be addressed as to when is the precise time for a child to get a mobile phone. Most kids want a phone because they believe they need one at a certain age, maybe because their friends or family have one. From the parent’s perspective, the more players that the kid interacts with, the more safe they would be able to hold. That said, there’s no clear answer to the question of what’s right. A child can greatly benefit from owning a mobile, but he or she must be old enough to use it properly. If you possess a mobile phone during the day as an adult and talk, and contact or access the Internet to make bookings, there are parents who own mobile phones for and against kids and people, so you have the simple point of owning the gadget. It will help you out during the day. You just have to use the phone mainly at school and on maintaining however. You might think is and to stop working and. If you get into a big mess and the kids own a cell phone, you may call home immediately. As with young children, a mobile phone raises the problem of not being dangerous or potentially harmful, as the Internet and telephone and SMS services are disassociated from those that cater for them. Like too many instant phones for boys detrimental to their children and others, a mobile phone may not be a purchase choice when used solely for calls, To send SMS and call services, messages and game sites and other internet protection issues should also be addressed by parents.
Parental Monitoring
Parental monitoring has always been a vital issue, particularly when it comes to new technological gadgetry, especially for children who are oblivious to such advancements in the IT world. In this matter, the child’s mobile unit or mobile phone behavior could be one of the best mediums for knowing the child’s activities, interests, and characteristics. Regardless of the medium used by researchers in their findings, evidence has shown that parenting intervention, treatment, monitoring, and upbringing to a great extent affect a child’s self-esteem, characteristics, psychological status, and problems. Additionally, adolescent mental health problems and psychological problems are more evident among children who have less parental involvement. It is well-known that frequent poor communication, lack of understanding, and time spent by parents with their children might render them indifferent to the child’s growing problems and needs.
The study by Stattin et al. (2003) supplemented this finding, stating that low parental monitoring was linked to a risk of health problems. The small prospect of achieving dialogue and the problem of double identity become hindrances to understanding the family. Parental involvement and monitoring are protected by positive socializing agents, such as a loving family setting that is inclusive and supportive of the child, strong community support and interest from school teachers and principals, and support from politics and society towards a more harmonized approach. However, there is emerging evidence that monitoring and monitoring strategies are far from a straightforward issue because of their close association with the psychological needs of the child, adult perspectives and values, and ethical concerns. Monitoring is necessary for routine upkeep and maintenance. It is through external aids or tracking devices that a supervisor can exercise concentrated effort and involvement for monitoring and diagnostic tests, ensuring the safety of the consumer.
Choosing the Right Device
When it comes to choosing a mobile phone for your child, there are several issues to consider. Deciding the right model is not simply a matter of choosing the cheapest or most expensive device; parents should think about whether the specifications of the phone suit the child’s needs. One of the crucial features of the phone, for example, is the availability of an expandable memory slot. For a phone to be primarily used for music or games, larger expandable storage can be a must. What can increase the chance of being asked to upgrade the device sooner rather than later is to allow long-term storage space for pictures and videos before paying a big subscription fee for additional storage.
If the phone is only meant for voice talk, text, and internet browsing, then location-based features and some of the applications that can slow down the device (e.g., social media, video conferencing) may be of no use to you. This will also open the opportunity to increase the available budget for other features or open opportunities to look at older models. The younger the user, the smaller the size of the compatible handset. At a minimum, potential handsets should be viewed in person to verify that the model is of a suitable size and that the user is comfortable with the front-facing controls. Suitable equipment covers a solid case and a first smartphone. In any purchasing conclusion, the family will need to decide if a replacement option is required. In case of emergency, screen protectors and installation services are optional. If a first mobile can be used passively for social networking, it is handy to review the privacy features of the operating system and platform. For those concerned about privacy and child safety, keeping them safe is the primary responsibility of any device. Some features and information collected by mobile applications can be regulated by the device operating system or the policy of the company that owns the platform interactive lens.
Features to Consider
In purchasing a mobile phone for your child, you should consider some specific features that the phone will include, since these features can keep your child safe as they gradually get to know the online world. Choosing a phone with these features will help you ensure that your child’s first mobile phone is in line with the three basic guidelines.
1. A basic mobile phone. At least the first phone should be a basic model for reasons spelled out in detail in the section in the first guideline on making literacy and safety your goal, not cool features.
2. Limited capabilities. Make sure that the phone you choose for your child doesn’t come with a big range of apps as part of the purchase. While there are classic children’s models that are sold as very accessible, they can’t be used for anything meaningful unless you pay through the nose for a separate sim with data. And in general having a phone that is primarily a phone, not a mobile web surfing device, means that, as well as costing more, it also fulfills the first guideline. If parents have primarily bought a phone that is to be used first and foremost only as a phone, arguably they are making the phone itself and learning to use it together basic, in keeping with the first guideline.
Setting Boundaries and Rules
When it comes to buying a child a mobile phone, it could be tempting to take advantage of all the safety features to keep an eye on them. However, if you want to foster autonomy in your child, they will have to know they are trusted enough to have one. In this case, the responsibility falls on setting boundaries for your child. There are a few things to think about when it comes to creating boundaries or setting rules for a child. In the same way adults have work and home lives, some kind of separation should be established between home-work-leisure in a child’s life. This will help identify times in which it’s appropriate or not to use the phone, and keep activities that include it at a minimum. You may also consider setting screen time limits, as it is recommended kids spend at most one hour of screen-related time on school days and two hours on weekends.
Regardless of time spent, your child should be raised to learn to take regular breaks and ignore screens to rest their eyes and get up from prolonged periods of sitting on. One of the greater concerns about using phones and other electronic devices is how to operate them safely. Most manufacturers will provide a comprehensive guide with the item on how to access the device safely. If not, you or your child should remember to take their eyes off the screen sometimes to check their surroundings. They’ll also want to hold the screen about fifteen inches away from their face.
Screen Time Limits
When setting screen time limits, start by thinking about what is reasonable and necessary for everyone in the family, yourself included. Younger children and pets can be forgetful, so think about setting a screen time scheduling app on a file to help manage in-the-moment tantrums. Your child will only respect and adhere to the restrictions you place on phone use if the rest of the family is onside with the rules and expectations too. The best way to gauge appropriate screen time for your child is to be aware of when is a good time for them to have that be their main activity, and when it is causing negative effects. For children between the ages of six to eighteen, one hour to a maximum of two hours of use per day is recommended. Remember, this includes all screens.
AN ALARM ON THE PHONE: When your child gets their first phone, discuss with them that there will be a series of rules they will need to adhere to in order to keep it. Discuss those rules before you get to the shop. When you buy the phone, install a screen time management app like ChronoWatch on the phone that lets the kids know how much time they have left on their device. A note will also be sent to you so you are also able to keep an eye on their usage. Soon your child will be keeping you in check – making sure that you turn off your phone lol. Personalized rules. Are there any specific rules or advice will you give your teen when they get their first phone?
Safe Usage Guidelines
For many users, especially children and teenagers, mobile phone companies offer a system of self-imposed limits, whereby the user can bar themselves from accessing certain 800 numbers or data services. If your child is always going to be at the same price every month, ask if that can be the lowest bill possible. Depending on the comfort level of the parent, your child may become aware of any or all of these guidelines once they have a better understanding of responsibility. If your child has a cell phone with them, make sure that they turn it on when they leave places or get into situations where they think they may not be safe.
– Dial 112 in emergencies – Advise your carrier and provide the phone’s IMEI code if it is stolen – Turn the phone off when not in use – All cell phone conversations should be private
Most of us have mobile phones and the networks now cover most of the country. As technology develops, new products and services are being launched all the time. In this section, you can find information about the potential risks from mobile phone use, what the research is telling us, and strategies to help you safeguard your child’s use of the technology. Instead of just turning the phone off or putting it in a bag for the night, some parents take it personally by confiscating it for a while or taking it away for a day or two. If the phone is important to the child and they want to get it back, they will think twice about breaking the rules and ensure it!
Teaching Responsible Usage
One of the most important things you can do as a parent is educate your child on the subject of responsible use. Today’s kids are surrounded by technology and connected to the imminent dangers of cyberbullying, inappropriate content, and the suspicion of potential sexual exploitation (without painting technology in a wicked light, the vast majority of these problems are a result of harmful people with harmful intent). Responsible usage starts with cybersecurity awareness. For a full training course on that subject, sign up for ICSyA! A simple way to gauge the proper age to give your child a mobile phone is to ask yourself if they are old enough to handle it wisely. For instance: are they going to watch inappropriate content on YouTube on their tablet? Are they trustworthy to stay on the restricted portion of candy?
Guiding the children towards responsible internet (which, after all, is a segment of smartphone usage) is a bit different. A lot of the basics are the same, like telling kids not to give personal details out over social media to people they don’t know in real life. But APIs and data mining add some complexity that a child wouldn’t understand. What age is a good age for a child to have a smartphone, in your opinion? There are no definite numbers, though I know plenty of kids who have one when they turn 12. Some of the above considerations play into that, as do factors like the child’s behaviour and responsibility. You have to take an honest look—subjective, for sure, but honest nonetheless—into the totality of a child’s persona to come to that conclusion.
Cybersecurity Awareness
Responsibility establishes the concept of awareness or consciousness about cybersecurity. It is very important to transmit the safety culture through general and good practices regarding the use of any fixed and mobile device by children, developing their security awareness. Parents should also convey to children the importance of some information and content that should be protected. They need to pass some messages about: • Computer viruses and how to protect devices. • Malware – software designed to damage a computer system without the owner of the computer knowing the damage that is being done. • How to make use of privacy settings. • How to create a secure password policy. • Use of portraits, photographs, or any other private images that should be approved by parents. • Never reveal passwords to anyone. • Not downloading any application without a parent’s approval. All applications are easily available for download. These applications may or may not be secure and can damage the mobile phone. It shares personal information on social media such as Facebook and Instagram. They should never reveal their current location.