When to get your kid a smart phone seems like one of the hardest decisions you make for a tween/teen.
Data show: Most people agree that holding off until 13-15 is appropriate, but the pressure starts early.
- You don’t want your kid to be left out, and you want to be able to reach them in an emergency/track their location once they venture out on their own.
- On the other hand, the internet can be dangerous. And, as we talked about last week, social media makes most of us feel worse in many instances.
Here’s what people are saying:
- “More and more data shows if you can keep kids smartphone free until 9th grade and social media free as long as possible after that, they have much better mental health outcomes. With smart watches to be able to track and reach kids when needed, this has become a no brainer for our family.”
- “I grew up as smartphones became a mainstream product and I bought my first Smartphone (Motorola Droid) when I was a senior in high school. I felt like that was an appropriate time considering I was driving and working. It felt like an additional responsibility I earned along with my drivers license and holding a job. Those should come first before a teen considers a smartphone. ”
- “The older they get it, the longer they will interact innocently with real people,”
- “I’m committed to no [smart] phones until they’re driving! Too many scary situations available to kids online. ”
- “Starting in middle school, kids use their phones to socialize with friends and make their own plans. Many kids are 11/12 entering 6th grade. Most kids are 14 by 9th grade, turning 15. The few kids without phones are often inadvertently left out of plans. Social media, however, should be 16, but I just allowed my recently turned 15 year old to have a private IG account. They use IG DM for socialization.”
- “I want to say 16-18 but unfortunately that seems unrealistic today…my 10 year old begs us for a phone all the time ugh.”
Popular alternatives: A lot of parents seem to go the Apple Watch or Tin Can route until kids are much older.
