Max Stossel, the founder and CEO of Social Awakening, a group that promotes healthy use of technology and social media, recommends that parents hold the line on giving kids smartphones until at least eighth grade.
Apple's iPhone SE is the best phone for kids because it has long software support and offers the best performance you can get in a phone under $500. Battery life and camera performance are just bonuses.
At the end of the day, pediatricians say that waiting until 13 to give children cellphones is a good rule to follow as a general guideline, but since “parents know their children and their level of maturity and ability to handle a cellphone the best ... that takes precedence over general recommendations,” according to ...
Your 8-year-old now
Should you join in? Most developmental experts agree that the longer you can hold off on a phone for a child, the better. There's also the question of whether certain items are best delayed as privileges of age.
Here's what the experts have to say on age-by-age guidelines. Ages four to six The experts are unequivocal: Kids in this age group shouldn't be using smartphones (or other mobile devices), period.
Children are also vulnerable to addiction, because they're not disciplined enough to set limits. They can lose sight of their interests, dreams, and schoolwork. Studies show that smartphone use can cause anxiety, harm relationships, and even damage kids' eyesight.
In Australia, the average age a child acquires a mobile phone is 13.1 years.
Parents should wait until preschool to introduce their children to smart devices like smartphones and tablets, and even then should limit the use to less than an hour a day in the same room as the parent.
Having a phone of their own may help kids socialize and build friendships. Older kids and teens may also use their phones to plan group schoolwork and social gatherings, or even play games together. "Phones can be a tool to promote social skills, such as using them to FaceTime with friends and family," says Reena B.
The iPhone 7 -- released in 2016 -- is no longer the most advanced iPhone option, but is a solid starter smartphone for a kid. The device comes with features like water resistance, a durable solid-state home button, and a good camera with rear optical image stabilization.
Gabb phones are the world's safest smartphone option for kids, free from internet, games, and social media. It has GPS tracking, unlimited talk and text, bluetooth connection, and 14 kid-safe apps.
As a general guideline, Dr. Eagar advises not allowing single dating before age sixteen. “There's an enormous difference between a fourteen- or fifteen-year- old and a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old in terms of life experience,” he says.
When you give a kid a device will determine how long a parent is going to be monitoring them, though not all parents agree on when they should give up control. As we showed in our previous survey coverage, parents tend to agree that they have to monitor kids up to about age 10.
That's because screens and sleep do not mix. The light emitted by the typical screen inhibits the production of melatonin in our brains. Melatonin is the chemical that allows us to fall and stay asleep. In other words, a screen is like a wake up call for our brains.
For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended no more than two hours of screen time for children and teenagers, and absolutely no screen time for children under 2.
iPads generally have a lifespan of about 5 years. Keep your software as up-to-date as possible. Plan to replace your tablet every 3 years. Reference Table 1 below to determine if your iPad is still supported.
Unless your child is video chatting, the AAP recommends avoiding digital media (including TV, computers and video games) until she's 18 months old to 2 years old. Children aged 18 months to 2 years old can watch digital media with you, while those age 2 to 5 years old should limit their screen time to 1 hour per day.
What's the right age to give your child a smartphone? Parents will have to decide this for themselves, but new research has shown that two in five kids under 12 own a smartphone.
In 2020, just under half (46%) of Australian children aged 6 to 13 used a mobile phone, up from 41% in 2015. Base: Australians aged 6 to 13, in the 12 months to June. Total sample sizes for each research subset are provided in Table 2 in the methodology.
An iPhone is an especially good choice for a child if the rest of the family also uses Apple phones and devices. It's easy for the child to learn to use an operating system that the rest of the family uses as well, and using it is safe because parents can easily keep track of what their child is doing on their phone.
Children who are on their phones too much can miss out on other valuable activities, like exercise. And research has shown that excessive phone use can exacerbate the problems of certain vulnerable groups, like children with mental health issues.
"Half-your-age-plus-seven" rule
An often-asserted rule of thumb to determine whether an age difference is socially acceptable holds that a person should never date someone whose age is less than half their own plus seven years.
The “creepiness rule” states that the youngest you should date is “half your age plus seven.” The less commonly used corollary is that the oldest you should date is “subtract seven from your age and double it.” According to this rule, society should accept a 50 year old man dating a 32 year old woman.