Giving your child a cell phone is a big decision. There are many factors to think about. You want to give the cell phone to your child at the most appropriate time for you and your child. The right time is different for every family. There are options to consider. Here are some helpful ideas to think about.

Kids Cell Phones Ownership

There seems to be three major age ranges for parents to allow their children to have a cell phone. Statistics vary somewhere in between. Approximately 75-88% of teens between the ages of 13 and 17 have a cell phone. About 35-48% of kids 8-12 have cell phones. Then, for children 8 and younger, about 21-25% use cell phones. Actually, having a cell phone and having a tablet is different. With Facebook Messenger, there is an app that allows you to use a tablet as a phone. These statistics are what average households show using a cell phone. The decision is yours where you want to be.

Parental Controls

In Microsoft and Apple phones, parents can use the parental controls and lock the settings with a password. It is possible to give your child a phone and control some of what your child can do. There are plenty of apps that allow you to monitor and control everything coming in and out of your child’s phone. The AT&T blog and parent-friendly blogs give helpful information on protecting a child’s phone. So, you can make a decision when to trust your child for full usage or let them ease into independence with strict parental control over what websites your child looks at online.

Cell Phone Concerns

From the moment you give your child a cell phone, there are concerns. How much is too much cell phone usage? They can use the internet, text, and call anyone in the world if you do not have parental controls on. Eyesight is another concern for kids and cell phone use. This is the first time in history that kids will fully grow up using cell phones. We do not know the repercussions yet. To be safe than sorry is the best. Making sure kids get out in nature, exercise, and know how to properly socialize person-to-person needs to be taught.

Safety

With teenagers, it is all about keeping the negative influencers out of their life. It is keeping them safe on the road with no texting, talking, or web surfing while driving. As parents, you want to protect your teenagers from predators, users, and scammer. It is very important that a teenager knows how to be safe with the internet and understand why they should stay away from certain websites. Just keeping something from a teenager usually means they want it more. Having conversations and discussing with your teens is the strongest defense you have.

Money and the Internet

Teenagers can easily rack up a high cell phone bill. Depending on what kind of teenager you have, or even the 10- to 12-year-olds, controlling how much your child spends is key. The cell phone is a perfect way to teach your kid on how to manage money. By setting limits for kids to control their behavior within will only help them manage money better in life. There are parental controls to help with the money management issues.

Your Call

The internet is a wealth of information. Cell phones and the internet go hand and hand. Your child having a cell phone helps you as a parent be able to call your child whenever you want. But letting a child have a cell phone puts them vulnerable to the world. You have to watch the development of your child and see what they can handle. The cell phone is a great learning tool that you can take away when a child makes a mistake and chooses the wrong decision. The sooner a child learns right from wrong, the sooner they can focus on the good things in life and what they want to become. If you are paying attention to your child, you will know when is the right time for you to give your child a cell phone.