If you are planning to buy a cellphone for your children, here are a few things that you need to consider…
Are they responsible enough?
When are your children ready for a cellphone? There’s much discussion on the right age to give children their first cellphone. It is really up to parents. You are the best judge of your child’s maturity level, ability to follow home and school’s rules, and their sense of responsibility. There needs to be a two-pronged consideration: Do your children display responsibility like letting you know when they leave the house and when they return or are going to be late for a specific reason? Do they lose things easily or are careful with them? A smartphone is an expensive gadget and you might want to wait till they behave responsibly and learn to take care of their belongings.
Secondly, when you buy your children cellphones, you’re handing over a powerful communication tool that will enable them to send texts, images, and videos that can be shared instantly and widely. They could communicate with whomever they want and look up whatever they like. If they are teenagers, are they responsible enough to have self-control when it comes to their smartphone, because if they get addicted to social media or video games, it might affect their academic performance. Take this into consideration to decide if the children are ready to use their phones responsibly.
Check the parental control apps
There are a variety of apps for parents. Some of them allow the parents to track all activities of their children on their phones, and some give parental alerts if certain high-risk words are used in texts or social media. You are not spying on your children; just making sure there isn’t bullying or inappropriate texting going on. Here, parents themselves have to maintain the balance between being careful and invading privacy of the children, something that might create a trust deficit in the family.
Set rules
Before you give them a phone talk to them about the kind of supervision you will do. Set some ground rules. Make them aware of the reasons for them. Listen to what they have to say and then settle on common ground. Respect their privacy while keeping them safe. If you have a child under 18, this becomes even more essential.
When rules are broken
Make them aware that the rules are for their safety in the outside world. Talk to them but don’t punish them by taking the phone away. This might make your children less likely to share the problems that they are encountering online.
Look for alternatives
If your children need to be in touch for safety reasons, need a cellphone to have an easy access to friends and teachers for social and academic reasons, you could begin by getting them basic phones. These are suitable for making calls and sending texts. Because the features are minimal, they are a good choice for very young children or till your children prove to be responsible enough. These phones are inexpensive, easy to use and don’t give access to the internet, so you are free of worry if your child is visiting unmonitored chat-rooms, or is watching unsuitable content. Let them use basic phones for a few years till they are old enough and prove to be responsible. Smartphones, that are more expensive, and typically include a touchscreen, camera, and internet access, are for older children, but not suitable for a younger age group.
Communicate with them
Always keep the channels of verbal communication open with your children, build up trust, and make sure they find it easy to talk
to you in case of a problem so that you can protect them from predators.