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Our daughter is 9 years old and she keeps asking me for a cell phone. About half of her friends have a smart phone on which they play games (both in and out of school) and call their parents (and who knows what else). Is there any research on the optimal age range to give a child a cell phone? 9 years old seems young to me.
Research has not yet identified an 鈥渙ptimal鈥� age (or age
range) at which children are capable of managing the risks and responsibilities
of having their own smart phones. However, the risks of smartphone access for
children and adolescents of all ages are well-established. These risks include
increased incidents of depressed or anxious mood, decreased sleep, lower school
performance, and vulnerability to abuse and exploitation, such as taking
pictures of oneself that can be shared with people other than the intended
recipient. For these reasons, pediatricians and mental health professionals
generally advise against providing young people unsupervised smartphone use
before 鈥減re-adolescence,鈥� usually defined as age 11.听There are options
other than smartphones that can bridge this time between late childhood and
adolescence, including use of smartwatches or 鈥渓imited feature鈥� phones designed
for children, such as Gabb 听(听听)
or Pinwheel (听听).听The
Center for Common Sense Media has some excellent advice about how to make this
decision and, if a phone is provided, how to set rules and manage risks
surrounding it. Visit their resources at:
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and
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