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The article was published on July 20, 2016. The information helps me determine what I think the right age would be if a kid were to get or ask for a phone. The publisher is Brian X Chen the lead consumer technology writer for New York Times. The information supports my opinion about that kids should only start getting phoned when their about 12 or higher to get s phone. This information helps out with my opinion because of the amount of bad things can happen on the phone cyber bullying, predators and etc.

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Tech Fix

Teachers and students pulled out their smartphones when President Obama visited Mooresville Middle School in Mooresville, N.C., in 2013. On average, children are getting their first smartphones around age 10. Credit... Jewel Samad/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

NOT long ago, many parents wondered at what age they should give their child full access to the car keys. Nowadays, parents face a trickier question: At what age should a child own a smartphone?

The smartphone, after all, is the key to unfettered access to the internet and the many benefits and dangers that come with it. But unlike driving a car, which is legal in some states starting at the age of 16, there is no legal guideline for a parent to determine when a child may be ready for a smartphone.

The topic is being increasingly debated as children get smartphones at an ever younger age. On average, children are getting their first smartphones around age 10, according to the research firm Influence Central, down from age 12 in 2012. For some children, smartphone ownership starts even sooner - including second graders as young as 7, according to internet safety experts.

"I think that age is going to trend even younger, because parents are getting tired of handing their smartphones to their kids," said Stacy DeBroff, chief executive of Influence Central.

The downward age creep is meeting resistance. James P. Steyer, chief executive of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization that reviews content and products for families, has a strict rule for his family: His children get a smartphone only when they start high school - after they have learned restraint and the value of face-to-face communication.

But Mr. Steyer added that other parents might decide that their children are ready sooner. "No two kids are the same, and there's no magic number," he said. "A kid's age is not as important as his or her own responsibility or maturity level."

So how do you determine the right time? To come up with some guidelines, I interviewed internet safety experts and combed through studies on smartphone use among children. I also asked for parents' advice on regulating smartphone use and keeping children safe.

The takeaway will not please smartphone makers: The longer you wait to give your children a smartphone, the better. Some experts said 12 was the ideal age, while others said 14. All agreed later was safer because smartphones can be addictive distractions that detract from schoolwork while exposing children to issues like online bullies, child predators or sexting.

"The longer you keep Pandora's box shut, the better off you are," said Jesse Weinberger, an internet safety speaker based in Ohio who gives presentations to parents, schools and law enforcement officials. "There's no connection to the dark side without the device."

Let's start with some of the data. Ms. Weinberger, who wrote the smartphone and internet safety book "The Boogeyman Exists: And He's in Your Child's Back Pocket," said she had surveyed 70,000 children in the last 18 months and found that, on average, sexting began in the fifth grade, pornography consumption began when children turned 8, and pornography addiction began around age 11.

In a separate study published this year, Common Sense Media polled 1,240 parents and children and found 50 percent of the children admitted that they were addicted to their smartphones. It also found that 66 percent of parents felt their children used mobile devices too much, and 52 percent of children agreed. About 36 percent of parents said they argued with their children daily about device use.

There is also biology to consider. The prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that controls impulse, finishes developing in the mid-20s. In other words, parents should not be surprised if younger children with smartphones lack impulse control.

Smartphones undoubtedly bring benefits. With the devices, children gain access to powerful apps, including education tools for studying, chat apps for connecting with friends and the wealth of information on the web.

But they also are one step closer to distracting games, sexting apps and social media apps where online bullies are on the prowl. Even older children are not immune: Last year, at least 100 students at a Colorado high school were embroiled in a scandal that involved trading naked pictures of themselves on their mobile devices.

In the end, such cons may outweigh the pros, Ms. Weinberger said. If you hold off giving smartphones to children, many still have access to technology tools through devices like computers and tablets, she added. The main difference with a smartphone is that it is with a child everywhere, including outside of parental supervision.

Ultimately, parents will determine when their child truly needs a smartphone. When that time comes, there are approaches for testing the waters before handing one to the child.

One popular option is to start the child off with dumbed-down mobile devices, like feature phones that can only send text messages or place phone calls, and to assess whether they can use those devices responsibly.

Lynn Muscat, a parent in San Francisco, said she had considered buying a "dumb phone" for her 10-year-old son to keep in touch while he was at summer camp. She ended up buying the LG GizmoGadget, a Verizon smartwatch that has calling and texting capabilities and a locked-down list of contacts so that her son could interact only with people she had approved.

Ms. Muscat said she did not consider buying her child a smartphone partly because she felt the device would make him a target for muggers. She also was not appreciative of how smartphones had affected other children around him.

"It drives me nuts when I see his friends on it all the time - it seems very antisocial," Ms. Muscat said. She said she planned to use the smartwatch to teach the responsibilities of using a mobile device safely before her son eventually earns the privilege of carrying a smartphone.

When you decide that it's time to bestow a smartphone on your child, there are ways to set limits. To help parents enforce rules consistently, Ms. Weinberger has published a family contract listing the rules of smartphone use, which includes promises never to take nude selfies and never to try to meet strangers from the internet in real life. Parents state what the consequences are for breaking the rules, and the child must sign the contract before receiving a smartphone.

Mr. Steyer of Common Sense Media said he set other limits, like no smartphones at the dinner table and no phones in the classroom. If his children break the rules, he takes their phones away.

There are some phone settings that can help keep children safe when they do get smartphones.

For iPhones, Apple offers a switchboard full of features that parents can enable or disable, including the ability to restrict the Safari browser from gaining access to adult content and the ability to prevent apps from using cellular data. The iPhone's parental controls live inside the Settings app in a menu labeled Restrictions.

Android phones lack similar built-in parental control settings, though there are many apps in the Google Play app store that let parents add restrictions. Ms. Weinberger highlighted the app Qustodio, which lets parents monitor their children's text messages, disable apps at certain times of day or even shut off a smartphone remotely. While that can be an aggressive approach to restricting a child's smartphone, Ms. Weinberger said her job as a parent was not to make her children like her.

"My only job as a parent is to prepare you for the day you leave," she said. "If that's the case, I have to keep you safe, and you're not going to like some of the things I say - and that's O.K."

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What's the Right Age for a Child to Get a Smartphone? (Published 2016)

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Tech Fix NOT long ago, many parents wondered at what age they should give their child full access to the car keys. Nowadays, parents face a trickier question: At what age should a child own a smartphone? The smartphone, after all, is the key to unfettered access to the internet and the many benefits and dangers that come with it.

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This article was published September 5, 2020. The article helps me have a bigger opinion about whether not  what's the right age for kids to get a phone. Who I got this information was from Lisa Iscrupe and she wrote whats the right age to give a kid a phone. The information from the article helps me understand what exactly in my opinion is the right age even when you should get a phone becasue I dislike the fact that kids are getting their phones and then slowly starts to change into a maybe mean child or just not act the same as they did before or something like that.

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At Allconnect, we work to present quality information with editorial integrity. While this post may contain offers from our partners, our opinions are our own. Here's how we make money.

Today, for most parents it's no longer a question of if you'll get your child a cellphone, smartphone or tablet, but when.

Experts and parents alike, though, have been divided on what is the right age to give your child a smartphone. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has guidelines on recommended screen time for kids, there's no long-term research yet on the effect of mobile phones on children or risks of prolonged screen time.

If you're concerned about what age a child should get a cellphone or smartphone, here's what the research has to say.

What's the difference between a smartphone and a cellphone? A cellphone generally only allows you to call and text, while a smartphone can access the internet, therefore making it capable of downloading apps and browsing the web like a mini-computer.

How common are smartphones?

As of 2018, the majority of Americans (96%) own a cellphone, according to Pew Research Center data. But where mobile devices have seen the most growth is in the rise of smartphones.

"In 2020, the number of global smartphone users is projected to total 3.5 billion, marking a 9.3% increase from 2019," according to Oberlo. "The current global population of 7.7 billion people means the smartphone penetration rate is at 45.4%. In other words, more than four out of every 10 people in the world are currently equipped with a smartphone." And, "as expected, smartphone ownership is significantly higher across advanced economies including most European countries and the U.S., Australia, South Korea and Japan."

What's the average age that kids are getting cellphones?

The majority of children own a mobile phone by the age of seven," according to a survey by Childwise of over 2,000 U.K. youngsters ages 5-16 years old, as reported in The Guardian. "Overall, children spend about three hours and 20 minutes each day messaging, playing games and being online."

When is the right time to get your child a smartphone or tablet?

There are a few different theories about kids and cellphones. Here are some of the most popular.

The American Academy of Pediatrics Theory

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there's no "right" age for children to start using technology. There's also no rush. What's important, they emphasize, is for parents to decide what makes sense for their children based on their family needs.

"We can keep the pace reasonable and developmentally appropriate and allow our kids to use technologies that make sense without granting them access to technologies that don't make sense for their age," the Academy states.

So, the Academy recommended introducing technology as needed and creating a Family Media Use Plan. This includes things like a media curfew, establishing technology values, discussing how the internet works, walking through use cases and more

The Bill Gates Theory

Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates is clearly enthusiastic about the impact of technology on our world, but that doesn't mean he's ready to hand over a smartphone to his kids at just any age.

Gates did an interview with The Mirror in 2017 where he confirmed that his three children didn't get smartphones until the age of 14 - much to their displeasure. He added that the family also sets other usage and screen-time limits.

"We don't have cellphones at the table when we are having a meal, we didn't give our kids cellphones until they were 14 and they complained other kids got them earlier," Gates said in the interview.

"We often set a time after which there is no screen time and in their case that helps them get to sleep at a reasonable hour."

The Common Sense Media Theory

The nonprofit Common Sense Media has been providing "expert reviews, objective advice [and] helpful tools" on media and technology for kids since 2003. On their website, Common Sense Media emphasizes that what age should a child get a cellphone "is really up to you" and depends on your child's maturity level, ability to follow rules and guidelines, sense of responsibility and the needs of your family.

However, James P. Steyer, chief executive of Common Sense Media, has said in interviews that for his family personally, the rule is no smartphone until after children start high school and even then only after "they have learned restraint and the value of face-to-face communication."

Steyer does acknowledge that every family will be different, stating: "No two kids are the same, and there's no magic number. A kid's age is not as important as his or her own responsibility or maturity level."

The Harvard Graduate School of Education Theory

According to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, it's less about the right age for kids and cellphones and more about whether you've laid the groundwork on "healthy and responsible device use."

Harvard recommends laying this ground by:

Discussing the family values with your children

Speaking with kids about technology, its uses, its effects, etc.

Modeling and teaching responsible device use from a young age

Understanding how your child is using technology and devices at school

Reducing reliance on texting to communicate with your child

Developing rules, guidelines and limits together

Catering the rules to each child and allowing the rules to evolve with age

The Wait Until 8th Theory

Founded by a group of parents, the Wait Until 8th pledge "empowers parents to rally together to delay giving children a smartphone until at least 8th grade." Parents can take the pledge to hold off on giving their child a smartphone until 8th grade or later and rally other parents in their school to join them to make the pledge "active."

"Smartphones are distracting and potentially dangerous for children yet are widespread in elementary and middle school because of unrealistic social pressure and expectations to have one," their website states.

Like other theories, Wait Until 8th acknowledges there may be times when you need to get in contact with your child. Instead of a smartphone, they recommend getting a basic phone that only allows calls and text without a data plan.

As we can see, it really depends on your family situation and your child. If you feel your child is responsible enough or there's a family need for everyone to be connected, then the right time for your kids to have a smartphone may be sooner than other families - or it may be later.

The most important things to keep in mind are to:

address the responsibility that comes with having a smartphone or tablet

establish guidelines and screen-time limits

set parental controls when necessary

keep an eye out for cyberbullying

Cellphone plans for kids

Some wireless providers, such as Verizon, even have plans specifically for kids that allow you to monitor contacts, data usage, set filters and more. Similarly, AT&T offers its Secure Family App to let you track your kids' locations, limit internet access and even pause your kids' Wi-Fi access from your phone.

Not sure what cellphone to get for your kid? We picked out the best cellphones for kids of all ages.

Stay in the know with all things wireless by following the Resource Center. And, check out the most up-to-date cellphone plans and deals while you're at it.

Lisa uses years of experience in sales and customer service for internet-TV providers to inform her writing on broadband. Her work has been referenced by CNN and other national sources. ... Read more

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At What Age Should a Child Get a Cellphone? Experts Weigh In!

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At Allconnect, we work to present quality information with editorial integrity. While this post may contain offers from our partners, our opinions are our own. Here's how we make money. Today, for most parents it's no longer a question of if you'll get your child a cellphone, smartphone or tablet, but when.

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The next article has been published since  August 13 2018. The article has concerned its readers about how if your not careful on your phone when your younger problems could occur more since at a young age we couldn't know what we're doing. The publisher is Chelsea Brennan the blogger about What's The Right Age To Give kids a Phone. The Information that the writer tells the reader is that many thing can lead off to dangerous for young kids that have phones. This Information helps out with my opinion because of what could happen that might mess up a kid in the mind.

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Blog | Haven Life | Life insurance & Personal Finance Tips

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The decision to give a child a cell phone, and at what age, is a personal one for each parent. Nationally, the average age at which kids get a phone of their own is 10.3 years. One thing experts agree on is that later is better. Once you open the door, it can be very difficult to close.

I get that. I'm learning about kids and device addiction the hard way. My 8-year-old daughter is attached to her iPad at a level that I think is unhealthy. I admit that I regret allowing her to own a tablet at such a young age.

Society sometimes disagrees, and puts pressure on kids and parents to get on the phone train before they're ready.

"If they're going to public school, then middle school is probably good. Most of their classmates will have them." Richard F. "We waited until 13 for both girls. It wasn't easy. The school secretaries would always give my oldest a hard time for not having a phone (she would ask to use the office phone to call me)." Michelle G.

The best way to decide whether it's time to give your child a phone is to break down the factors that go into that decision and weigh the pros against the cons in the context of your own family's needs. Know what you're getting into, from both a functional and a social perspective.

The best kind of phone for a kid

Smartphone addiction is a thing, and the Internet can be a dangerous place. Some parents opt to start their kids with a dumb phone - one that doesn't give access to web pages, social media sites, streaming sites and so on. Phone calls only.

Plenty of other parents go straight to a smartphone, which has some of its own advantages. GPS tracking tells you where the phone is, and that can give some parents a level of comfort. Plus, iPhones and Androids alike can be locked down with various parental controls.

Set limits on your child's cell phone

As the parent, it's up to you to set clear limits, make them known, and enforce them.

Decide in advance what the consequences will be for broken phone rules, and follow through.

On and off hours

Cell phones have the potential to interfere with bedtime, and even to disrupt your child's sleep during the night.

Phones can be a serious distraction during the school day, and they can prevent your child from focusing on responsibilities at home in the evenings. Consider an app or parental control that allows you to shut off the device at certain times.

Phone time takes away from face-to-face time and can interfere with family relationships. That can be true for phone users of any age. Consider the culture you want to nurture in your home.

We have a no-phones rule during meals, and screen time on any device (games or movies) is not allowed before 4pm.

"I don't think any of the kids I know younger than high school who have phones know how to keep themselves from being distracted by them. I have a hard enough time myself." Jennifer N.

Behind the wheel

Once your child is a teen, you'll face the clear and well-documented dangers of using phones while driving. Texting, posting and phone conversations have all been shown to cause people to drive as if they're drunk. One-third of all accidents are caused by drivers using a phone to text or call. Teens can figure out pretty quickly how to disable "driving mode" on their phones.

The best way to ensure compliance is to enforce the no-phone rule behind the wheel with 100 percent consistency for a long time before you let the child drive with the phone but without you.

Social media

Social media platforms and other apps that are accessible from a phone, including when mom and dad aren't around to supervise, are breeding grounds for digital aggression, cyberbullying, hate, and the pressure to live up to our perception of others' lives as portrayed on social media.

A 2016 study found that most kids are getting their first social media account between the ages of 10 and 12. That's despite the fact that the minimum age for adult social media sites, like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, is 13. The Vine app is for users 17 or older. Faking an older age is not only lying, it's also dangerous. It's not likely that a responsible parent would want her 12-year-old daughter to represent herself on the Internet as an older teen. We adults fully understand the implications. Don't let your better judgment escape you when your pre-teen boy or girl begs for an account.

Keep your child off social media platforms that are designed for adults until they are old enough to meet the age requirement. Once they get there, you've got a whole new parenting issue to research.

"Social media is not a very safe place. There's bullying, you get kids posting suicidal thoughts. Ask yourself what their impulse-control level is, how emotionally vulnerable they are." Carol T.

Texting and sexting

Here's a news flash you really won't want to read. An author who surveyed more than 70,000 children found that sexting began, on average, in the fifth grade. Pornography consumption began at age 8.

Yes. Kids are taking, sharing or viewing images that qualify as pornographic, using a smartphone as the tool. This is a cultural reality, and you might come to regret it if you assume that your child won't get wrapped up in it in some way. He might never view or send an inappropriate image, but since there is a chance that inappropriate content may become available to him, your job is to head off that content or be prepared to respond if it appears.

"They're sexting each other. They use the phones to transmit porn shots of each other (meaning if it's in your house, you could be charged with possession of child pornography)." Carol T.

Apps that can help you

Don't be surprised if your child struggles with impulse control. The part of the brain that controls it doesn't fully develop until we're in our 20s. You're not a bad parent if you find out your kids are doing things with their phones that you don't know about (whether they are bad or good) or haven't given permission for. Most parents don't know about everything their kids do, whether on a phone, a computer, or anywhere else.

But you can set some controls on your child's smartphone to limit what they can do and when they can do it.

Some devices have parental control features built in. On an iPhone, navigate to "Restrictions" in the device's settings. Many apps, like Qustodio, OurPact and Family Time, are available to help you monitor and control the device at the level you're most comfortable with.

"We gave a phone to our daughter halfway through sixth grade but we made it so that she can only communicate with us and a few selected adults." Kate W.

The reason to give your kid a phone

Before you offer your child a phone of her own, make sure there's a reason to do so other than the joy you feel any time you give her something she really loves. It may be a matter of delayed gratification for both of you, but stand firm until the time is right for your family.

Many families love being able to reach each other any time.

But the places your child goes may have a no-phones rule so you might not achieve your communications goal anyway.

When we break it down, potential drawbacks to giving your child a cell phone can be greater than the potential benefits. Give your child a cell phone when your justification is compelling enough to outweigh the benefit of waiting even longer.

"We gave our son his phone in the 6th grade as he started walking to and from school and we wanted him to check in when he got home. We no longer had a landline so it was also important in case of an emergency." Fara Z.

Kids and phones checklist

Does your child need a phone?

Are phones allowed where your child goes?

Is your child too impulsive to be able to put it away when she has to?

Is your child ready to take responsibility for the phone and not lose it?

What limits will you set?

Does your child struggle with following your rules?

Have you discussed with your child what kinds of photos are okay to take and share?

Have you discussed with your child what to do if he sees online bullying behavior?

Have you learned about parental controls and apps?

Will you track your child's location by GPS? Do you understand the downside of activating geolocating services on the phone?

Are you willing to check the device regularly to see what the child has been doing?

What consequences will you impose when the rules are broken?

Are you willing to take the phone away if the situation calls for it?

Do you model the phone behavior you want your child to have?

"Whenever it works for you! My daughter was 7 and we took a lot of flack for it. But my mother in law wouldn't let us talk to my daughter when she was with her. We decided it was appropriate. I have friends that are divorced and they felt it was the right time. You decide. It worked great for us and my daughter has been so responsible." Laura L.

Here's a sample Family Rules contract that you can use with your child, just to make sure everyone's on the same page. And always have the password to your child's devices.
Kimberly Rotter is an editor at Haven Life and a consumer credit and personal finance expert. She has one child and finds that most days usher in a brand new parenting challenge.
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What's the right age to give your kid a cell phone? | Haven Life

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The decision to give a child a cell phone, and at what age, is a personal one for each parent. Nationally, the average age at which kids get a phone of their own is 10.3 years. One thing experts agree on is that later is better.

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My Final article has been published on February 24 2018. The article has reasons to why kids shouldn't have a phone till the age of 13-14 which to me is an acceptable age for a kid to get a phone. The publisher is Jill Anderson the person who has wrote their opinion when to give your child a smartphone. The texts shows how she feels and how much people believe that kids shouldn't have a phone at a younger age like 7 and 10 or lower because of certain problems that could occur. The information that is in the article shows how these articles can help decide what's the right age for kids to have phones. The article helps me out for better understanding why kids really shouldn't have them.

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The decision has less to do with age and more to do with laying the groundwork for responsible use

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This article shows why kids should be able to have phones at a younger age. This was published on September 21 2019. The article tells the reader why kids should have phone in order to teach them how to be more responsible at a young age. The publisher is Aliya Beck the writer on the website Family orbit blog.  This information shows that it should be the right thing to do for kids. The information on this article gives you facts about how the way kids would react to a phone and gives parents a bigger advantage to fine their kids if there ever lost or anything.

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WHAT AGE should my child get a cell phone? / THE CULTURE TRANSLATOR-DAVID EATON