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Most parents (61%) say the appropriate age for children to own their first cell phone is between 13 and 18, while over one-quarter (28%) say kids should have their own cell phone between 9 and 12 years old, according to a survey from Retrevo.

Just 5% of parents say kids under age 9 should have a cell phone.

Below, other findings from the Retrevo Gadgetology Report.

Parents' opinions on the appropriateness of gadgetry vary based on the age of their children: Nearly one-third (31%) of the parents of younger children (under age 9) say it's appropriate for a child to have his or her own phone before age 12, compared with 43% of parents of preteens (age 9-12) who say so.
Child's First Computer
For a child's first computer, the acceptable threshold is lower than it is for a cell phone: 35% of parents say the appropriate age for a child to have his or her own computer is between 9 and 12, and 31% say it's appropriate for a child under age 9 to own a computer.

Parents of younger children are more likely to lower the laptop bar: 73% of parents of younger children (under age 9) say it's appropriate for a child to have his or her own computer before age 12, compared with 61% of parents of preteens who say so.

Looking for great digital marketing data? MarketingProfs reviewed more than 200 research sources and selected 64 of the best to create the Digital Marketing Factbook a 144-page compilation of data and 110 charts, covering email marketing, search engine marketing, and social media. Also check out The State of Social Media Marketing, a 240-page original research report from MarketingProfs.
Child's First Television Set
Over one-half ( 53%) of parents say kids need to wait until they are age 13 or older for a TV of their own, and over 23% say children should be older than age 18.

However, in many households a TV may be an effective "babysitter" or even "tutor," especially for today's busy parents: 48% of parents of children younger (under age 9) say they would get a child their own TV before the child reaches age 12, and 51% of parents of preteens say a TV is okay before their child reaches age 12.
Losing Gadgets
Over 24% of parents say their kids have gone through at least one cell phone. Kids age 9-12 are the most likely to lose a device: More than one-half of parents of this age group say their kids have lost a cell phone, gaming device, or MP3 player.

About the data: The Retrevo Gadgetology Report is an ongoing study of people and electronics from the consumer electronics shopping and review site Retrevo.com. The data are from a February 2010 online survey of 1,000 people, evenly distributed across gender, age, income, and location in the US.

Continue reading "Kids and Gadgets: How Young Is Too Young?" ...Read the full article

You may like these other MarketingProfs articles related to Customer Behavior:

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Kids and Gadgets: How Young Is Too Young?

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Most parents (61%) say the appropriate age for children to own their first cell phone is between 13 and 18, while over one-quarter (28%) say kids should have their own cell phone between 9 and 12 years old, according to a survey from Retrevo.

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The second of our biweekly Poll the Parents surveys got you, um, all worked up.

The question was: "When is the right age for your kid to get a part-time job?"

C) College

D) Not until they graduate

The majority of you were almost evenly split between A and B. Should kids join the working world when they start high school, or only once they're closer to graduation? The truth is, either philosophy is just fine. Everything you guys said is true about the positive effects of working in high school-it gives kids an insight into the value of money and real world experience that they won't get at home. But don't let your kid toil more than 15 hours a week. High schoolers who work more than that are less likely, on average, to attend college.

A vocal few of you said kids should postpone the part-time job until their education is complete. One response in particular was particularly wise:

"Their job is school, extracurriculars, and community service," wrote Verena from Cedarburg, Wisconsin. "Those got my 3 kids into college with practically a free ride. Give up the money now for things they do not really need, and the payoff is scholarships and grants. In high school, my kids had to share one old junker car. Just because the money is not in hand now does not mean what you are doing in school has no payoff."

It's absolutely true that school is your high schooler's main job. And there's something to be said for limiting your kids' paying work for a bigger payoff when they apply to college. Unless your family counts on the added income, it's better to limit a high schooler to summer work. The academic-and extracurricular-burdens are too great and the stakes too high for kids at this age. A Bureau of Labor Statistics study bears this out: High school students spend almost an hour less on homework on the days they work.

As for those of you who suggest waiting until college for part-time work, there's evidence that students with on-campus jobs actually get better grades. Why? They feel more connected to the institution, to their community of fellow students-and these ties show in their GPAs.

The discussion on Facebook was lively to say the least. Keep the comments coming!

Funniest comment: "When their 'wants' outweigh my means."

Awwww: "I put together a 'baby-sitting club' with my neighborhood friends and started summer nannying and baby-sitting by the 7th grade."

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When is the right age for your kid to get a part-time job?

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The second of our biweekly Poll the Parents surveys got you, um, all worked up. The question was: "When is the right age for your kid to get a part-time job?" C) College D) Not until they graduate The majority of you were almost evenly split between A and B.

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One in five kids have their own cell phone by the time they are 8 years
old, according to Nielsen's latest survey, "A Pocket Guide to Social
Media and Kids." And guess what? The kids love using their phones to
socialize.

Among the 10-year-olds surveyed, 50% have their own cell phone, and that jumps to over three-quarters by the time they are 12. The average age that kids get their own cell phone has also pushed downwards-it was 9.7 years in 2009, and 10.1 years in the second quarter of 2008, but there's obviously a yearning to own them much before this age as the average age of borrowing one is now 8 years old-but I think Nielsen should re-check those numbers, because my toddler wants to borrow my iPhone all the time.

To a generation of parents who were raised on brick phones, these figures may seem surprising. They really shouldn't be though-the mobile phone is such a fantastically useful tool that it is bound to be used by everyone, no matter what their age. In fact, you can argue it's changing how our society works.

But what on earth are kids using these devices for? The answers to that are actually slightly more predictable. The average 13 to 17 year old, for example, sends over 2,000 SMS messages per month, and for anyone who's either got a child or has watched how they interact with cell phones and friends, this is absolutely no surprise at all. The same goes for how they use the mobile Internet:

While you're busy checking the weather and your tanking stock portfolio, your kids are looking for the latest movies and music releases, playing games, and using social networks. The cell phone, in other words, is way more of a communications and entertainment hub for younger people than older people. Which makes sense-kids spend more time socializing, even when all they have is a rotary dial phone with a curly cord.

Parents are wary of the new technology, of course, and particularly afraid of how much their kids cell phone habits may end up costing them. Nearly 60% of parents of cell phone-owing kids have forbidden downloads of games, ringtones videos and so on-the extra items that often incur a charge. And parents, it's only going to get worse. The children in this survey are most likely owners of dumphones, the cheapest handsets on the market. But the trend in cell phone design is clearly toward smartphones, which will inevitably mean that kids end up using them too. And the greater capability of these phones means that they'll be even more central to kid's lives than phones already are. But don't panic about the inevitable, just accept it.

[ Nielsen via LiesDamnedLiesStatistics]

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If Your 9-Year-Old Doesn't Have a Cell Phone, He's Not Socializing Enough

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One in five kids have their own cell phone by the time they are 8 years old, according to Nielsen's latest survey, "A Pocket Guide to Social Media and Kids." And guess what? The kids love using their phones to socialize.

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At What Age Should a Child Have a Cell Phone? - The Art of Better | Parenting preteens, Parenting, Parenting tweens

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May 29, 2017 - When is it appropriate? At what age should a child have a cell phone? This is a complicated issue that must be considered carefully.

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These days, it's not uncommon to see kids with their eyes glued to smartphones when eating out at a restaurant or attending local events. The digital age is upon us and these Gen Z individuals have never known a time without the Internet. Now, with the power of the Internet at their fingertips, parents have to consider an important question: "When should kids get smartphones?"

Jump to the infographic.

When Should Kids Get Smartphones?

Everyone has a different style of parenting, and as kids grow up in a digital age, technology will undoubtedly influence parental decisions. To help us better understand the trends in these decisions, we asked a group of 1,000 Americans, including men and women of all ages, when kids should get smartphones.

The results showed that 40% of Americans think kids should wait until middle school (age 11-13) before getting smartphones.

Close behind, one-third of the respondents said that parents should wait until high school to give their kids smartphones.

Although a majority of people think kids should wait to get smartphones, this isn't necessarily the reality of today's world. have shown that the average age kids get cell phones is 10 years old. It has also been that 25% of kids under the age of six have phones and half of them spend up to 21 hours a week on them. This trend of kids getting smartphones before they are ready is a cause for concern.

What Are the Concerns of Kids Having Smartphones?

There are many fears when it comes to giving kids their own smartphones. To find out the main concern of kids having smartphones we asked a group of 1,000 Americans what their biggest worry is.
A third of the respondents cited too much screen time as their biggest worry about kids having smartphones.
As you can see below, the additional responses varied between smartphones being addictive, the potential for cyberbullying, exposure to nudity and violence, health issues, and other concerns.

The Dangers of Too Much Screen Time

The fact that people are more concerned with their kids having too much screen time than they are with exposure to nudity and violence goes to show the severity of this issue. Too much screen time can contribute to many negative effects such as obesity, sleep problems, behavior problems, education problems and increased violence.

Common Sense Media reports that American children aged zero to eight use screen media for an average of 2 hours and 18 minutes per day. 35% of this screen time is spent on mobile devices. This amount of screen time is over twice the daily limit that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends for children aged two to five years old.

Brain Development and Smartphones

Screen time also impacts the brain development of children. Analyzing kids by age can help us gain insight into how their brains develop and the impact smartphones might have on the process.

Ages four to six (preschool and younger)

This is a time when young brains are still developing. Screens on mobile devices cause overstimulation, producing dopamine and adrenaline in the brain. This makes them highly addictive at this age. In addition, this age group is just starting to learn social skills that should be taught in person rather than on a screen.

Smartphone use at this age isn't suggested and should be limited. The respondents of the survey back up this belief, with only 3.3% responding that kids should get smartphones at preschool age or younger.

Ages seven to eleven (Kindergarten - 5th grade)

At this age, kids are starting to gain independence. They are at school all day and joining extracurricular activities after school. This independence may cause parents to consider getting a phone to keep track of their child.

However, this is also an age when bullying may start to become an issue and phones with Internet access and social media can contribute. These sites promote an over-reliance on peer validation and can have a negative impact.

Ages 12 to 14 (middle school)

The transition to middle school is one that is often done with a smartphone. 40% of survey respondents agreed that this was the best age to introduce this technology to kids. In terms of brain growth, this is a time when adolescents are developing skills like problem-solving, critical thinking and impulse control. If these skills can be seen in a child, they are probably ready for supervised smartphone use.

The founders of this technology also agree with waiting to give kids possession of a smartphone until they are older. Co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, reportedly limited his kids' use of technology and prohibited them from using the iPad when it was released. Former CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates, waited until his kids were 14 to give them phones.

Ages 15 to 18 (high school)

Although a high schooler may think they are fully grown, their prefrontal cortex still needs 20% more growth. The prefrontal cortex controls cognitive function and can influence planning, organization, impulse suppression and weighing consequences. Add in hormones and these high schoolers can be unpredictable.

Technology in this mix can be a cause for concern, especially when smartphones provide unsupervised Internet access. It's important that parents teach and model good smartphone habits that their high schoolers can pick up on. Monitoring smartphone usage is also an important factor.

Teaching Smart Phone Use

Regardless of what age you decide to give your child a smartphone, it's essential to teach smart phone use. Kids should understand the responsibility of having phones and what will happen if they abuse the privilege.

Suggestions for teaching smartphone use:

Start by giving your child a cell phone that doesn't have Internet access.

Choose when to give them a phone based on how mature you think they are rather than when everyone else their age is getting one.

Openly discuss the dangers of smartphones.

Create a family contract that establishes smartphone rules and sets a consequence for breaking the contract.

Monitor your kids' screen time (most devices have a feature that tracks this).

Set aside family time without technology to encourage human interaction and non-digital learning.

Smartphones have many benefits if used properly. Following these tips will help you decide when your child should get a smartphone and help ensure they use the device in a safe manner. For added protection, try Panda Security's antivirus which offers a parental control feature so you can manage your child's Internet use and app access.
Methodology:
This study consisted of two separate questions conducted using Google Surveys. The sample for each question consisted of no less than 1,000 completed answers. Post-stratification weighting has been applied to ensure an accurate and reliable representation of the total population. The survey ran in May 2019.

Sources:

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When Should Kids Get Smartphones? (Survey) - Panda Security

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These days, it's not uncommon to see kids with their eyes glued to smartphones when eating out at a restaurant or attending local events. The digital age is upon us and these Gen Z individuals have never known a time without the Internet.

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Common Sense Media improves the lives of kids and families by providing independent reviews, age ratings, & other information about all types of media.

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Setting and maintaining reasonable boundaries around technology is now a fundamental part of parenting. Of paramount importance: when to give a kid their very own device.

This isn't something to be taken lightly. Analytics firm Flurry says American consumers spend 5 hours a day on our mobile devices. Another study said time spent in mobile apps increased a whopping 69 percent year-over-year.

Considering how many hours a day this budding human brain will spend staring at that screen, it's worth putting serious thought into what age is appropriate to get a mobile device.

According to the latest research, on average, a child gets his or her first smartphone at 10.3 years old. That same study shows that by age 12, a full 50 percent of children have social media accounts (primarily Facebook and Instagram).

Not so with the Gates family. In a recent interview with , Bill Gates said he didn't let any of his children get their own phone until they were 14 years old.

That's right: His kids, now 20, 17, and 14, weren't allowed to have smart phones until they were high school age.

Gates is joined in this assessment by James Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that reviews products and content for families. In the Steyer household, kids have to be in high school before they can get a phone -- after demonstrating they can exercise restraint and understand " the value of face-to-face communication."

On other parents facing the same choice, Steyer says, "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."

If you're looking for a way to evaluate that maturity level, PBS Parents has curated a list of practical questions to ask yourself before giving a child their first cell phone. They include things like:

Do your children "need" to be in touch for safety reasons--or social ones?

Can they get behind the concept of limits for minutes talked and apps downloaded?

Can they be trusted not to text during class, disturb others with their conversations, and to use the text, photo, and video functions responsibly (and not to embarrass or harass others)?

It's worth noting that even after cell phones have been distributed, the Gates family still limits screen time. Mobile devices are banned at the dinner table (this goes for kids and parents alike). For younger kids, overall screen time is even more limited: "We often set a time after which there is no screen time, and in their case that helps [the kids] get to sleep at a reasonable hour."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's something else strictly banned in the Gates household: all Apple products.

Apparently whatever smartphones the Gates kids have, they're not iPhones.

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Bill Gates Says This Is the 'Safest' Age to Give a Child a Smartphone

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Setting and maintaining reasonable boundaries around technology is now a fundamental part of parenting. Of paramount importance: when to give a kid their very own device. This isn't something to be taken lightly. Analytics firm Flurry says American consumers spend 5 hours a day on our mobile devices.

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Marni Rebelo held off on giving her daughter, Mia, a smartphone for as long as possible. Then, just before Mia's 13th birthday, she received one as a gift from her grandfather. "She was the last of her friends to get a phone-by over a year, at least," says Rebelo, adding that she and her husband were concerned that the phone would "overtake" their daughter's life.

And to a degree, it has. "It feels like she is on the phone a lot, either texting friends or looking at Instagram," says Rebelo. "I think parents might want to seriously consider holding off because apps tend to be addictive in nature, and other previously loved activities tend to drop off because of phone usage."

These days, the average age when kids get their first smartphones is around 10 years old, according to Calgary-based parenting expert Judy Arnall, author of Parenting with Patience. But exposure to mobile devices often begins at a much younger age: It's becoming increasingly common to see toddlers wielding smartphones in strollers and preschoolers zoned out in front of iPads at restaurants.

So should parents think twice before handing smartphones to their little ones or buying phones for their 10-year-olds so that they can fit in with their friends? Here's what the experts have to say on age-by-age guidelines.

Ages four to six
6 simple ways to get a handle on your kids' screen timeThe experts are unequivocal: Kids in this age group shouldn't be using smartphones (or other mobile devices), period. When it comes to screen time in general, the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) recommends limiting it to less than one hour a day for children ages two to five years old (screen time for children younger than two years old is not recommended at all), while the American Academy of Pediatrics advises placing consistent limits on media consumption for children ages six and older. Smartphone use at a very young age is damaging to developing brains, according to Michael Cheng, a child and family psychiatrist at Ottawa's Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. He explains that mobile devices cause the brain to become wired from an early age to crave easy dopamine, referring to the "feel-good" chemical released by the brain. The constant overstimulation from screens gives the brain hits of dopamine (and adrenaline), which is why they're so addictive.

Cheng says it's not the technology itself that's bad for kids but the way it's being used that disconnects them from basic needs (such as sleep, nutrition, fresh air and physical activity), as well as higher needs (such as a sense of belonging and meaning in life).

"If kids get used to screens at an early age, the brain loses its ability to work for its dopamine," cautions Cheng. "Why would you want to go outside to get your dopamine when you could just get it from a screen?"

Social skills are also learned in person. "Kids should be interacting face to face, looking into the eyes of another human being so that they can learn to develop empathy and read facial expressions-what makes another child happy or sad," says Cheng.

If you are going to allow screen time and smartphones at this age, Arnall cautions against letting young kids watch ostensibly harmless videos on YouTube unmonitored because children can end up being redirected to inappropriate content without parents' knowledge. "The danger is that parents are not monitoring what their kids see," she says. "They're using [mobile devices] as babysitters."

Ages seven to nine
According to a 2014 report by the non-profit group MediaSmarts, 24 percent of Canadian children in grade four-some as young as eight years old-own mobile phones. Cheng says his advice for younger kids also applies to this age group: no phones. However, if some parents want their kids to have phones to keep in touch when they're away from home, he says an old-school flip phone without Internet access will do just fine.

To underscore this point, Cheng says that it's very telling that some of the biggest leaders in tech are wary of letting their own children use the products they helped create. The late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs limited his kids' use of technology and even prohibited them from using the iPad when it was released. Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft, didn't allow his kids to have their own phones until they turned 14.

When it comes to social media for this age group, Arnall is emphatic. "It's absolutely not recommended," she says, explaining that kids at this age don't understand the permanence of posting things online because those critical-thinking skills don't kick in until age 13. She also points to other pitfalls, such as cyberbullying. "It's an added stress in their lives that isn't age appropriate," says Arnall. The MediaSmarts report notes that, of those kids in grade four who have mobile phones, about one-fifth use social media networks like Facebook and Snapchat, even though their policies require users to be at least 13 years old.

In terms of screen time in general for this age group, the CPS guidelines only address kids up to age five. The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology says that children ages five to 11 years old should limit their recreational screen time to no more than two hours a day, while lower levels are associated with additional health benefits.

Ages 10 to 12
Cheng says parents should place strict limits on phone usage at this age and not give children Internet-enabled mobile devices. "Kids should only be allowed to use phones to call their parents," he says. When it comes to screens in general, Cheng notes that excess screen time is associated with unhealthy habits, such as consuming more junk food. "When we see people in our obesity clinics, one of the first things we do is try to get them off screens," he says. He notes that there are issues with younger kids that stem from video game addiction. "You see kids who are on screens from the moment they come home until they go to bed," says Cheng. "Then they don't have any friends and they become overweight."

Working on the front line in mental health services, Cheng sees the emotional damage of smartphones and social media networks on kids, noting that they promote an over-reliance on peer validation. Cheng's hope is that a minimum age for owning a smartphone will eventually be legislated. Such a movement is already afoot in the state of Colorado, where there is a proposal to make it illegal to sell smartphones to children under 13.

"Do we let 12-year-olds drive cars?" asks Cheng. "No. Why? Because cars are dangerous. But we let 12-year-olds have cellphones, and using cellphones improperly can actually do far more damage than cars."

The reality, though, is that many kids are getting their first Internet-enabled smartphones around age 10. A recent British study shows that girls in this age group are particularly vulnerable, with more time spent on social media associated with more emotional and behavioural problems in later adolescence. Arnall recommends installing parental controls and advises parents to refrain from using the phone as a discipline tool. She says kids who fear punishment of any kind (such as having their phones taken away) are less likely to open up to parents about their problems. Instead, Arnall recommends drafting a non-punitive and respectful contract between parents and children that lays down certain rules about safe and healthy cellphone use.
Teens

Cheng says that he would try to push back the age at which kids get their first smartphones to 16 years old, noting that he sees kids on a daily basis who are addicted to technology and suffer from depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide.

"There is such a high incidence of mental and physical health issues among youth that is associated with technology overuse," he says. He notes that most "official" recommendations are that a child is ready for supervised use of a smartphone by age 13. But another approach is for parents to consider the maturity level of their child (for example, if a child has healthy connections to people and activities that engender a sense of belonging and is inclined to talk to his parents if he gets into trouble online).

As for screen time guidelines, aside from the link between increased screen time and sedentary habits, parents might also want to consider other factors, such as the impact of electronic screens on their child's vision. A 2014 survey of 200 American children between the ages of 10 and 17 found that 80 percent reported burning, itchy or tired eyes after using portable electronic devices (the Canadian Association of Optometrists recommends that teenagers have no more than two hours of recreational screen time a day and include breaks after 60 minutes of use, with 30 minutes being encouraged).

During the teen years, parents should try to manage phone usage while keeping an eye out for signs that their teen may be a victim of cyberbullying. "Kids want to constantly be on their phones to make sure that no one is talking about them," says Arnall. "Social media is stressful, and kids need parents to help them deal with that stress."

Cheng's advice is that teens should only use social networks to connect with friends they have in real life. "Studies show that if you're a teen who already has face-to-face friends, social media can help you strengthen your connections with those friends," he says. He cautions teens to avoid using social media to meet new people because this can lead to delusions of having friends who aren't "true" friends.

Cheng sees first-hand the link between increased usage of mobile devices among teens and a spike in mental health issues. He says that there has been an unprecedented demand for mental health services at the hospital where he works, including a 50 percent increase in mental health crisis visits to the hospital's emergency department over the past two years and a 146 percent increase in mental health admissions from emergency visits over the past five years.

Given these alarming statistics, parents should consider taking a more active approach to ensure that their teens are using smartphones responsibly. In Rebelo's household, there are restrictions around Mia's phone use: It gets turned off at 9 p.m. is not stored in Mia's bedroom and is verboten during family meals, homework time and family get-togethers. Rebelo says that parents should also consider screen-free weekend time, where they set aside a day (or even part of a day) to focus on other activities. She also advises parents to follow similar rules for themselves and to stick to their values.

"It's important to not be swayed by what other parents are letting their kids do," she says. "And you have to keep on top of it-it's very easy to let it slip and take over."
More tips for parents

Don't cave in to pressure to give your child a smartphone at a young age. "If your child gets a cellphone at 16, he'll catch up really fast," says Arnall.

Social media can be one big popularity contest, and kids are especially vulnerable. Teach your children that it's OK to not get likes on their posts, and encourage them to maintain outside interests.

Band together with other parents who are concerned about the increased use of smartphones among young kids (check out waituntil8th.org).

Read more:
Your baby might love your smartphone but it can lead to speech delays
Touchscreens are bad for toddlers' and babies' sleep

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An age-by-age guide to kids and smartphones

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Marni Rebelo held off on giving her daughter, Mia, a smartphone for as long as possible. Then, just before Mia's 13th birthday, she received one as a gift from her grandfather. "She was the last of her friends to get a phone-by over a year, at least," says Rebelo, adding that she and her husband were concerned that the phone would "overtake" their daughter's life.

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P- This article is informing me about what age a child should get his phone.

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By the time they're toddlers, most children are excited about phones. They know how to play games, watch videos, take pictures, and Facetime their grandparents. In idle moments they beg for - or grab for - mom or dad's phone.

But when are kids old enough - and responsible enough - to have their own phone? And what should they be able to do with it?

"The question has flipped from when to get your kid a phone, to how do you make it so the introduction of the phone is in line with their developmental stage?" explains Dave Anderson, PhD, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute. "It may be helpful for a fourth grader to have a phone to be in touch with you when they need to be picked up or are on a sleepover, but most parents don't want their late elementary or early middle school kids diving into the internet and social media apps."

Pressure on parents

By the time kids are in middle school, the pressure from kids can be intense, and parents worry that their child will feel isolated if other kids have phones and they don't. According to Common Sense Media, 42 percent of kids have a phone by age 10. By age 12, it's 71 percent. By 14, it's 91 percent.

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. A parent group called Wait Until 8th aims to help parents in a school community band together by taking a pledge that they won't give their kids smartphones until they're reached eighth grade. The parents who sign this pledge are put in touch with one another for support.

One strategy to avoid the risky and addictive features of smart phones, Stossel notes, is to start kids off on a phone that can't be used for social media, gaming, or surfing the web. A Gabb Phone, for instance, can be used for calling and texting. It also has a camera, calendar, FM radio, and GPS, so it enables you to monitor where your child is. But there is no app store, picture messages or group texts.

Smartphones themselves also offer parents the ability to use the phone's controls to set limits. "This is where cell phone companies have matured in the past couple years," notes Dr. Anderson. "Parents can set safeguards on what apps can be downloaded onto the phone."

Smartphones allow you to limit not only apps kids have access to, but the types of movies and TV shows they can watch. And you can set time limits on things like gaming, entertainment, and social media, and keep tabs on what they're doing during screen time. (For details on how to set limits on smart phones, check out this piece in Consumer Reports.)

The most potentially dangerous elements of this are social media and the unfiltered internet. Stossel recalls a colleague who when speaking to groups of students, would ask for a volunteer to come up and show the class how to get around a school's firewall. Each time a student would do so easily, explaining which apps to use to reach blocked websites.

"So the kids are always going to be a step ahead of their parents," Stossel adds. "And trying to monitor everything they have access to can be a full-time job."

He recommends the parental control tool Bark, which monitors a child's activity on social networks, YouTube, email and text messages. It filters for signs of harmful content, including sexual material, threats of violence, depression, suicidal ideation, and bullying. Parents get email and text alerts if there is something concerning in the child's online activity. It can also be used to limit screen time and to block individual websites.

Screen Time is another tool that allows you to set time limits on daily screen time, block out periods when screens are not to be used, and includes categories of sites and individual URLS.

Jerry Bubrick, PhD, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, says he is often asked what's the right age to give a kid a phone. "I tell parents that it's not so much about a particular age as it is about a kid's social awareness and understanding of what the technology means," Dr. Bubrick explains. When you're considering whether to get a phone, and how much kids should be allowed to do on it, he recommends considering these issues:

How often does your child lose things, especially expensive things? If you tell them something is extra important, do they take special care of it, or leave it on the bus after a few days?

How well does your child handle money? Will they be in the middle of a game and impulsively buy more lives without considering their cost?

How savvy is your child about technology? Do they truly understand that future college admissions staff, employers, and colleagues could conceivably see anything they post now?

How well does your child do with limits to screen time? If they are constantly glued to the computer or game console, they will probably have difficulty putting down the phone as well.

The constant stimulation cell phones can provide can be especially distracting for kids with ADHD. "Phones are made to be as reinforcing as possible," explains Dr. Anderson. "If you're not getting an email, you're getting a social media update, or you're checking a news feed, or you're checking a sports score."

Children with ADHD find it more difficult to resist all that stimulation, and to stay tuned in to activities that are less reinforcing but more important, like homework or dinner table conversation.

Their impulsivity could also make them more likely to post or send something they may regret later on. In a world where everything you create is recorded in cyberspace, they are at risk for making long-lasting mistakes.

If you're ready to take the plunge

If you're getting your child a phone, experts recommend setting clear guidelines in a conversation before they receive the device. Here are some sample rules that parents can apply to their kids' cell phone use:

Agree on limits to how much money is available to cover the data plan and any game or app expenses.

Get them a good case, and determine what the consequences will be if the phone is lost or broken. Will it be replaced? And, if so, who will pay for it?

Specify times of the day when using the phone is not allowed, such as late at night or during family activities.

When your kids start using social media sites, monitor them and make them aware that you are doing so.

While you may choose to enforce different rules, make sure they are clear from the very beginning, the experts say, and establish consequences if these guidelines are not followed.

"You're training your kids to make good decisions over time," explains Dr. Bubrick, "so that eventually, when they leave you, you can trust that they will make those good decisions on their own."

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When Should You Get Your Kid a Phone? - Child Mind Institute

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What age should a child get a phone? Child Mind Institute explains it's not always about age when it comes to phones for kids. It's more about maturity.