Is giving a child a cellphone a good idea? On one hand, there is all the practicality of communication, which will ensure that your children can call or send messages to you whenever they need to, especially in emergency cases. 

On the other hand, there are the problems of intense contact with technology too early, such as inappropriate content for children, the possibility of addiction and the risk of exposure of minors.

So, what can you do to give your children a cellphone, without forgetting to set some limits on its use? Here are some cellphone rules you should consider as a parent. 

Wait until the child has the responsibility to use the cellphone

Not every child needs or should have a mobile device. All of this will depend on the education you give at home and how mature your children are . After all, you need to take care of your cell phone to preserve the device.

Furthermore, when it comes to mobile devices, the smartphone is not the only option. There is also the tablet, which can be more practical for younger children, especially for the little ones who like to watch videos and cartoons.

However, if your children are older and know how to take good care of their own objects, it might be interesting to give them a smartphone. Just wait until they show they have responsibility for safe day-to-day use of the device.

Educate children about healthy cellphone use

You can also help your kids to use cell phones in a healthy way. For this, a good conversation can’t be missing to guide on some rules and good practices of use.

In addition, parents are the best people to warn about the dangers of using the internet and avoid all those problems we talked about at the beginning. Teaching children that it is important to have a limit to using technological resources will help them to have moments connected to screens, but also to enjoy offline games and activities .

The same goes for using social media. Explaining to children the limits of self-exposure and the good rules of coexistence in these spaces will make all the difference for them to avoid conflicts on the internet or talk to unknown people.

Set a usage time limit

It is very easy to get lost in cell phone use. Even you must have already picked up the device just to do a simple task and, when you realized it, hours had passed and you were still glued to the screen.

If it is difficult for adults to understand the limits of smartphone use , imagine for children. That’s why parents should also be responsible for establishing the amount of minutes or hours a day that little ones can spend in front of screens.

Know that this simple attitude makes all the difference in children’s routine. Thus, they can focus on other types of activities and move the body more, even avoiding child sedentary lifestyle.

Closely supervise

Do you know the best way parents can help their children grow up safely and healthy? Being good friends with them. Having a close relationship with the little ones helps to talk more openly, respecting each other’s individualities, and leaving secrets aside.

And what does this have to do with cell phones? It’s simple! When you have a good interaction with your children , they tend to hide less what they do on the internet. After all, they don’t feel embarrassed to talk about everyday tasks. 

With this, you can closely supervise children’s activities on the cell phone and, on top of that, respect your children’s privacy. Are you going to say that this is not a healthy and interesting relationship to establish?

Use parental control apps

Is your fear that your children have access to inappropriate content for their age group? So, just make sure your phone only downloads apps for kids. This you can do by using parental control apps.

Some versions of operating systems already add this function to the device. So, all you have to do is go into the settings and add whatever tweaks you think are necessary to regulate and monitor your children’s cell phone usage.

If this is not an option for you, just download a parental control app — you can easily find these programs. AppBlock , for example, is an app generally used to improve focus during studies, but it can also be applied to children to help parents define the apps and websites they can access.

It’s not just that! The digital rules for the use of smartphones can also be followed through the Family Orbit app. All you have to do is link the accounts in the app and see if the kids are complying.

Bet on modern models

Both to make your child safer and to provide a positive experience with the use of the device, it is worth choosing the models that best match the personality and needs of your children.

Most of the time, they know which model they like the most and which they would love to receive as a gift. And you can consider this when choosing the cell phone to give to your children. Another important point is the cost-benefit of the product. This will also tell you how much of the family budget you are going to use for the purchase.

It doesn’t matter the brand, model, size, color or any other characteristic associated with the cell phone for children: the important thing is to define the limits of use . With this, it is possible to educate children to be present in the virtual environment without harming their education, concentration and health.