Final week, we requested you what age you suppose is suitable for teenagers to personal their first smartphone. The query was the results of a latest research that discovered an affiliation between early smartphone possession and adverse well being results in children. In accordance with the research, the sooner a child owns a smartphone, the better the chance they’ve of opposed results on their sleep, emotional state, and well being.
We had a number of choices, starting from ages 5-7 to age 14 and older. Considerably surprisingly, of the a whole bunch of responses we acquired, most have been from older ages. In truth, ages 14 and up was the preferred response with 53% of the votes, adopted by ages 11-13 with 36% of the votes, ages 8-10 with 10% of the votes, and ages 5-7 with the remaining votes.
What you needed to say
Just a few of the responses indicated that center college was an applicable age to provide a child their first smartphone. This might fall someplace within the 10 to 14 age vary, and is taken into account, to many, an necessary time for teenagers, socially. With the arrival of after-school packages, social actions, and a rising want for independence as they navigate their pre-teen years, having a neater technique to contact your little one and preserve monitor of their whereabouts might develop into a necessity for some dad and mom.
I believe 13/14 is an effective age for teenagers figuring out how you can act on-line and 16 for all different circumstancesDecember 5, 2025
Nevertheless, some weren’t as open to smartphone use for youthful youngsters, particularly as the price of proudly owning one continues to go up and telephones develop into dearer. Quite a lot of readers responded by saying they’re going to depart it as much as when their little one can afford to pay for their very own cellphone, with one suggesting getting them a dumb cellphone till then, which might be a extra economical choice for a lot of whereas shielding their children from social media.
One response was crucial of those that appear to rely an excessive amount of on telephones and tablets, suggesting that there must be a stability when offering tech to youthful children. That is the place apps and options like Household Hyperlink can come in useful to restrict use, though it is probably not sufficient for some preferring a extra lively parenting model.
They simply should not use them and/or tablets 24/7. Babysitting your children with YouTube, cell video games, TikTok, and many others. is horrible. Some dad and mom even let their children sit on tablets the entire time they’re out to eat. It is ridiculous.December 3, 2025
