FAQs about smartphone for kids
As your children grow older, you will eventually be faced with the decision of when to let them have their own smartphone. Along with that comes questions of how you can monitor their phone usage and protect their privacy. We've compiled some of the commonly asked questions below. If you have other questions, please use the comment form to get in touch.
At what age should my child get a smartphone?
The short answer is, it depends. Only you will know if your child is mature enough to follow family rules, take care of the phone and not lose it. Another factor to consider is whether your child understands how to use the phone in an appropriate manner.
How can I limit or monitor what my kids do with their phones?
In addition to family rules and lots of communication, there are parental control tools you can use to block access to websites and apps, monitor what kids are doing (including texting) and control who can call them.
Take this simple, 3-part survey to let us know the challenge you face setting the appropriate screen time usage for your kids.
If you use a parental control app, tell your child why you’re using it. Also consider how much information is too much. Some monitoring apps record a user’s every keystroke, even in text messages. Think about whether you really need to know the content of every message.
How can I make sure my child’s privacy is protected?
There are two types of privacy protection: one that can be set or installed on a phone, and the other that develops as part of a person’s general awareness.
Privacy settings in apps and on phones help to provide control over the use of your child’s data, and parental controls can give you more control or oversight over his or her phone activities. Locking a phone reduces the risk of it being used by someone to impersonate the phone’s owner or bully others.
More importantly, learning how to protect the privacy of you and your friends is just as important because the information users post and share with their smartphones has just as much of an impact on privacy as app settings and other safeguards. Helping our kids share information carefully by showing respect for themselves and others results in real protection of both privacy and well-being. It helps to be up front with your kids about the measures you take, and you can learn together what rules and tools best keep their phone use positive and constructive.
How can I make sure my child only uses apps that are safe and appropriate?
The best way to ensure that your kids are using safe and appropriate apps is to talk with them about each app they use or want to use and do a little research to make sure it’s appropriate. Bear in mind that some apps, although appropriate, can be misused. To play it safe, check out the ratings in the app stores, search the Web for reviews or talk with friends who have used it.
You can also have a rule that no app gets downloaded without a parent’s permission, or use parental controls to put app downloading behind a password so your child can only perform downloads with your help.
Autonomy is developed in kids when they’re given the space and guidance to face their own challenges and stretch their abilities, as opposed to having things done for them, or being dependent on someone else – like an adult – to tell them exactly what to do.
How do I control the cost of my child’s phone service and stop app purchases?
First, review your mobile phone plan to make sure it’s appropriate for your child’s use. Factors to consider are limited or unlimited texting, the number of voice minutes, and how much data can be used each month. Teach your kids about Wi-Fi usage, which enables them to use their mobile devices to watch videos or download apps without using data.
Consider having a family policy that addresses spending money for or within apps. You may also wish to set up an account password that prevents your child from spending money on such purchases without your consent.
If you are keen to know more about screen time, social media, sexting, privacy, online gaming, and other challenges facing parents today, you can check out “Their Own Devices” podcast, brought to you by Marc Groman (former Obama White House tech and privacy adviser) and David Reitman (an adolescent medical doctor).
Last Updated on 5 March 2026
Proud father of two lovely kids, who at times pushed me to seriously consider editing out the word “lovely” from this sentence. (I am not alone in this.)
There is actually another side to this that is important but not mentioned.
How many of you have noticed the dramatic increase in the use of pictures on websites seeking to be mobile compliant? (In layman’s terms these are websites that can be used by cellphones and other mobile devices with small screens.)
And there is a reason for this. As anyone that designs mobile compliant websites will tell you, because you have a much smaller screen area to work with, the use of text becomes far more limited, and we are forced to resort to pictures to try and overcome that. In other words, cellphones are causing many websites to become little more than giant picture books that do nothing to encourage or support reading. So how many of you want your teenage kids to go back to using picture books every day as they did when they were 2 or 3 years old?
We operate a an online learning website providing resources that are used by parents, teachers, kids, schools, homeschoolers and special needs students. Over the last 3 years we have noticed a significant increase in the number of adults and children alike, that simply are not interested in reading the information provided in text on a webpage. Our Tech Support Team has been particularly frustrated by the number of parents and teachers that contact asking for information that is already clearly explained on the relevant page, but people seem no longer interested in reading. So what does that tell us?
The use of Twitter encourages people to communicate using a maximum of 140 characters previously. How can anyone say anything meaningful in one sentence? And the ridiculous concept of “smart” watches with their tiny screens basically prevents the use of any text.
We are told that this is progress? But in many ways it is just the opposite. We are helping to “dumb down” society.
As parents it is one of our primary responsibilities to encourage and teach our children how to communicate effectively. How can we achieve this but simply using pictures?
So next time you see a child – or adult, reach for their cellphone to do something online, consider those consequences that few people are talking about …. yet.
Nicholas Tee
Whether you’re a new parent thinking about the future or you just want to gain further insight into the online activities of your children to help keep them safe, these are the best parental control apps available today. https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-parental-control-apps,review-2258.html