Mobile phones?

I would like to know other people’s thoughts too, my girl is 10 in March and I’ve always said she can’t have one until she goes to high school but she keeps nagging for one and saying all her friends have them which I know a lot of them do, I just don’t want her to get sucked in

I am not intending to get my son a phone at primary school and at secondary school, he might get a basic phone for texting but I just don’t think it’s worth the risk/the mental health stress from social media

My step son is getting one for his 10th birthday. He is going to start walking home from school so that's the reasoning behind it and he is very sensible. I think it depends on the child and what kind of phone you get them.

I'm not getting my 9 year old one until she starts secondary school

Agree with cat

My daughter has a phone (nearly 9) she has no social media on there except Roblox (which she has on her tablet anyways) she has it for when she plays out around our estate, because the world isn’t what it used to be anymore and I would hate for her not to be able to call me if needed, she is on giffgaff which is no contract which is great I think for children, we also have an app “find my kids” which you can see exactly what their on and how long they are on it for as well as seeing where they are and listening too them (which we haven’t needed) but also have life360 which is just for tracking and free x

I'd maybe give a brick phone but not a smart phone. I had a Nokia 3310 when I was 10 about to turn 11 (they'd been around since I was like 7) Honestly didn't get a smart phone until I was like 25.

@Cat my kind of woman. Even as an adult, I struggle to resist the temptation to use my phone for long periods how much more kids. I start telling them from a young age that there will come a time when all her friends will have phones but she should not be tempted. If she ever needs to commute to school independently, then I will give her one

My just turned 8 year old has a phone (my old one) for going to the pokestop 😅 and for when she's at her dad's. She can only contact numbers I've put in, there's no calls allowed from unknown numbers. She can't download any apps or games and can't access browser (unless I permit it on my phone for homework and I can view her history on my phone) we use kids 360 and family link. X

Unpopular opinion but my 9 year old has a phone. All her friends have them and she also goes to her dads, so I like to know I can contact her. She has no access to social media but Roblox, but we live in the 21st century and I'd like to think I can get in touch with her when I need to. Especially since she will also now have more school trips including swimming etc. I don't want her being left out or going into year 7 and she hasn't got a clue how to use a phone. Unfortunately it's the world we live in. What I can do as her mum though is protect her from rubbish on tiktok & Facebook.

We’ve decided when he’s in yr 5 and walking to school in our village he can have a simple non smart phone. We are going to try our hardest to stay smart phone free for our boys until they are 15/16, but we’ll see how it goes ☺️

Both my children 12 and 8 have a phone they do have Snapchat but we are lucky enough to have a police office in the family so they have made it safe for the children but you can make it safe for every child everyone's own personal opinion

For those with Roblox I would just be aware of the settings on it. A child I used to look after ended up being groomed online via the chat on there by someone pretending to be a child. Please be cautious

My eldest is 10 and there's no way she's getting a smartphone any time soon. I don't care if all her friends have one. I've spoken to my kids about the dangers of these things (I've thoroughly studied mental health in children and young people and how giving them access to phones and social media too young can be so damaging) so they fully understand why they're not getting a smartphone until they're older. I know that Nokia has just re-released some of their old handsets (3310 etc) and they're still basic handsets. My eldest said she's happy to have one of them but she won't even get that before high school. My kids are still happy and having fun being kids without certain apps and technology. And no, they're not being left behind. I would also echo Courtney in regards to being cautious with Roblox. I've heard of too many kids being groomed on there.

I am team no phones for as long as possible. My 9 year old uses the internet on my phone for HW and research and he knows how to search for and compare prices of legos and cards 😅 so he is not behind on using phones but he’ll not be getting one. His school doesn’t allow phones on day trips too. I don’t think at his age he should be exposed to things that test his resilience, from online bullying to identifying and avoiding cyber threats. Even leaving kids on youtube kids isn’t without its risks. We’ve talked about online bullying, grooming, inappropriate online content, body image and self esteem issues with sharing and receiving on social media at a young age, RPG chats and assumed identities. He has seen my mood changes and attention affected if I stay on my phone for long. I think this all should be taught from the age they start asking for phones. It seems concentrated but it was taught over a period of time in a non scary way.

My sons getting a phone for Christmas (10 in January) more so I can give him a bit more freedom because he wants to play with people who live down the street a little and think it’d put my mind at ease knowing I can see where he is and contact him if needed and he can me if needed x

My daughter has one now as she’s started walking to and from school on her own/with her friends this year. I think 9/10 is appropriate. Especially now they have the responsibility and independence at school. She always texts me when she gets there and then she’ll text me when she’s leaving and when she gets home. (As I still need to go to the school to get her younger brother, so I’m not always there before her) plus she loves FaceTiming all her friends now on the weekends! It’s lovely to see them communicating outside of school too!