Call On These Compromises When Your Child Gets Their First Smartphone

If your child is anything like most modern youngsters, they’ve likely spent years begging you for a smartphone. It’s a sad state of affairs, but hardly surprising in an age where phones are such a staple part of adult life. There’s simply no getting around the fact that kids are expecting phones of their own younger and younger. 

Like many rife parenting debates, there’s some disagreement regarding when you should give in to these requests. As it stands, around 40% of Americans think it’s crucial to wait until at least middle school (11-13), while one-third believe in waiting until high school. 

Whichever side of the fence you fall, there’s likely to come a time when you allow smartphones for no other reason than to live in harmony again at last. And, when you do, it’s vital to remember that compromise is key to ensuring they don’t abuse this new privilege. 

After all, many parents regret letting smartphones loose due to the loss of control they experience. You may find that you can avoid that to at least some extent by concentrating on compromises like the following from day one. 

Set usage restrictions

It’s not unusual for your child to become a screen-addicted hermit with a smartphone in their hands. You’ll undoubtedly find it difficult to hold meaningful conversation with them when they’ve got their nose in their phones all the time. Hence why the first step towards compromise should be to set clear usage restrictions. 

Admittedly, these can be tricky to implement, but being clear on how much screen time is acceptable straight off is vital. After all, most kids spend over twice the recommended daily amount of time staring at screens, 35% of which is due to mobile usage. 

This is terrible news and means that you should be clear on how long your kids can use their mobiles, and when it’s time to do other things. 

Forget about contracts

Many parents make the mistakes of giving their kids smartphone contracts and regretting it. Let’s face it; your children aren’t going to care if that four-hour phone call costs you through the roof. While this can be the cheapest way to a headset, you’d be better off investing in a secondhand phone and using pay-as-you-go instead. 

This will likely get some groans from your youngsters at first but stick with it. By restricting how much credit they have or even giving them the responsibility to pay for it themselves, you can save yourself a small fortune. Not to mention that this could prove a crucial lesson surrounding value that your kids would never get if they were eating from the neverending contract tree. 

Keep their freedom on a leash

It’s also worth noting that, while phones can grant some degree of freedom, you’ll still want to take steps to keep that freedom on something of a leash. This is more the case with younger kids, but even high school students might need things like website blockers. If you aren’t comfortable with that, you might benefit from agreeing that your child has their website usage tracked. You can choose best free spy apps here to make that happen or ask your parent friends what they use. Then, your kids will be able to look at what they like, and you’ll be able to see it all, too. 

This is invaluable for ensuring some level of safety, as well as reminding your youngsters that their internet usage is a privilege. If you did find that they were browsing dangerous sites or receiving untoward messages, you’d be in the best position to take action fast. 

Don’t sway on your principals

Finally, it’s vital that you stick to these principals like they’re written in stone, or at least until you deem your kids old enough to do without. So often, parents start with the best of intentions before letting specific rules slip. Before they know it, smartphones have become the issue they always assumed that they would be. 

Don’t let it happen by remembering these compromises, and making sure that your children continue to play by the book. That way, you can let them have what they want while ensuring that smartphone usage doesn’t make zombies out of your once bubbly children. 

Phones are a tricky topic, but, as you can see, there are compromises on the table. All you need to do is work out which apply to your youngsters, and how you can implement them with lasting impact.