The Complex World Of Children And Cell Phones

Age matters, especially when it comes to learning and exposure to technology. There is a right time to introduce your child to every experience or subject. If done at a premature level, these exposures can cause a detrimental impact. 

Cell phones, for instance, have the potential to open up a whole new world for your children. It comes in handy when you need to get in touch with your child, but the probability of your child misusing it may haunt you from time to time. Similarly, driving a car, going out alone or with friends or having a talk on sex education are a few other instances where people become apprehensive of their child's age. After all, they may misuse the knowledge that they gain at this tender age.

So, what's the correct age of a child to get ready to face some life-changing experiences? Are they too young? Are they too old? Will they be able to handle it? These are some questions the parents go through. 

(Image Courtesy: Common Sense Media)

Pros And Cons

Cell phones are extremely advantageous in the case of emergencies or when you need to know the whereabouts of your child. They may turn out to be equally convenient and effective learning tools. However, they have their own set of demerits when it comes to overt or misuse. 

Since nowadays cell phone is not limited to calls and messages, there are numerous risk factors involved while having a cell phone at a tender age. These may include getting into the inappropriate use of internet, health deterioration, cutting out on sleep, or distancing from the in-person communication. 

With the social media doors wide open, one may even become subject to cyber bullying.

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How Good Is An Option Of Spying?

It is also imperative to determine whether you are ready to get your child a cell phone. There are cases when the parents reluctantly give into the pressure and hand in their child a cell phone. It leaves them insecure, and they even go on to spy on their child’s cell phone. 

Spying may seem to be a luring stress buster. However, it does nothing but creates trust issues between the parents and the children. In the long run, your child may even start deleting the traces of how he uses his cell phone. 

Parents with the expression of lack of confidence in their children may end up having a fissured relationship with them.

(Image Courtesy: Cell Phone Tracker Apps)

What Is The Correct Age Then?

While there is no stringent rule as to the age when your child is ready to have a cell phone, it depends entirely upon the level of maturity he has reached. According to Caroline Knorr, parenting editor with Common Sense Media, "Maturity and the ability to be responsible are more important than a child's numerical age." 

To determine the aforesaid level of maturity, you should observe the behavioral traits of your child which shows a sense of responsibility. For instance- how good the child is at taking care of their belongings, whether they are honest with you, or whether they understand the proper use of a cell phone is some of the factors to look out for before making the final call.

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We would love to hear from you. Tell us what you think is the correct age to give your child a cell phone. Kindly use the comment box to share your thoughts and opinions with us.

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