Is your Child Mature Enough for a Cell Phone – 3 Ways to Tell

It’s not as simple as buying a cell phone and giving it to your child. You need to make sure that they are emotionally ready and mature enough to have that responsibility.

When your kids have a cell phone, they can access the internet at any time, text with their friends or be on social media freely. Once you give them that technology, it’s important to monitor it. There are so many dangers out there and the floodgates are now open to those dangers.

Of course there are some benefits to your kids having a cell phone. Schools are turning to BYOD and allowing kids to use their own devices for learning. Also with families on the go, it’s hard to stay connected.

Kids are in sports, both parents are working and sometimes siblings are in various activities. It seems to be that families are being pulled in a million different directions and sometimes the only way for everyone to stay connected is through this technology.

With phones having features like GPS tracking and parental controls, you can know what your kids are doing at all times. You can also install a spy app to keep tabs and make sure that they are following your rules.

Here are some ways that you can tell if your child is mature enough for a cell phone:

They Can Care For Electronics

This decision is not just about making sure that your kids are staying safe online; it’s also about making sure that your kids are responsible enough to take good care of the phone. If they aren’t responsible enough to care for these expensive smart phones, you may want to wait or try an older device first.

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Try giving them one of your old phones or digital cameras to care for over the course of a month. If they don’t lose or harm it, then they may be ready for their own.

They Understand the Dangers of What’s Online

You need to let them know what dangers lurk on the internet. They need to understand that there are bad people who may try to contact them and they need to know what to do if those people try to. Educate your kids about cyber bullies, online predators and other dangers. Quiz them on it before trusting them with their own phone.

They will sign a contract

Make it formal – have them sign a contract. Putting your expectations in writing can be helpful in making sure they understand having a phone is serious business. Making them responsible for their actions – like how quickly they are to text you back, limiting the number of texts or time on they can spend on the phone.

It’s not enough to set your expectations and rules, but you need to enforce them as well. Monitoring your kids’ phone use is important when you finally trust them with having their own phone. Setting up an Android spy app or iPhone spy app would be a way to keep an eye on them remotely. Don’t let your kids become a victim to an online predator.

  James Keen

About the Author:

James Keen lives in North Carolina with his three teenagers. When not shuttling them to various sports practices, you can find him educating parents about internet safety and writing for Mobile Spy, an Android spy app.