Is Your Child Ready for a Phone? How and When to Know

Are they old enough? What about the psychological effects? Should I limit their internet access? Should I check their messages? Just because they have a phone should they have social media?

If you have asked yourself or asked your spouse any of these questions, you probably have a kid in the house who reallyyy wants their own cell phone. Or maybe, you have young ones in the house but HOW and WHEN to bring screens into the picture could already be keeping you up at night.

It doesn’t matter where you are in your parenting journey, the screens/phone conversations are a big decision and it will probably look different for each family. We will be the first to say we are not professionals on this topic and you may have a different perspective on phones and young adults.

However, we wanted to invite you in on the conversation we have been having in the Smith home and how we are personally navigating our oldest son getting his first iPhone. One thing we can all agree on is that the screens themselves are not the enemy. How your kids use the screen and how they interact with the internet is where it can get sticky.

In this episode of the Family Brand Podcast, we want to share how we made the decision to let our 15-year-old get his own phone, how we are reaffirming his identity and teaching him how to avoid the “comparison game” online, how and what we are putting time-limits on apps and more.

What would you add to the conversation? We always want to hear your thoughts and how you are creating your own Family Brand. Reach out to us via the links below! While you are checking out those links, don’t miss the other Phone and Phone Safety Resources we have provided for this episode. Scroll down to see more!

More Of What’s Inside:

• An update on the Smith family Summer 
• When your kids are the only ones without a phone
• How we used a “shared” kids’ phone
• When our kids watched 8+ hours of YouTube
• How we plan to teach our kids about screens
• Why we need to remind our kids they matter
• Life is happening around you, not on a screen. 
• Why we think it’s okay to be a little “off the grid” 
• And much more!

Links From This Episode: 

Instagram Story Highlight with links to Phone and Phone Safety Resources: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17932654705914913

Website:

• familybrand.com

Social:

•  Facebook: www.facebook.com/FamilyBrandOfficial
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ourfamilybrand
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCGu-7odB6gkPbyXpUIQLkrg
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/OurFamilyBrand

 Free course:

• familybrand.com/10steps

Episode Minute By Minute:

• 0:42 Happy end of Summer! 
• 2:13 Are your kids ready for phones?
• 6:31 Feedback from our community on this topic
• 8:42 How we used a “shared phone” to teach our kids 
• 9:35 The limits and boundaries we are creating around iPhones
• 14:18 Look for teaching moments instead of shaming moments
• 16:13 What to do if your kids feel left out