Now it’s hard to imagine a person without a smartphone, and children are no less attached to their devices than adults. Meanwhile, adults are trying to decide at what age their kids should get their first device. Let’s see what scientists have to say about it.

In fact, there are no clear guidelines other than the World Health Organization’s recommendations from 2019 on how much time a child can spend on the gadget. For this reason, WHO does not recommend that children under the age of 1 should spend time on the screen and children between the ages of 2 and 5 should not spend more than 1 hour a day. Therefore, parents make decisions according to their own ideas and beliefs.

Next, we’ll talk about the child’s own discarded gadget, as children start using tablets and smartphones quite early under parental supervision.

According to a 2019 study by Common Sense Media, children mostly own their own smartphones between the ages of 10 and 12. Another common scenario is when parents purchase a gadget for a child when they go to first grade, that is, when they are 6-8 years old.

The Statista research validates this data only with the difference that one or two-year-olds also receive their own smartphones on individual occasions. And as expected, the number of smartphone owners among children is increasing with age.

As a rule, a child’s smartphone becomes absolutely necessary during adolescence. With its help, the child can quickly communicate with his parents, access portals with educational information and educational resources. In turn, parents can “take care” of the child from afar with the help of special programs.

A study from 2021 shows that most parents buy their children a smartphone primarily for educational purposes. In addition, 46% of parents believe that children first use smartphones for their intended purposes, and then use them to watch videos and play games on Youtube and social networks.

Overall, researchers aren’t ready to determine the ideal age to buy a smartphone for a child. Instead, the same study from 2021 notes a clear correlation between parents’ and children’s digital habits. That is, the more time you spend on a smartphone, the more it “hangs” on your child’s gadget.

If you decide it’s time to launch your kid’s gadget, then:

• Choose the appropriate smartphone;
• Set content restrictions on it;
• Talk to your child about using the gadget properly.