Misconceptions about children’s need for a smartphone

Below we give alternative viewpoints for many of the most common reasons we hear for giving children a smartphone.

I am separated from my child/ren’s other parent and I want to be able to contact them:

We appreciate that all families are different and if your child does not live with you all the time, you may want or need to contact them. There are many ‘brick’ or ‘basic’ mobile phones available which allow communication through text message or calls. Tablets can also be used to communicate with your child using email or message. This gives parents the opportunity to speak to their child without the associated risks of owning a super computer in their pocket!

My child is walking to school/clubs on their own and I want to be able to contact them:

It may be worth considering a ‘brick’ or ‘basic’ phone (without smartphone capability) which you can use to communicate with your child if they are travelling to school or club / activity / play dates independently. Use of these encourages age-appropriate freedom and responsibility for your child by enabling them to check in with you.

There is increasing evidence that children who have expensive devices on their person are more likely to be a target for theft. The addictive nature of smartphones and many children being glued to them during their walks is actually making then more vulnerable to road accidents during their journey.

My child is walking to school/clubs on their own and I want to be able to track them:

Modern society tells us all that we need to know what is happening all the time. And with modern technology allowing this to be possible, many parents understandingly feel comforted by the idea of being able to track their child.

Tracking your child is intended to provide peace of mind but it doesn't make them safer, because in reality you are tracking their smartphone, not their person.

Despite this, there is now increasing evidence about the level of anxiety being felt by children, but also by parents, brought about by using these devices to track children. As children grown up, they need to be given age appropriate levels of independence and trust by their caregivers, so that they can learn to develop their own self-belief,

confidence and problem-solving abilities. For an article written really eloquently about this, please click here.

Having said this, a decision on tracking your child is up to you as a parent. If you decide it is right for your family, there are alternative options available such as buying an Apple AirTag. This does the same job as a smartphone in terms of tracking.

They need to learn about using technology and I think that they will be ready at age X:

It is absolutely true that our children are growing up in a tech-world and will need to understand and be able to use all different types of technology to interact with the world around them.

There are many ways in which they can learn about technology with parental support at appropriate times during their childhood and adolescence. Children at St. Martin’s have computing lessons from Year 1, have access to laptops, tablets and gaming devices at home, and will see and engage with parental smartphones during their childhood.

The law only allows someone aged 18 years or older to take out a phone contract, and there is currently discussion at national government level to ban smartphones for all those under 16. The legal age to have any social media account (including WhatsApp) is 13.

Experts in the societal impact of smartphones on children / young people agree that the minimum age at which most children are able to cope with the exposure and responsibilities associated with smartphones is 14. (Although they state that 16 would be the ideal age.)

It’s cheaper for me to hand down my old iPhone than to buy a new phone:

Many of us have old smartphones tucked away in drawers that would make an easy option to give to our child. However the price of basic phones is very accessible and they allow more affordable contracts due to having no data requirements. There are many basic phones available on Facebook marketplace which could also make them more affordable. You can also get cash back from various websites for trading in your old smartphones, this could help with the cost of purchasing a child-friendly phone.

There aren’t other phones available:

There are a number of basic mobile phones available to buy, many made by Nokia. There are some recommendations for these phones here and here.

Campaigners are asking big-tech companies to create new phones specifically for young people. These would have basic functionality but with no access to the internet - watch this space!

There are also protective networks available, the most trusted is Parent Shield, which allows parents to manage all aspects of their child’s phone use through the SIM card rather than the phone’s parental controls (which can be easily circumnavigated.)

I believe my child is ready and I trust them:

“You are not giving your child access to the world, you are giving the world access to your child.”

Unfortunately, as you may have seen through some awful stories in the press, having a smartphone allows anyone to contact and gain the trust of our children, and allows our children access to everything on the internet. It’s not about our children being untrustworthy, but about waiting until they are developmentally ready for the impacts that such exposure could have on them.

There are many case studies where parents were unaware what their child was accessing, and how quickly and easily they could be duped into dangerous situations. Children may not go looking for it but inappropriate content can very easily find them anyway.

Lastly, it’s reassuring to know that if you really want them to have access to a lot of these applications, they can do that on a computer at home where it is much easier to monitor their activity.

The age of sexual consent, of smoking cigarettes and or wearing seat belts have all changed when research into their safety was better understood, this is the position we are now in relating to smartphones.

All their friends have them and I don’t want them to be the only one without one:

Perhaps this might be the hardest one for all of us parents to grapple with. None of us wants our child to be a target for bullying or teasing because they are the odd one out.

This is why we believe that collectively changing our norm on smartphones is the only way that we can fight against the tide of such young children owning these devices.

Smartphone Free Childhood was started in February 2024 and has gained incredible momentum and support from parents across the UK since then. As well as lobbying government and schools to protect our children, the campaign is bringing parents together through their Parent Pact.

This allows parents to pledge to delay giving their child a smartphone until at least the end of Year 9 and is the most powerful tool we have in protecting our children from this peer pressure.

As a school, we are committed to this movement and are thrilled that almost 20% of our parent population have signed the pact to protect their children.

Please read more about the Parent Pact here.

The main problem is social media and I won’t let them have that:

Whilst there may be some educational benefits from social media, evidence shows it has many detrimental effects on our children and these are well-documented in terms of the rise in depression and mental health problems, lack of self-esteem, and an increase in cyber-bullying, through Snapchat in particular.

But social media is not the only danger associated with smartphones. Smartphones are built to create addiction. The constant pinging of notifications and search for likes creates a dopamine reaction in our brain. Other worrying impacts are*:

• Rise in short-sightedness in children

• Rise in musculoskeletal issues in the neck and back due to phone use

• 51% of 11 to 13 year olds say they have seen pornography online

• 80% of teenage girls are being put under pressure to provide sexual images of themselves

• 65% decrease in time children spending with peers since 2010

• 43% higher risk of obesity for those using smartphones for 5+ hrs/day

• 57% more teens sleep deprived in 2015 than in 1991

• Screen time reduces the size of the brain areas responsible for visual processing, empathy, attention, complex memory and early reading skills

• 16-24 year olds being cited as the loneliest groups in society

• World-wide we are experiencing a decade-long downward trend in educational attainment since 2012.

The list goes on and on, but one final powerful statement:

“The first generation of children who were given smartphones in primary school are now adults. We now know for every year younger they were given smartphones by their parents, the worse their mental health is today.” Age of First Smartphone/Tablet and Mental Wellbeing Outcomes, Sapien Labs, May 2023

*Please contact us if you would like to see the sources for any of these statements.