at what age should a child be given a phone

At what age should a child be given a smartphone? The importance of phone cannot be over-emphasized, but it still has its own dark sides, does and don’ts. Every manufactured item has its own manual, which, when you go against it, you must be expecting chaos. And that is how it is with phones, when it goes to the wrong hands which can be characterized by age and experience. Many adults are still finding it hard to manage the way they use their phones; to prevent it from affecting them in a negative way. Misuse of phone, can affect one in a negative way. So many people are on therapy, battling on how to curtail smartphones addiction and other vices that comes with it. Having considered what the adults are finding so difficult to manage, imagine what it will do to the children and the teenagers. Parenting isn’t a child’s play. Every parent should always think for their children, and put them through, in all aspects of life. As a mother or a father, just like every child you ever had learnt the first word they said from you. And you held them in the hand when they took the first step. Just like you chose the best meal for them, the kind of food that will not cause problem for them at every stage of their growth and development as human. Just like you know the right age to put them in school, when and when not to feed them, and what to feed them with. Just like, as they were growing older, you began to look into the kind of friends they make. Advising and nurturing them about keeping good company with good attitude towards life. That is how it should be when they come of age to use phone. You as a parent should be first person to give them phone and you should also determine the kind of phone they should use and at what age it would be given to them. A friend of mine told me what his 14 years old daughter ‘’Jane’’ did with the smartphone he gave her, barely six months after. Mathew was married but separated with his wife, they had two children together, a girl and a boy, the wife took the male child who was younger and was about 11 years old, while he had Jane the eldest in his possession. According to him, he loved Jane and would do anything to make her happy. Initially, he gave Jane a button phone, those kind that would not access the internet. But one day, Jane came back and begged him to get her a smartphone, complaining that most of her friends were using smartphones. Because of the love he has for her daughter; the following day, he bought the phone for her. When the daughter learnt that he has bought the phone for her, she expressed great joy-and that joy in her eyes made him even happier. And she started using the phone. But something strange happened few months later, that he regretted buying that phone for her daughter in the first place. He confided in me that the phone almost ruined his daughter’s life, and his joy as well. Guess what? He said that his daughter, started hiding the phone away from him. And he also found out that the phone is being locked with security code; but she never did that when she was using the other small button phone. He grew suspicious, and was bent on finding out what the daughter has on the phone that is making her hid the phone away from him. So one night when the daughter was fast asleep. He walked right into her room and saw the phone where it is being charged and he picked it up, and walked straight into his own room. When he pressed the power button; he noticed that the phone was looked with security code, then he tried the pin with his own name Mathew and the pin unlocked. He went straight into the multimedia, as he clicked on the icon, his mind went blank, series of pornographic pictures and videos, were stuffed in the phone. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He went straight to her Facebook messenger app, and saw about seven matured adults, his 14 years old daughter was having consensual chart with, and was willing to hook up anytime soon. He felt goose bumps all over him. In her wildest dream he never dreamt that her 14 years old daughter knew anything about loving a man not to talk of love-making with a man far older than her. He explained further that going through all those messages both with the one on the other apps, convinced him that his daughter has not met with those men but she is on the verge to experiment the new life he has found with phone. He went back to her room and woke her up that very night and queried her, she expressed guilt, cried bitterly and apologized to her father never to do that again. But the father in returned, told her that he is not going to give her the phone again until she come of age to make the right choice and decision for herself. Just imagine, what would have happened if Mathew did not find out on time, he might one day find out that his daughter is pregnant or has contact a deadly venereal disease. This could also happen to a male child. There should be a considerable age bracket with maturity a child should attain before he or she be given a smartphone. The age bracket to give phone to your children is at least 18 years of age, this is because smart phone with internet is meant for the adult. Put the following into consideration before you give a smartphone to your children. • You must first of all educate them on internet. it can destroy their good moral upbringing, desisting from anything pornography • That they should share their pin code with you anytime they have decided to lock their phone for security purposes • That they must do social media with minimal • That no app. should be under separate lock with different pin code. • That once it’s 9pm every one should drop his or her phone