First, what age do you think it is appropriate for a child to have a smartphone. Pause and think it over for a couple of minute before you continue reading.

What things factored into your decision?  Did you consider any of the following?

  • What age was I when I got my first smartphone?Do they need a smartphone?  Why?
  • What issues will there be if they don’t have one?
  • Are those issues social related or safety related?
  • At what age are they mature enough to have a smartphone and use it appropriately?
  • Are they mature enough to deal with online threats such as cyber-bullying, online predators and so on?

When considering what is the appropriate age for children to have smartphones I think it is important to consider the above question and more. It is important to consider your own use of a smartphone as well.

Did you know that according to Rescue Time the average person spends 3 hours and 15 minutes on their phone a day?  If adults can’t control themselves on smartphones how can we expect young children to control themselves?

Another key factor in determining when kids should get smartphones is the danger they pose.

Here is something that might surprise you. According to most research the average age for exposure to pornography is 11 years old! Guess what the average age is for parents to give kids smartphones? You guessed it 11 years old!

Do you think that is a coincidence? I don’t.  Kids use devices to access pornography. Maybe not intentionally at first but that changes. You can head over to google trends and look for yourself and see that explicit content related searches peak right after school lets out.


I believe there is a strong correlation between what age kids get smart devices and their exposure to explicit content.  I have a friend that gave their two boys smartphones at the age of six. They recently discovered that their two boys (ages 9 and 7) are both already addicted to porn that they accessed it through their phones.

Another threat is sexting. According to Psycom:  

  • 1 in 4 teens get sexually explicit texts or emails.
  • 1 in 7 are using the phones to send explicit texts and emails.

Something very disturbing is that many girls are being targeted through social media accounts and are being manipulated into doing inappropriate things by much older men. It is becoming more and more common as well. Medium.com has a very eye opening article on the issue here, I strongly suggest you take the time to read it.  

Another issue is the lack of down time. People need to be bored but with the advent of smartphones down time or times we are left to our own thoughts is almost zero. Boredom is time to think, to plan, to notice the world around you and to be creative.

Now, after going through all of this, I want to ask you again. What age do you think it is appropriate for parents to give children smartphones?

Has your answer changed? I hope that it has at least made you reconsider. If you don’t believe me that young kids shouldn’t have smartphones maybe you’ll listen to Bill Gates, in an interview for the Mirror he said that none of his children had smartphones before the age of 14 and smartphones came with strict rules and restrictions.

As parents it is our job to protect our children and to also prepare them for their future life. Kids and teenagers should not have unlimited access to the internet and they should not have access to the internet in a private setting.

In our home, our computer is in a common area and positioned so that the screen is visible to everyone.  Our kids are not allowed to access the internet without a parent there with them and they are only allowed to go to predetermined websites. It may sound like a lot of work, but it’s our job to keep them safe. We also discuss with them on a regular basis about what inappropriate content is and what to do if they see any.

My wife and I have decided that our kids won’t have their own phones until they are at least old enough to have a driver’s license and even then we will discuss it at length before they get one.