Get your kids a small phone and children's laptop for e-learning and cartoons until they turn 18 then you can get them a smart phone.

Thats wrong. Don't let her own a smart phone

Parenting is becoming more difficult and stressful.Buy ur kid phone or not,he/she must still have access to phones from friends at home and school.Guess what,unfettered access's to adult contents.
Education of kids on d need for them not to take tons of porns they see on d internet as real side of life is d main issue.Explain such realities to them in a critical sense as well as how they can cope without putting such into practice is d ideal.No pretence,they have se n and watched a lot of disgusting contents more than u the adults and even know titles of such films offhand.So let's stop pretending.

Children do need smartphones but as parents, it's in our duty to always ensure we gain the trust of our children so they can tell us anything. That way they won't hide things from us. There are various kids smartphones that can limit what they can do on it.

TheFalcons:
Going through the browser history I found search keywords like
>Ashley Aleigh pus*y pictures
>Kapri pussy pictures
>Only Kapri pus*y

Your son is a legend

bigcee:

Your son is a legend

so far the boy is not a gay���

TheFalcons:
My 9 years old stays with my ageing mum. I've been noticing some distasteful characters that he's been exhibiting recently. But I didn't really read much meaning to them

Not until I went to my home town for a few weeks, and I caught him at the balcony downloading porn with my Mum's phone.

It now all started to make sense to me, because my Mum complains that her weekly data doesn't even last up to a day, and she hardly ever uses any app.

Going through the browser history I found search keywords like;

>Ashley Aleigh pus*y pictures
>Kapri pussy pictures
>Only Kapri pus*y


I was horrified and amused at the same time. I almost burst out laughing. I gave him a stern warning and asked him to return the phone.

A week later, what happens?
Mum goes to market and buys him a smartphone, claiming that he doesn't let her phone rest, then she pleaded for me to give him one of my old SIM cards because buying a new sim card is expensive now.

Just last month one of our tenants in his age range called me with his father's phone, and reported that my Nephew wants to learn Yaho*

A 9 year old o!!!

I just weak

. You need to see the way I'm bursting laughter. That's the times we're living in now, Gen Zs are doing the most.

But on a serious note yeah? I feel you should call the boy and get him talking (not in a harsh tone but more like getting to be his friend) then ask him where he's learning those stuffs from, cos knowing the root of the matter is half way to solving this issue. They give him some advice and let him know the consequences of his actions.

Good luck to you and your small marlian

All these people against kids having smartphones should clap for themselves. This is 21st century for Christ sake.

The problem here is not majorly from the smart phone,
The number one issue is from the parents.

How disciplined are you.
How much discipline have u succeeded to instill in your children.
You need to train ur child so very well to know what to do and what not to try even when you the parent is very far from them.
When you have succeeded in doing that, you should not be afraid to give your child a smart phone.

My two last kids are 9 and 7 yrs old. I allowed them to use smart phone. They have Desktop Computers in their room. I have introduced them to programming. We do many tutorials together. I taught them how to use google to do more studies,
They can use the devices relatively well. By the time they get to 12 to 15yrs, they will be able to write good executable computer languages. They will be able to develop softwares. The more they study the more they want to know. You just have to guard and guide them and keep working on their morals. Avoid thing you don't want ur children to do, even if u are doing it at their back, one day they will do the same thing.

Have good morals and these kids will be like u.
Our too much restrictions on our children are what kept inhibiting our technological development. I want these kids to start producing fantastic things even before they get into higher institutions.

So in summary, the level of moral standard u instill in ur kids should be the deciding factor to either to or not to allow them use smartphones.

Have you heard or come across the app, Google family link, and Google family link for teens/ Child. You can use this app to control you child's device from any where in the world or any device linked to your personal email account, can't be disabled except by you. You can lock whatever ,you want to lock.
Your device and that of your child must be current device with digital wellbeing in settings.
See the app in my screen shot

haddeylium:

A growing number of children have a smartphone, and many of them use their phone to access the Internet in the privacy of their bedroom. What are the risks of letting your child have a smartphone? What are the benefits? How much screen time is too much?

What you should know

What you should ask

Ask yourself if you are ready


What you should know
The Benefits

SAFETY FOR CHILDREN, peace of mind for parents. “We live in a dangerous world,” says Bethany, a mother of two teenagers. “It’s vital for children to be able to contact their parents.”

A mother named Catherine takes it further. “With some apps,” she says, “you can connect to your child’s phone to see where he is. If he’s driving, you can even see how fast he’s going.”

HELP FOR HOMEWORK. “Children get homework via e-mail or text message, and they can communicate with their teachers the same way,” says a mother named Marie.

The Risks

TOO MUCH SCREEN TIME. Young people typically spend several hours a day on their phone. In fact, parents spend about as much time interacting with their devices as they spend in meaningful interaction with their children. Some households have become, as one counselor describes it, “a daily gathering of strangers fixated on a bunch of machines.”

PORNOGRAPHY. According to one estimate, more than half of all teenagers seek out pornography on a monthly basis—hardly surprising, considering the ease with which it can be accessed on a mobile device. “By letting their child have a smartphone,” says William, a father of two teenagers, “parents could be unwittingly opening up a pornography shop that goes wherever the child goes.”

DEPENDENCY. Many people are emotionally attached to their phone. If it is misplaced, they report feeling panicky, desperate, and even sick. Some parents note that their children become rude when using their device. “Sometimes when I want to talk to my son,” says Carmen, “he rolls his eyes or makes a snarky remark because he doesn’t like being interrupted.”

Additional risks. Smartphone use brings with it the risk of cyberbullying and sexting, and can lead to a number of health problems that result from poor posture and a lack of sleep. Some young people use a “ghost app”—an app that appears to be innocent, such as a calculator—to hide content that they do not want their parents to see.

Daniel, the father of a teenage girl, sums it up this way: “A smartphone opens a window to everything the Internet has to offer—both good and bad.”

No. Avoid at all cost until they’re at least 16 years old. Get education tab or PC & set to parental guidance. You can also get torch light phones just to know their location sometimes

This whole long writeup no single wisdom. Phone or no phone kids can still accessthe internet anywhere without ur knowledge.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it

There are even parental controls on internet. Just like ur cable get a wfi router for home use for the family and get parental control software's to restrict and monitor while raising them up properly. Do not cage or limit them only teach, guide and correct them.

It is better for ur children to learn everything then make their choices based on how they have been brought up.

There's easy ways to block your kid's access to certain things. If you actually know what you're doing, you can even monitor every single thing they do and stop it in real time.

Parents should really take the time to educate their child on dangers, and explain why they don't want them to access certain things until they reach a certain age (or ideally never).

It must be so hard parenting now with so much filth being mainstream and easily accessed. You have to fight for them to have a childhood, be normal, and not be a dingbat.

You might have to lock your kid in a cell with law books and math textbooks until they're 18. lol

The problem with us Africans is we place so much emphasis on age in both directions.

A person here is 7 years old then a phone is bad for them. Buy in the US a seven year old kid already knows how to code and the parents are not thinking of exposure to p*orn or that it's too technical for him/her.

Some is 40 here and think life is over for him, but in the US the opportunities are still there.

I'll advise you get them an internet connected laptop as soon as possible and show them what to be doing with it, that's if you know what's up

In the end it's your job to show them how they can be productive with any gadget you get them.

wwwtortoise:
I will surround my offsprings with tech gadgets at a tender age. It doesn’t stop there because it’s also my responsibility to guide them through the pros as well as shelter them from the cons.

Nothing can be hidden forever from teenagers in this 21st century. So the earlier you give them a balanced exposure the better.

Let me ask you OP -

Would you rather trek a long distance to your destination and not use a car simply because there’s a possibility of road accident using a car?

I hope you get my point

Best response

JustCruise:
All these people against kids having smartphones should clap for themselves. This is 21st century for Christ sake.

Don't mind them. If they keep on hiding information from their kids, they would make matters worst

illmatic101:

You can get her a tablet but it should be parented.

Understood Thou how I wish our tech guru can make a Browser that can be patented too

If the child wants a phone, she/he will get it, it now depends how?
You can either decide to be the child's best friend or just a friend...

haddeylium:

A growing number of children have a smartphone, and many of them use their phone to access the Internet in the privacy of their bedroom. What are the risks of letting your child have a smartphone? What are the benefits? How much screen time is too much?

What you should know

What you should ask

Ask yourself if you are ready


What you should know
The Benefits

SAFETY FOR CHILDREN, peace of mind for parents. “We live in a dangerous world,” says Bethany, a mother of two teenagers. “It’s vital for children to be able to contact their parents.”

A mother named Catherine takes it further. “With some apps,” she says, “you can connect to your child’s phone to see where he is. If he’s driving, you can even see how fast he’s going.”

HELP FOR HOMEWORK. “Children get homework via e-mail or text message, and they can communicate with their teachers the same way,” says a mother named Marie.

The Risks

TOO MUCH SCREEN TIME. Young people typically spend several hours a day on their phone. In fact, parents spend about as much time interacting with their devices as they spend in meaningful interaction with their children. Some households have become, as one counselor describes it, “a daily gathering of strangers fixated on a bunch of machines.”

PORNOGRAPHY. According to one estimate, more than half of all teenagers seek out pornography on a monthly basis—hardly surprising, considering the ease with which it can be accessed on a mobile device. “By letting their child have a smartphone,” says William, a father of two teenagers, “parents could be unwittingly opening up a pornography shop that goes wherever the child goes.”

DEPENDENCY. Many people are emotionally attached to their phone. If it is misplaced, they report feeling panicky, desperate, and even sick. Some parents note that their children become rude when using their device. “Sometimes when I want to talk to my son,” says Carmen, “he rolls his eyes or makes a snarky remark because he doesn’t like being interrupted.”

Additional risks. Smartphone use brings with it the risk of cyberbullying and sexting, and can lead to a number of health problems that result from poor posture and a lack of sleep. Some young people use a “ghost app”—an app that appears to be innocent, such as a calculator—to hide content that they do not want their parents to see.

Daniel, the father of a teenage girl, sums it up this way: “A smartphone opens a window to everything the Internet has to offer—both good and bad.”

OyinO:
Monitor their activities whether phone or not.

Simple.

wwwtortoise:
I will surround my offsprings with tech gadgets at a tender age. It doesn’t stop there because it’s also my responsibility to guide them through the pros as well as shelter them from the cons.

Nothing can be hidden forever from teenagers in this 21st century. So the earlier you give them a balanced exposure the better.

Let me ask you OP -

Would you rather trek a long distance to your destination and not use a car simply because there’s a possibility of road accident using a car?

I hope you get my point

I think you're missing the points. Many parents hand their kid a smartphone and walk away. But if you can teach your kids a smartphone usage sense and control, that's a different thing.


To your question..
I'm more experienced than my kids and I can limit the risk of accident when I drive.
Would you allow your child drive a long distance too since we're technology era?

CandyOps:
E be like na old people full this Nairaland. Shey una never hear of child lock or parental control before?

You're right!
But these kids are smart tho and these control are not foolproof however

Nice one

edoairways

Don't mind them. If they keep on hiding information from their kids, they would make matters worst


This century information is like air. It's everywhere, so you can't possibly hide it from them. Parental control on devices and instilling good morals is the way to go.

falcon01:
your child shouldn't Because 90% of website deal with Pirated contents you child will Innocently access this websites and be exposed to Tons of Pornographic Content!

You're right!
Pop-up Ads exposure them to this most times

TheFalcons:
My 9 years old stays with my ageing mum. I've been noticing some distasteful characters that he's been exhibiting recently. But I didn't really read much meaning to them

Not until I went to my home town for a few weeks, and I caught him at the balcony downloading porn with my Mum's phone.

It now all started to make sense to me, because my Mum complains that her weekly data doesn't even last up to a day, and she hardly ever uses any app.

Going through the browser history I found search keywords like;

>Ashley Aleigh pus*y pictures
>Kapri pussy pictures
>Only Kapri pus*y


I was horrified and amused at the same time. I almost burst out laughing. I gave him a stern warning and asked him to return the phone.

A week later, what happens?
Mum goes to market and buys him a smartphone, claiming that he doesn't let her phone rest, then she pleaded for me to give him one of my old SIM cards because buying a new sim card is expensive now.

Just last month one of our tenants in his age range called me with his father's phone, and reported that my Nephew wants to learn Yaho*

A 9 year old o!!!

I just weak

While the stern warning you gave is good, pornography is addictive especially when it's turns into habit. Truth is, it might be difficult for your ward to get over it easily if you don't make sure.
They are expose to it nowadays from friends, movies, paper.
you might want to check Jw.org for tips to deal with it

Have a great day

danowena:


A smart fone for my children that is 7 years and above is not bad at all. All my kids have their tabs and individual netflix profiles where I monitor what they watch like Cartoons and educationals from YouTube and other apps like abc mouse, etc.
This is jet age and you must move with the trend or be left behind .
My last born is less than 2yrs and I had to buy her a tab because she was always harassing her elders for theirs. This gives her own tab to watch her sing along continuously whilst giving me and my wife respite for the TV. Just ensure you enable parental control and monitor what they are accessing. You must always have screen time for them otherwise they will become addicted to their gadgets.

Nice points

Goalnaldo:
I'm 90 percent sure this is lifted from a JW publications.

100 percent!

haddeylium:


I think you're missing the points. Many parents hand their kid a smartphone and walk away. But if you can teach your kids a smartphone usage sense and control, that's a different thing.


To your question..
I'm more experienced than my kids and I can limit the risk of accident when I drive.
Would you allow your child drive a long distance too since we're technology era?

Kindly re-read my earlier post this time slow.

My last paragraph was a more like a parable; you choose to digest it literally.

DON'T GIVE HIM /HER TO SMARTPHONE. JUST BUY A SMALL NOKIA PHONE

CandyOps:
E be like na old people full this Nairaland. Shey una never hear of child lock or parental control before?

Doesn’t works.

Small phones only

No smart phone for my kids for now.

They have laptops and use it for their assignments. They do play with my wife's phone sometimes but all the things they need are in their laptops and desktop computer in their room. They should start their IT knowledge from scratch by mastering desk top and lap top usage before I move them to ipad and smart phones.

Their games and other internet programs are in the laptops and desktop in their room. It is not about carrying smart phones and tablet about.