As a parent, you naturally want to know where the children are and it is even more important that your child is available in case of emergencies. Nowadays, the smartphone is a godsend. Almost all students older than 12 (97%) have a telephone. But what should you pay attention to if you want to buy a smartphone for your child?
When you, as a parent, want to 'give' a smartphone to your child, you run into a few challenges. Children do not yet have the experience and awareness of adults when it comes to smartphone use and costs. From what age do children need a telephone? How do I handle my child's telephone and calling costs? Can my child handle an expensive smartphone? And which games and apps are actually suitable for children with a mobile phone?
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Every parent sooner or later gets that dreaded question, "Mom, Dad, can I have a phone?" I've written about that before. Unfortunately, there is no unequivocal answer to this question. From what age children should be allowed to use a telephone differs per parent. There are of course some factors that you can take into account.
Do other children in the class already have a telephone? Teachers often know how many children in the class have a telephone and you can ask other parents if necessary. Another factor is, of course, what do you need a smartphone for for your child? You want the child to be accessible. But what does the child want to do with the phone? Children often want a device for games, sending messages to classmates and sometimes just because others have one too.
What is the phone needed for? Determine clearly in advance what a child is and is not allowed to do with his or her phone. Giving a phone to your child entails three different costs. You have to purchase a telephone, there are costs for consumption and costs when using the device as a means of payment. Think of Apps and various SMS services.
Hint: Agree who will pay the extra costs and take a few moments during the first months of the subscription to discuss the bill with your child.
Although there are of course very frugal children, most children are quite open-minded. An accident is in a small corner and children usually attach less value to things than we adults. For most children, a cheap smartphone is sufficient. For example, you can also save on purchase costs by using an old smartphone for your child. A child under 12 needs fewer applications than a child over 12. This way you can conveniently pass on your own phone to your son or daughter. Bet they're happy with that?
And if you have chosen a smartphone for your child, do not forget to look at nice phone cases, or possibly buy a blank case so that they can pimp the phone case themselves, that is also possible.
Choosing a telephone for children is perhaps easier than choosing a prepaid or telephone subscription for your child. Both subscription types have their own advantages and disadvantages. You can now save considerably on costs for calling and texting via services such as Whatsapp and Skype.
Prepaid is relatively expensive, but due to the limited calling credit you can prevent sky-high bills from the smartphone for your child. The biggest disadvantage of prepaid for children, is that the child can no longer contact you when the call credit is used up.
Hint: If your daughter or son stays within the agreed amount per month, you can, for example, put the remainder in cash in the piggy bank. When drawing up the credit early, clearly agree on the consequences. Of course in advance!
The major advantage of a telephone subscription for your child is accessibility. When taking out a telephone subscription or SIM-only subscription for a child, you must of course make clear agreements. Make agreements not only about the calling behavior of the child, but also when the telephone may be used and when not. Be very clear about how often you can call and with whom. Of course also for how long and in addition you can see together how often you check the subscription. This makes a smartphone a great asset for your child!
Stay alert, a child does not always realize that data consumption, a 'collect call' and also calling abroad costs extra money. We noticed it here at home during a week of inattention on our part. Not convenient. You can turn off such services with different providers. There are also subscriptions where data usage outside the bundle is not charged. Within these subscriptions, data traffic stops or data consumption outside the bundle is only limited in speed. This way you avoid a huge bill.
With young children it is of course desirable that they can always reach their parents and that they can be reached by their parents. However, they do not need all the capabilities of a modern smartphone. The internet brings with it quite a few dangers. There are simple solutions for this. You can equip the smartphone with a child-safe browser. Many devices have a setting where you put a pin code on purchases within apps, we have also noticed that it is very important! In addition, there are apps for a kid mode on the phone. An example is Kid Mode for Android. This app has a possibility to set a child lock so that your children can play safely on your phone or tablet within the app.
What do you prefer? A telephone subscription or a cheap SIM-only subscription? And why?
