There is no denying to the fact that mobile phones have made lives easier for everyone. Though it has become incredibly 'smart' these days, it primarily remains a device for communication. You can stay in touch with the people you want at all times. The big question that arises now is how old is old enough for owning a personal mobile phone. Does your child need one? It requires immediate answering.
Mobile Have Their Pros and Cons
Just like any other piece of technology, even the mobile phone comes with its pros and cons. The idea is to balance it out. When you look at it from the perspective of a child, both ends do exist. On the one hand, parents can feel secure that their child is just a phone call away. If they think anything amiss or sense any danger of any kind, all they have to do is dial their number.
On the other hand, there is always the scope of distraction. A child will not have a very good sense of discretion between what is right and what is wrong. They may indulge in surfing the Internet more profoundly, which may cause them more harm. Indeed, a parent cannot always keep monitoring what their little one is doing and they might inadvertently get deviated to something terrible.
Asking Kids’ Parents Could Be the Potential Solution
The best way to answer this question is to ask the parents themselves about what they think about giving a mobile phone to their child. The answers are mixed, but it does provide a proper perspective. Most of them said that yes, there is a chance that the child might get distracted, but the safety of their loved ones preceded that. The child has to be away from the parent's company sometime or the other. They can breathe much easily, knowing that they have a direct line of communication. Moreover, phones can be used for a lot of educational purposes.
What the parents need to do is set some rules. One rule that they generally apply is banning the mobile during eating and in the bedroom. The child is not allowed to sleep with their phone at any cost. Psychological and health implications are tremendous. There have been many cases of arguments breaking out between parents and children over the use of mobile phones in social circles. The possibility should be nipped in the bud. Parents can also use some form of privacy lock to prevent their child from using applications which they barely understand. The bottom line is, if the parents are ready to regulate appropriately, giving a mobile phone to a child may not be a bad idea.
Conclusion
Some might argue that the older generation never had phones as a child, and they grew to be as smart. However, times have changed. Nowadays, there are even age-specific phones, even for someone as old as 4-years old. Technology must be embraced in the right manner so that the child stays updated at all times.