Do you want to give a cell phone to your children? Check out the parental guide before giving a cell phone to them below.
Nowadays, the mobile phone is the most important thing because no one can deny that it can help people with all things. Meanwhile, it is safe to say that almost everyone uses a cellphone, regardless of their age. From children to parents, everyone now has a cell phone.
Then, what about children? Isn’t it dangerous to let children have cell phones? Actually, whether it is dangerous or not, it depends on how to use it and parental supervision.
If you want to give your children a cell phone, then read the following guide. This time I will provide various guidelines for parents when they want to give cell phones to their children.
Guidelines When Giving Cellphones to Children
1. Choose Phones with Limited Specifications
We need to understand the nature of children first. Children tend to be curious. They will explore whatever is in front of them, including cell phones.
If the cell phone is only a medium used for communication for parents and children, then choose the one that has limited specifications. As the phone does not have special features, children will rarely play with gadgets.
However, if the cell phone is used for learning, then it will use a smartphone or tablet. One of the tablets that you can use is the Samsung Galaxy Tab A with S Pen.
The tablet above has been equipped with parental control features so that it can monitor children when using gadgets.
2. Cell Phone and App Lock
You can apply this to ordinary phones and smartphones. Phones that are automatically locked cannot be unlocked by children. Over time, children will get bored and reluctant to play with cell phones.
On the other hand, you can also lock only a few applications. For example, entertainment or work-related applications. Do not let your work get messed up because the children are messing with it.
In addition, try grouping several applications in one folder. For example, the entertainment folder contains YouTube and game applications.
Don’t forget the password for the folder so that the children cannot open it. This method can be used to secretly anticipate children while playing with gadgets outside usage hours.
Read also: How to Use Parental Control on iPhone and iPad (iOS)
3. Avoid Children from Social Media
The dangers of cell phones for children are not only because of games. Aside from games, social media can also threaten children. Therefore, I suggest children stay away from social media.
Social media will connect children with the outside world. If not closely monitored, children can become targets for criminal acts such as kidnapping and rape.
4. Create Deadline Usage
The maximum limit for using a cell phone for children is 4 hours 17minutes (per day). If more than that, there is a high chance of children being addicted to cell phones.
Then, when is the right time to give cell phones to children? If you want to give gadgets to children, you can choose during the day or when you are free. So, you can keep an eye on your children to the fullest.
5. Monitor Children Often
As a parent, you are expected not to be lazy to monitor your children. Pay attention to every movement of the children when using the cell phone.
When the children are done using the cell phone, examine it. Check the child’s history or conversations on social media. If there is something suspicious, talk carefully to the children while giving advice.
6. Enable Parental Controls
Currently, various applications have presented parental control features. One of the applications that implement this feature is Google Family Link, YouTube, Facebook, and so on.
To monitor children, you can activate this feature. This feature will limit children’s activities and will give notifications if children do suspicious things.
