It is hard to imagine everyday life without a phone, every adult would confirm. No wonder that the device is a desirable gadget for children and teenagers, so sooner or later each parent will face the decision to buy and choose a phone for a daughter or son. A child’s independent trip to a holiday camp or going to the next class is one of those moments when it is a good idea to equip your child with the first smartphone. We recommend the best models for every pocket.
There is no clear answer to this question – every child will be interested in a smartphone regardless of how old it is and how it is brought up. The decision when to buy a phone for a child should be based on a specific need, and not on the current fashion or child’s whim. Parents must simply be convinced that a phone in the hands of a daughter or son will not only be a toy or a gadget, but also a device with a particular purpose. It will ensure constant contact, sense of comfort and strengthen relations with peers.
That’s why a smartphone will certainly be useful when your child has a busy schedule, starts coming home from school on their own, or goes to a holiday camp. Whatever the situation, it is said that the best time to buy the first phone for a child is 10-11 years and older.
Many parents, when faced with the choice of the first phone for their child, are selecting between a classic phone or a smartphone. Of course, each solution has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example: classic phone is easy to use, resistant to possible falls or scratches, and also due to its functionality – primarily for telephoning and sending text messages. It fulfils its primary role in 100%, but may not serve the child for a long time because the smartphone – more modern and better adapted to current needs – will quickly replace the older counterpart.
Touchscreen model gives you the possibility to watch videos on YouTube, send emails, view and take photos or listen to music. As it happens, this is what children aged 9-13 most often use their smartphones for.
Before a student begins to learn to play the piano, he starts from practising correct posture and controlling fingers and whole body. The same should apply to the phone – it is worthwhile to precede the purchase of a smartphone with a conversation with a child about how to use it responsibly and what it is used for. It is clear that the child will learn the novelties at the speed of light. Most of the children even before owning their own phone have probably already learned a lot from parents or its friends, nonetheless it is our – parents – responsibility to introduce them into the world of technology.
Moderation will also be useful when using a smartphone – it is important to determine together how much, how and at what times a child will be able to use a smartphone, because total freedom in this matter is not advisable. They need to know who they can communicate with, when they need to turn off or mute the phone, what they need to tell their parents about. All kinds of parental and device control applications will help us manage our child’s use of the device.
In the past, the scheme was simple, and the scenario in families was repeatable – a child simply received a phone from a parent when he or she bought a new one. Today, virtually every smartphone offers the same benefits, and the purchase of a new one is hardly a burden on the home budget. What’s more, a good model can be bought for as little as 150-300 EUR. We recommend smartphones perfect for a child for a vacation camp or to school:
Smartphone for less than 150 EUR: myPhone Prime City 2
Smartphone for less than 100 EUR: myPhone Prime 3,
myPhone FUN 8
Rugged smartphone for less than 300 EUR: HAMMER Energy 18×9
