It's hard to get around the fact that our children will one day need a mobile phone. With good preparation, this can be a great experience.

There are many things to decide when a child has their own mobile phone. What can they use it for? How much can they use it? Is it being used the way you would like it as a parent, or does it end up being an unsettling element in the child's daily life? Yes, it's not easy. A guide to a safe start for a child who will have their first mobile phone

The golden mean

Unfortunately, there's no golden rule for when it's best to give your child a mobile phone in their pocket. If you could think of one, it would probably be that the longer you can wait, the better. It's just hard in modern Denmark to be the only child in class without a mobile phone. And depending on what a child's daily life looks like with school and leisure activities, it's an extremely practical tool to be able to contact your child at any time.

If you hesitate to give your child a phone, you might find that the child will feel left out if all their friends have a phone. Social is very important in the young years, and it can have a negative impact on a child if they do not feel part of a community. At the same time, excessive use of the phone by the child may cut them off from their social life. Reducing consumption on their own will be difficult for the child. The golden mean is something I myself hope to arrive at. One thing is for sure: children are different, and so are parents. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but there are some rules from bornholm.nu to help you find your ideal one.

Follow the instructions

For many years I worked in a kindergarten with children in the 6-10 age group. Here, mobile phones were a constant item on the agenda of all parent-teacher meetings. Parents struggled to communicate with each other about what was appropriate consumption. Some had to play all the time and some confined themselves to playing at home.

In the institution, we struggled to a large extent with parents bypassing the institution by contacting children by mobile phone and arranging to go home or play dates. This naturally caused arguments between children and caregivers.

Kindergartens are sort of obliged to inform parents about the guidelines in the appropriate place, but good advice might still be to talk to the school, leisure center/club and leisure activities. Ask them if you are unsure what their guidelines are regarding mobile phones. Help children get used to them. Naturally, parents should too. You cannot expect your children to be able to follow the rules if you, as a parent, cannot do so.

Find the right subscription

When it comes to children's use of mobile devices, parents should initially assess how much their child needs when it comes to voice and data. Depending on whether the child is allowed to play freely all day or only use it for what is absolutely necessary, finding the right subscription and the right settings is required.

High consumption requires a lot of data. Fortunately, there are many subscriptions with lots of data and talk at a good price. You can also find subscriptions with a few hours of talk time and get GB of data at even lower prices.

Use parental controls

Whether you have full confidence that your child can control their mobile usage or not, it's very useful to make sure your child is protected from unwanted content. With parental controls on both iPhone and Android, you can activate several settings that ensure children don't stumble across age-inappropriate content.

In addition, Parental Controls have many tools to limit consumption and have full control over apps and screen time. Finally, it is always a good idea to try apps and services that children like and perhaps talk about why they are good or bad.

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