With many elementary school promotions right around
the corner, I am sure many parents have been hearing from their tween, “Can I
have a cell phone or a new smartphone for graduation.” Before making the commitment to a smartphone,
here are a few tips to consider:
- Time Limits - Set up times when your tween can and cannot use their smartphone. You can talk to your tween about not using it during school hours and family time and to turn off their smartphone at night when going to bed
- Contacts - Set up a contact list with your tween of who your tween can call and text. Make sure to talk to your tween about not answering phones calls or text messages from numbers they don’t recognize, but to tell you
- Websites - A smartphone has all the capabilities of a computer. If there are websites your tween is not allowed to visit, go over these rules again when they get a smartphone so they know not to visit the sites on their smartphone
- Applications -Since a smartphone is a microcomputer, tweens can download applications to their smartphone. Have a conversation with your tween about the rules of downloading apps. If it works for your family, you could talk about always getting your permission before any app. is downloaded.
- Phone Etiquette -Tweens need to remember how they talk or text on their smartphone should be with respectful and suitable words.
If parents feel overwhelmed with trying to keep your
tween safe with a smartphone, parents can also look into a parental control
monitoring applications such as My Mobile Watchdog.
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