By Michaela Gordoni
Digital safety expert officer David Gomez says kids really don’t need phones, despite what some parents think.
“I strongly advise every parent to wait until their child is at least 13 (16 is better) before letting them have a smartphone,” Gomez said on his Facebook page on July 13. “ One of the more popular excuses parents has to ignore this advice is that their child is home alone after school and needs the smartphone to connect to the parent if something unforeseeable happens.”
He explained, “For safety reasons, the parent is giving a 10-year-old child access to 1000s of local predators, unlimited pornography, sexual desensitization, the possibility of human trafficking, and many more unseen dangers of smartphones.”
He argued it doesn’t make sense to provide a child with a lot of avenues to danger when you have only one good reason.
“Many other safer options are available for your child to be safe after school,” he said. “Good alternatives to smartphones: Alexa, hardwired phones, Gabb wireless phone, Troomi, Gizmo watch, TilkTalk watch, Gabb watch, Pinwheel phone, Light phone, Bark phone, garmin bounce watch, wise phone, no phone, and a few I am sure I am missing.”
Old-fashioned flip phone and the Fitbit Ace, which allows for texting and talking, are a couple of other options.
“My kids ring our Ring doorbell if they need something,” one parent commented on Gomez’s post.
Digital Safety group Be ScreenStrong reports the No. 1 reason parents give their kids a phone is because they have a lack of education about the science and risks. The second reason is cultural pressure.
Parents also don’t use their phones in the same way that kids do and sometimes fail to understand how and why their kid will use a phone — and how often. Most importantly, they don’t always weigh the consequences and safety risks.
Currently, there is heightened awareness around the dangers that smartphones present in classrooms. Aside from the safety concerns Gomez presents, kids are more distracted, they get worse grades and teachers have to fight for their attention. Every state has either implemented or looked into policies as of this year.
The Institute for Family Studies suggests that parents delay giving their child a cellphone as long as possible and talk to their kids about the fear of missing out.
The benefits of not having a smartphone far outweigh the risks of having one. Children may feel left out, but they will be safer and have better development as a result.
Read Next: Psychologist Urges Parents to ‘Act Together’ to Keep Kids Off Smartphones
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