When should a child be given cell phone?

Nowadays, children as young as four years have smartphones. This has given them access to the Internet and they also use the available applications to communicate widely even on social media platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter.

Most parents take for granted the content their children are exposed to online. Some children install apps that lock their phones making it hard for parents to access them.

Roselyn Asekenye prefers her children to have phones especially when they are away from home but agrees that it comes at a price. She was recently shocked to find her 12-year-old son with pornographic content in his phone.

She says there was a time when she did not have airtime and requested to use his phone.
“At first he was hesitant but after seeing how much I needed to make the call he handed me the phone,” she says.
After the call, she was curious because he never left her presence and the moment she disconnected the call he grabbed his phone from her hands.

She had to ask him to give back the phone and when she checked his gallery it was full of pornographic videos and images.
She flipped through his conversations on WhatsApp only to find that it was his older cousin who was the source.

“I had to share the discovery with his father who later talked to his nephew and warned him never to share such content with our son,” says Asekenye.

She is happy that she disabled all the social media platforms including Internet connectivity to restrict his options.

Expert opinion
Caroline Nabwire, a counsellor, says as it is sometimes essential for children to own phones, it is also hard for parents to make sure that children use these gadgets the right way. She advises parents to find time and scroll through their children’s phones to avoid surprises later.

Nabwire advises that instead of getting a child a phone, you can install a landline where you can easily reach them when you are away from home adding that these phones should have airtime in case of any emergency.

“I strongly disagree with parents who buy their children phones with functional applications. If a parent has the urge to buy for his or her child a phone, there are simple phones that do not have applications” she argues.

She says if a parent wants their child to own a trendy phone, then they should make sure that the applications that can expose them to adult content are disabled.

We should not only concentrate on Internet connectivity, some calls that are received by children need to be monitored because phones have made children so permissive.

What do other parents think?
Constance Asiimwe, a mother of four, says there is no reason a child should own a phone at a tender age. She instead advocates getting a handset for the adult who watches over the children.

“The children are at school during the day and when they get holidays, I am also be on holiday since I am a teacher by profession so I see no reason of buying any of them a phone,” argues Asiimwe.
Sharon Mutesi a mother who is always on the move says it is necessary for her children to keep in touch with her though she opted for a landline that she makes sure has airtime every time she is going for her trips.

Mutesi says she cannot buy a phone for any of the children because it will be hard to onitor the usage.
Ronah Ochako a preacher at Faith Ministries says it is not right for a parent to buy a phone for a child who is not of age.

“This has eroded our children’s morals. Sometimes parents want to be modern while destroying their children’s morality,” says Ochako.
She argues that there is no justifiable reason for a parent to give a child a phone

For parents who decide to give their children fully functioning phones, it is recommended that clear guidelines are set before the children are given the devices.