If you decided to give your child their first phone this summer, consider this: Extended breaks like holidays and summer are great times to introduce the new tech.
“I recommend introducing a child’s first phone when you’re around them a lot,” says Alanna Powers, research and program specialist at the Family Online Safety Institute. Her organization provides guidance on digital parenting and helps families navigate technology safely and responsibly.
Powers adds that having a phone for kids for those summertime routines, like coordinating rides and schedules for summer activities, is not only practical but also could help ensure your kid will be ready for a phone when they head back to school in the fall. Here, she shares three ways parents can prepare kids for their first phone in the summer.
1. First phone for kids 101.
Learning may be the last thing on kids’ minds during the summer but getting them familiar with a new device is worth their time and attention.
“Make sure your kids know how to use their phone from a practical sense and to the best of their ability,” says Powers. For example:
Texting. Talk about how to text, and when to text, and that texts should be friendly and free of harmful messages or images.
Contacts. Add work and phone numbers for important contacts such as parents and caregivers. And make sure your kids know how to reach you in an emergency.
Do not disturb. Show them how to toggle on features on the device that may help them stay on task when they go back to school.
Push notifications. Show them how to turn off app notifications for the apps you approved them to use.
Pictures and video. Talk about asking for someone’s permission if they’re taking a picture or video, especially if it’s going on social media.
Social posts. If they’re over the age of 13, talk about what’s appropriate to post online, especially if it’s a public account. Talk about not sharing photos online that reveal their location, and turn off location sharing on their device settings for photos, too.
Media literacy. Ensure your kids are thinking critically about what they see or read online. This deck of media literacy flashcards can help.
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