08/03/2024
When my son added an iPhone to his Christmas list last year, we sat down with him and carefully explained that Santa would not be bringing him an iPhone (Santa needs to bring me one first!) and that, if one did appear in his stocking, it would be a fake phone.
I had a very wholesome childhood and, at 7, I was playing outdoors a lot and building dens with my friends, so I've found it particularly hard watching how focussed he has become on having a phone.
So thankfully we've managed to put off the phone issue for a bit longer. I've always thought of him as a very sensible child, but watching him take out his fake phone in the evenings and send messages/swipe images on it has really shaken this theory (you can see how the phone is already).
Children at his primary school seem to be getting phones in year 5 - when they reach the age that they can walk home on their own. At the moment, knowing he is safe and can contact us if he needs to is front and centre in my mind, but working in social media, I'm well aware of how nasty that world can be, especially for young minds.
So, whether we block social media apps or monitor his use of them, at the moment we are planning on giving him a mobile phone in the next few years for safety.
He is an avid reader and we have a no electronics upstairs rule, so we're hoping it won't affect his desire to read.
Have you bought your child a mobile or are you completely against it, I'd love to hear your thoughts 👇or via DMs.
Photos taken on my DSLR camera and put together in Filmora. Text created in Canva and all scheduled in Adobe
