Figuring out when is the “right” age to get your child a smartphone is a question that confounds many parents. Having an easier way to contact your child and being able to use GPS to pinpoint their location brings parents some peace of mind, but an internet-connected smartphone also means that kids are only a few clicks away from potentially connecting with explicit or dangerous material. So when is the right time to get your child a cell phone?
Researchers can’t answer that question, but a new study did take a closer look at some of the risks associated with giving a child a smartphone at an earlier age. According to researchers, children who had a smartphone by the age of 12 were at a higher risk of depression, obesity and insufficient sleep than those who did not yet have one. We take a closer look at that study and the findings in today’s blog.
When To Get Kids A Cell Phone
To get a better understanding of the health impact that a smartphone can have on a developing brain, researchers analyzed data from more than 10,500 children who participated in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, which is the largest long-term evaluation of juvenile brain development in the US to date. Not only did they find that getting a smartphone before the age of 12 increased a child’s risk of obesity and poor sleep, but the risks were amplified the younger the children were when they got their first smartphone.
Another arm of the study explored a subset of children who hadn’t received a smartphone by the age of 12. When looking at this group, they found that children who acquired a smartphone within the next year were at a greater risk of harmful mental health symptoms and worse sleep habits than those who hadn’t.
“When you give your kid a phone, you need to think of it as something that is significant for the kid’s health — and behave accordingly,” said Dr. Ran Barzilay, lead author of the study and a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
While the study only shows association, not cause and effect, researchers believe that getting a smartphone at an earlier age can lead to less exercise, quality sleep and face to face interaction, all of which are essential for well-being, especially at such a crucial stage of brain development.
Dr. Barzilay said the findings were not meant to shame parents who have already purchased a smartphone for their child, but rather to open their eyes to the potential these devices may have for harm if there is little oversight.
“A kid at age 12 is very, very different than a kid at age 16,” he said. “It’s not like an adult at age 42 versus 46.”
He noted that parents should set some rules in place and regularly oversee device usage to ensure the child doesn’t develop an unhealthy attachment to the device or end up on places that they shouldn’t be.
“It doesn’t mean that every kid with a smartphone has a problem for life,” he said. “All it means is that us as parents — and, I hope, also policymakers and society — are going to do something about it together.”
So if you’re thinking of getting your child a smartphone for Christmas, know that doing so should come with plenty of responsibilities for you as the parent as well. You wouldn’t knowingly put your child at risk for depression or obesity, but research shows that smartphones at an early age can predispose kids to these risks, so parent oversight is incredibly important if you’re giving your child a smartphone. It probably doesn’t hurt to hold off another year, but getting one too soon can certainly be harmful, so use your best judgment and be an involved parent.