5 Questions To Answer Before You Buy Your Child A Phone

5 Questions To Answer Before You Buy Your Child A Phone

As a parent, you’re going to need to buy a lot of different types of tech for your child. One of the most important pieces of tech that you will need to buy is a phone. The right phone will ensure that you can keep in touch with your child and guarantee that they are safe. It is also going to be a practical purchase because kids can use a phone in a variety of different ways these days. Here are some key points that you should consider before making this purchase.

• What Are They Going To Use It For?

First, you should think about what your child is going to use their phone for. Making calls is a given and all phones provide this basic capability. But, there are definitely a variety of other features that could be worth exploring. For instance, your child might love taking pictures. If that’s the case, then it does make sense to choose a phone with one of the best cameras on the market. You might have noticed that there are now phones with multiple cameras. This ensures that you can always take the best quality picture however they usually come with quite a high price tag. 

Alternatively, you might have a kid who is an avid gamer. There are phones that are perfect for this usage like the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The big benefit of a phone like this for gaming is that it does provide a much larger screen to work with. So, you can see a game more clearly and this is perfect for something like Fortnite. Of course, if you have been following the news, then you might know that Fortnite is currently not available on Apple devices. But that could change over the next few months, depending on the ongoing court case. 

• What’s The Right Age?

It’s definitely worth thinking about when the right time is going to be to buy a phone for your child. There’s no real right answer here and it will depend on the individual circumstances you are facing as a parent. For instance, if your kid is going to be walking home from school alone, then it does make sense to kit them out with a phone. That way, you will be able to keep track of them and ensure that they do remain safe. 

If, however, your kid mainly stays at home or goes out with you, there’s really no reason for them to have a mobile phone. However, most parents will buy a child a phone by the time that they reach the age of 11 or 12. One of the reasons for this is that it promotes independence and it will also be around this age when kids start pushing for more independence. You just need to make sure that they are going to be responsible using the phone. The good news is that most phone providers will offer the possibility of parental controls. This means that you can decide how much freedom you are providing your children with their technology. You can base this on how responsible you think they are and how much you can trust them. 

• What About Price? 

Next, you need to think about how much you want to spend on a phone for your child. As you can imagine, phones can be quite expensive, particularly if you buy them outright. For instance, the latest iPhone on the market will cost somewhere upwards of a thousand. Luckily, there are more budget-friendly models available and it is worth exploring these. Particularly if you’re not too concerned with providing your kid with the latest fancy features. The budget-friendly iPhones are more or less the same as the more expensive options with a few differences in terms of performance and design.

That said, if you opt for a cheaper phone from a brand that you aren’t too familiar with then it’s always going to be worth checking the reviews. Some will have significant faults that are going to impact how useful they are for your child. For instance, they could have short battery life. As noted, this is going to be a significant concern for parents who will want to ensure that they can keep in touch with their children at all times. Particularly, at crucial moments such as when they are on their way home from school. 

Of course, if you are going to spend more on a phone for your child, then it’s definitely worth protecting your investment. We recommend that you think about looking at insurance options for your phone. The right insurance coverage will guarantee that you are protected from financial issues associated with damage to the phone or even loss of the handset. Do be aware that a lot of phones these days are quite fragile and will shatter into pieces if dropped from the wrong height. This means that insurance could end up saving you a fortune. 

• Extra Features

Finally, you might want to consider what phones deliver extra features that could be useful to you. For instance, if you get an iPhone, then you can take advantage of the Find My iPhone feature. This means that if your phone is lost, you will immediately be able to find it. You can also use it to track the phone as long as it is connected to the internet. You will be able to pinpoint exactly where your child is and that can give you more peace of mind as a parent. 

We hope this helps you understand some of the key points that you should consider before you buy a phone for your child. If you keep these factors in mind, then you can guarantee that you will make the right choice with a handset that is going to serve them well for years rather than just for a couple of months. You can also make sure that you’re not left out of pocket if the phone is lost or damaged. Unfortunately, there is a strong likelihood that this will be an issue when you’re dealing with kids and tech. 

Contributed Article.