WSNN – “Getting a smartphone is a big decision and it provides lots of access to a lot of things that kids may not feel ready or parents may not be ready for,” said Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School, Jenny Radesky.
For those asking themselves at what age should a child get their own cell phone or how much screen time is appropriate, The American Academy of Pediatrics and AT&T are working together to provide free tools to help parents and caregivers create healthy digital habits for their families.
“We wanted to take this time, especially as were dealing with two years of ton of media time during the pandemic to support parents to make healthy decisions around tech,” said Radesky.
Common Sense Media found teen media use has accelerated faster in the two years since the pandemic than the four years before, with eight to 12-year-olds spending an average of five and a half hours a day on screens and consuming media. That rate climbs to over eight and a half hours a day for teens.
Some of the free tools offered to parents and caregivers are a family media plan or phone ready questionnaire.
“We talk about responsibility, do they regularly lose things like their hats or their gloves, because losing their phones is a pretty expensive thing, and accountability, how much do they help make things better if they make a mistake, how much are they able to make decisions, and are they mature and make good judgement even when you’re not around,” said Radesky.
Another important factor is setting rules with kids around cellphone use
“Make some agreements with your kids about having the control to not check their phone while driving or in the car and when in school, because that’s an important time to be paying attention and its a lot harder if your attention is fragmented when your teacher is trying to teach you something,” said Radesky.
While the tools are helpful, Radesky suggest parents ease into cellphone use based on their judgements
“Try out a flip phone if you need a way to communicate, or try to use a phone for a little bit and test it out for a couple of weeks and see if it is a good match and if it is see if you can keep going with it,” said Radesky.
