Four Ways to Make Sure Your Child Is Safe Using Their First Smartphone

By Christina Moore

Having a cell phone is very popular with preteens and teenagers nowadays. Many people choose to invest in a quality phone like the new Samsung S8 for their children only when they feel that they are responsible enough to own one. If you feel that your child is ready for the responsibility of cell phone ownership, you need to take the time to properly prepare before giving them the phone to ensure that they are as safe as they can be with it at all times. The following guide provides you with four tips to use to keep your child safe when they receive their first smartphone.

Protect the Phone Physically

The first thing you need to do is protect the phone physically. Children are not always as careful as they should be with devices. If they drop the phone or sit on it, you do not want it to be damaged right away. There are screen protectors and cases available online like these at https://www.bodyguardz.com/samsung where you can find the perfect gear to make your child’s phone as well protected as it can be. You will need to know the make and model of your child’s phone to ensure that the case and screen protector you purchase fit properly.

Create an Understanding

Before giving your child a phone, you need to create an understanding with them. You could create a contract that you both sign that states how your child is allowed to use the phone, what will happen if they are caught using it improperly, and that the phone is in your name so you can take it if they are misbehaving in any way. Your child needs to know that they cannot do whatever they want on the phone whenever they want to do it. Having restrictions will keep your child safe when they use the phone to go online, text with friends, or talk on the phone.

Download Protective Applications on the Phone

There are many affordable protective apps that are now available to protect your child from doing anything that they should not be doing. Consider adding a tracking app on your child’s phone so that you can track where they are at all times. Consider adding another app that will send your phone every text, picture, and email that they send so that you can monitor their activity on a regular basis.

Check Your Child’s Phone Regularly

Look at your child’s phone thoroughly on a regular basis. You want to be sure that they are not receiving inappropriate messages on the phone or visiting inappropriate websites that they should not be visiting. Checking the phone randomly will ensure that your child does not have time to delete anything they do not want you to see.

Taking the time to make sure that your child understands what you expect them to do and not do with the phone, and checking it regularly, will protect your child from doing things that they should not be doing. When parents do not take a proactive approach to protecting their children with proper cell phone use, it can lead to dangerous situations because. The most important job of a parent is to protect and love their child, and keeping up with what your child is doing on their phone is one great way to do that.