When should my child get a phone?

The wrong question, slightly

"What age?" has no magic number, but "which capabilities?" does have an answer. A phone is really three products in one: a contact device, an internet portal, and a social media machine. You don't have to grant all three at once, and the wisest path usually doesn't.

The staged approach

Stage one, contact: a basic phone or smartwatch that calls and texts family. Solves the "walking home alone" problem with none of the rest. Stage two, smartphone, gated: messaging and useful apps, no social media, family-controls on, devices charging outside bedrooms overnight (the single highest-value rule in this entire subject). Stage three, social media: the platforms themselves set 13 as the minimum, and there is no developmental argument for beating that. For many children, especially anxious ones, later is kinder. Grant one platform at a time, accounts private, and with you as an early follower.

The conversation that matters more than the controls

Filters and settings are seatbelts, not driving lessons. The protective factor research keeps finding is open dialogue: children who believe they can bring an online problem to a parent without losing the phone are the children who bring the problem. So make the deal explicit: "If something goes wrong online, telling me will never cost you the device. We solve it together." Then keep that promise, even when tested.

Educational content, not medical advice. Concerned about your child? Speak to your GP.