Internet and Cell Phone Safety Information

The average age of kids today getting cell phones is around 12 or 13.  Many have grown up with tablets and computers since birth, my 2-year-old nephew has no problems running an iPad and getting to YouTube. 

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Below is a plethora of resources I implore every parent to read before giving their child a cell phone.  And no matter how well behaved and responsible your child may be, do not give them a cell phone, tablet, laptop or any other device that connects to the internet without it being monitored.  Even the most well behaved and responsible youth will make mistakes and does something they shouldn't.

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In 16 years, I have had many calls involving children and their cell phones.  I'm not an advocate for snooping on everything your child says or does, they need to be able to develop a level of trust with their parents, but also need to be allowed to make some mistakes while they're young, that's how they learn and grow.  As adults we've all been there and done that, we just didn't get caught.  We also didn't have today's electronics and social media keeping tabs on us 24/7.

But a parent should be able to step in to keep them from making an egregious mistake that will have long term damning effects on them, be it mentally, sociably, or possibly even physically. 

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I strongly encourage all parents to enroll their Childs device, be it a phone, tablet, or computer, through either Apple Families or Google's Family Link as a solid start.  An Important note, when a child turns 13 both services allow the child to choose to manage their own account, so you wouldn't be able to manage their account after that.  Not saying to be less than truthful but that would be a simple enough issue to get around when first setting up their account with a little pre-common core subtraction.