Smartphones, apps, data… The days when a mobile phone meant calls and SMS to relatives and friends are gone! The mobile of the new generation has entered our lives for years, every year is more “smart”. With possibilities that fascinate and sometimes are…scaring!
A real tool in modern everyday life, both for adults and children. The children of the digital era, who from a very young age can handle all smart devices. Children today, before even finishing primary school, ask their parents for their own mobile phone!
Did the above remind you… something? Well we guessed it!
Perhaps you belong to the group of parents who have reservations about the security of mobile phones and whether they should give their child a cell phone. Makes sense! The limitless possibilities of modern smartphones increase the potential risks for all of us, especially children. As someone used to say: ‘’With great power comes great responsibility’’. Great responsibility for every parent, to give such “power” to a child.
But is it worth doing it after all? Are the advantages for your child more than you think? According to the Telegraph, almost 2/3 of children up to the age of 10 worldwide have their own smartphone. In the UK alone, the percentage of children (up to 11 years old) who own a mobile phone stands at a staggering 91%! Random? Probably not! Let’s see why…
What are the advantages of a mobile phone for the child?
A multidimensional device like today’s smartphone, is capable of making our lives easier. To offer solutions to practical issues of our daily lives, answers to our every question and immediacy in the way we communicate. Just as a mobile phone solves the hands of all of us, so it can help our children! But let’s talk a little more in detail about the advantages of the mobile phone for our little “heroes”.
A mobile phone allows the child to communicate with you directly!
First and foremost, a mobile phone gives your child – and you – the security that they can contact you at any time. And vice versa, of course, that you can contact him whenever you need to. By giving him a mobile phone, you forget once and for all the old, bad times when you would be filled with anguish about where he is, how he is, whether he feels comfortable at the party he went to or whether he will be late to return home.Similarly, the child will not feel the stress of having to find a way to call you, to ask you e.g. to come and pick him up from the best friend’s house. A short WhatsApp call or a message on Viber is enough for both of you to feel calm and safe.
With a mobile phone, your child comes into direct contact with their friends!
In the same pulse, the mobile phone allows him to talk directly, in “real” time, with his pals. A video call, a message on Messenger, a DM on Instagram or TikTok is enough to arrange their next gaming date in an instant. Or just to tell their news, talk about their favorite team or listen together to the new track that their loved…trapper came out! A mobile phone keeps your child in constant contact with his friends, while giving him autonomy and self-confidence.
The mobile phone makes children more “sociable” and more creative!
Also, the mobile phone gives your child access to the Internet, his favorite apps and, yes, the Social Media he loves so much… You may not love them that much, but it’s an open secret that they have several advantages. We have talked about them in detail, so if you want to read our article about the advantages of social media, maybe you will eventually change your mind!
So, what does access to the Internet and Social Media mean for your child? It means access to the world of unlimited information. It means a sense of belonging to the large, cool “social” community, of being an equal member of the large online group. But it also means something else: Creativity and expression! We don’t know if your child dreams of becoming a full-time digital creator, but we do know that it is important that they can channel somewhere the creativity they hide inside them – and maybe it is more than you think!
To be able to express themselves, their talents and opinions. To have a dialogue with their peers, to open their horizons, to acquire new stimuli and to be inspired. To share and flaunt online their wonderful homemade videos! Who offers them all these possibilities? The Internet and social apps. And how will they access them? But, of course, from their mobile phone!
One last thing…
A “smart” mobile can “raise” a smart and responsible adult!
The smart nature of today’s mobile phone can help us grow even more! What do we mean? All these apps, which flood our screens with notifications, aim to offer us solutions. To give us possibilities that we did not have before. To help us manage, properly and responsibly, what we cannot do on our own. That’s why we see applications “popping up” for the smart management of our schedule and time (Hello homework!), our shopping list and obligations, the organization of our data and the management of our finances. Or even…pocket money! Yes, you read that right!
There is an app that allows your child to manage their pocket money autonomously and learn in a simple and fun way what responsible financial management means…
It’s Woli! The first prepaid card and app for children and young people 10-18 years old, co-managed by parents!
With Woli you enjoy pocket money “on automatic”, real-time alerts for every transaction of the child, 100% safe purchases – with predetermined limits by you – and much more, that you can discover here!
Did you see that in the end it might not be such a bad idea to let your child have a cell phone?
With a little trust, communication between you and clear boundaries (important for you and for the other 96% of parents in this world), the child can really benefit from the advantages of his mobile phone. Without losing sleep, every time you hear from his room the sound of a new notification… Think about it!
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