Should mobiles be banned for under-13s?

As 60 per cent of eight-year-olds use phone apps meant for teenagers...

WHEN I asked my 15-year- old daughter Clio whether s he thought children under 13 should be banned f rom having phones, her answer surprised me.

I had half expected her to insist that they are a basic human right and a lifeline for kids of all ages, especially during lockdown.

But no. under-13’s shouldn’t have them at all, she shot back, adding: ‘They are the death of childhood.’

Clio got her first phone age 11, when she began walking home from school. She explained how all friendships suddenly went online; remarks got taken out of context, people took sides, and rifts carried on in school time, creating stress.

It’s ironic that we buy everything we can to keep our children safe, from car seats to bike helmets, then one day we give them the one item that probably can do them the most harm: a smartphone.

We become complicit in sending them into a vast online world, with some very dark corners, in which it is almost impossible to protect them.

Furthermore, we open up a portal into our child’s life through which any stranger can enter. A terrifying thought. new research shows that 60 per cent of eight-year-olds have used a messaging app, despite most of these products having an age restriction of 13-plus.

Through social media we allow our kids to be bombarded with messages about how their bodies should look, or how they should think and behave, which they are not equipped to handle and which make them feel anxious and insecure.

Studies are constantly showing how phone use and social media eat into the hours of rest that are so vital for children’s learning and health.

Despite all this, once again smartphones are likely to be the no 1 Christmas gift for teenagers.

According to Ofcom, half of the uK’s ten-year-olds already own one, while the age for getting a first phone reduces all the time. It’s now just seven years old.

So why do we give in? According to a recent study, the biggest reason is fear a child will be left out or bullied if all their friends have one and they don’t. yet often the opposite is true: research shows the more time a child is online, the more likely they are to be cyber-bullied.

So wait a few more years to put that phone under the tree, and when you do, give them one that doesn’t have access to the internet.

Otherwise, you may actually be taking away more than you give.

Phones eat into the hours of rest so vital health’ for kids’