Should we buy our 10-year-old daughter a smartphone?

Say no for now, but she can have one at high school if you think she is mature enough, says Annalisa Barbieri

Our oldest daughter is in year 5, a sensible and independent 10-year-old and she wants a smartphone. She is already an owner of a dumb-phone, as she walks to the local shops by herself and sometimes part of the way home from school. However, many of her friends have smartphones. 

The requests, pleas and promises of how well she would use one are coming thick and fast. My husband and I think she would be sensible; she isn’t a technology addict and spends most of her time playing in more time-honoured ways. She has been learning about the many dangers and horrors of technology, as well as its benefits. She is literate and thoughtful in her social interactions, and would think through her texts and comments on a chat group if she joined one. In short, she would probably be fine and safe if we caved in to peer pressure, and her nagging.

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2GIMgUz