If Your Elementary School Aged Child Has a Cell Phone

While most of us don’t like the idea of giving an elementary schooled aged child a cellphone, the reality is that many parents will in order to give their child an easy way to get in touch with them. Cell phones, after all, are handy, but sometimes they can be trouble. They enable a child to call or text a parent in a matter of minutes no matter what’s going on. If your child walks home from school or has a lot of after-school activities, they’ll need an easy way to get in touch if they’re in trouble or have to stay late. But before you simply hand your child a cellphone you may want to consider taking a few simple precautions, such as spy to mobile phones, parental controls, and so much more.

No Apps and Other Things You Need to Implement

You should instill a no app policy on your child’s phone except for perhaps a small collection of age appropriate games and educational apps. Most smart phones should enable you to set Parental Controls allowing you to do everything from block certain apps to setting time limits on when your child can access apps. After all, your child shouldn’t treat their cellphone privilege as a free pass to do whatever they want on it. Some apps just simply aren’t appropriate for children. You’ll also want to make sure you’ve banned your child from making in-app purchases on all the apps they’re allowed to use. The unfortunate reality is that many apps make it much too easy for a child to purchase in-game objects with real money and children, not knowing that they’re using your pre-saved payment options in their phone, might accidentally spend thousands of dollars inside of the app.

Children should not be using the internet unsupervised so make sure you block access to Safari or any other web browsers that might be on your child’s phone. If your child is to use the internet, make sure they’re only using it on a family or school computer just so you can be sure they’re accessing age appropriate resources.

One thing you will want to immediately implement is cell phone tracking spying apps so you can directly monitor how your child is using their phone. This will show any texts or calls your child has made and what apps they may be using. Many schools use similar technology on their computers and this is no different. You’ll want to make sure your child understands responsible cellphone behavior before they have free reign with the cellphone. Cellphone tracking software can also provide you with a GPS location of where your child and their phone are at all times, allowing you to see if they’re getting home safe.

In general, you’ll also want to make sure your child knows to limit their usage with the cellphone. You may decide that your child can only use the cellphone when they’re out of the house. Or you might only allow them access to it if they’re traveling somewhere with their school or you feel that your neighborhood isn’t safe. Your children need to understand that they shouldn’t be glued to their cellphones at all times and that it’s perfectly reasonable to limit cellphone usage, especially due to their age.

A child with a cellphone is afforded an easy and convenient way to get in touch with his or her parents. But don’t let her use a cell phone without using a Android or iPhone spyware connected. Your child should have some precautionary measures installed on their phone before they use it. That way you can make sure they’re both using their phone responsibly and that they don’t access age inappropriate content before they’re ready.