Dr David Coleman: My five smartphone rules to manage your child’s screen time
When attempting to set healthy limits around your child’s screen time, appealing to their better nature and setting a good example with your own phone use is much more effective than a punishment-based approach
Clear boundaries around phone use help ensure your child has a healthy relationship with their devices. Photo: Getty
School’s out for the summer. There will be a cohort of children who have already had mobile phones during primary school, but there will also now be a big group of children who will be getting, or have just gotten, their first smartphone as the transition to secondary school is finally on the horizon.
I have frequently recommended that parents delay giving their child a smartphone for as long as they possibly can, and certainly withholding a phone until they are going into secondary school. However, even with my misgivings I do recognise that smartphones have become the way that teenagers connect socially and a teenager without one may be at a huge social disadvantage.
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