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It’s one of the biggest questions I hear from parents at my workshops each month. “What age should I let my kids have a smartphone?” or “What age should I allow them to get SnapChat, Insta and all the other social media apps they want?”
We’ve posted some great resources on TheSource4Parents.com recently that will help answer that question, including a brand new article posted just this week titled, Parenting Middle Schoolers: More Than Just Surviving This Transitional Phase. But parents of high school students shouldn’t ignore that article, because in the early part of the article where I talk about “Delaying Social Media” I not only provide some brand new research about the undeniable connection from social media to the rise of depression in America, but I also provide some helpful questions you can ask your kids to engage them in meaningful conversation about this subject.
You can read even more about this trend in our recent article, 3 Ingredients Catalyzing the Spike in Teen Depression: And How a Caring Adult Can Actually Help.
But for those parents whose kids already have devices, then you’ll find some very practical advice in our article Helping Your Kids THINK Before They CLICK: Two Conversations We Need To Have, giving you some helpful tips from my brand new book, The Teen’s Guide to Social Media and Mobile Devices.
If you’re looking for answers to these questions and more, I recently answered the top 30 questions asked by parents today in this blog. Check out that series of posts HERE.
Oh… and the answer to that question… what age? (I guess you’ll have to read that first article to find out.) 🙂
Interesting, thank you for the articles, they are great reads, going to send them along to my husband as well. Great for discussion tonight!
This is a good question. Being on a social media, one should be responsible enough. I think the question itself is already answered upon making an account, they will only accept the registration if we are 18 years old and above. At young age children are supposed to be exploring around not just on their gadgets.