What age is right for a child’s first phone?
Starting middle school is often when the question becomes pressing: friends have one, the trip to school gets longer, and you want to be able to reach each other. There is no magic age, but there are guideposts.
What the experts recommend
In April 2024, a commission of experts on the impact of screen exposure on young people, convened in France at the request of the President of the Republic, proposed a step-by-step approach:
- No phone before age 11.
- From 11 to 13: a phone without Internet access, for calls and text messages.
- From 13: a smartphone, but without social media.
- From 15: access to social media, favoring those that respect their users.
These are recommendations, not obligations. Many families depart from them, for good reasons. What matters is knowing why you are giving a phone, and what you accept it being used for.
The right questions to ask yourself
- What do they need it for? Being reachable on the way to school does not require a smartphone. A basic phone, or a smartphone limited to calls with a few contacts, may be enough.
- Are they ready? Can they put their phone down when asked? Do they tell you when something makes them uncomfortable?
- Are you ready to guide them? A first phone is set up tightly, then loosened over the months. It is not a gift you hand over and forget about.
- What example are we setting? Children copy how their parents use their phones far more than they listen to instructions.
Preparing the first phone
- Set it up before handing it over: allowed contacts, installed apps, the time it switches off in the evening.
- Talk about it beforehand: what they can do, what is not allowed and why, and what to do if someone makes them uncomfortable. See our rules for a first smartphone.
- Plan to open things up gradually: one more app on their birthday, a later bedtime when they move up a school year. Your child knows that trust is earned.
On Android, LU6OLE lets you set together what your child can open, when, and who can call them. They can see everything you have set up, and nothing they read or write ever leaves their phone. Discover LU6OLE