What Age Should A Child Get A Smartphone?

What Age Should A Child Get A Smartphone?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

According to Calgary-based parenting expert Judy Arnall, author of Parenting with Patience, the average age for children to receive their first smartphone is now around ten years old. However, exposure to mobile devices often begins at a much younger age: it's becoming more common to see toddlers in strollers with smartphones and preschoolers zoned out in front of iPads at restaurants.

So, should parents think twice before handing smartphones to their children or purchasing phones for their 10-year-olds in order for them to fit in with their peers? Here's what the experts have to say about age-specific recommendations.

four to six years old

The experts are unambiguous: Children of this age should not be using smartphones (or other mobile devices) at all. When it comes to screen time in general, the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) recommends limiting it to less than one hour per day for children aged two to five years old (screen time for children younger than two years old is not recommended at all), while the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends setting consistent limits on media consumption for children aged six and up. According to Michael Cheng, a child and family psychiatrist at Ottawa's Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, smartphone use at a young age is harmful to developing brains. He explains that mobile devices cause the brain to become wired from an early age to crave easy dopamine, referring to the brain's "feel-good" chemical. The constant overstimulation from screens causes dopamine (and adrenaline) spikes in the brain, which is why they're so addictive.