Many parents are wondering at what age they should buy their children a personal phone and which model to choose: an inexpensive push-button phone or a fashionable smartphone. Undoubtedly, the ability to always be in touch with a child is an important condition for his safety. In addition, with the help of gadgets, children gain access to online educational programs, applications for communicating with friends, and an array of useful information on the Internet. But it is unhindered access to the Internet that is the main disadvantage. However, the number of children receiving their own phone at an early age is growing every year.
Questions and Answers How could children get sick from their phones?
Research by scientists
Scientists have conducted many studies to determine the effect of a mobile phone on a baby’s body. It has been proven that children under one year of age should not be exposed to any electronic device. Experts recommend following the same system for children aged two to four years. Being in front of a monitor is harmful to the baby’s development, as is the sedentary lifestyle that accompanies this process. The study, which was conducted with 47 children aged three to five years, also demonstrated the negative impact of the phone on a fragile body. Toddlers who spent a lot of time in front of screens had less white matter in their brains. It's called myelin and is responsible for transmitting information between different areas of the brain. In addition, children with phones spoke worse, their vocabulary was much smaller, and their ability to acquire speech skills was also relatively low.
QR access code
As you know, a QR code is a matrix barcode consisting of square dots scattered on a white square grid. The information hidden in such a code can be read using special devices, one of which can be a regular mobile phone. During the pandemic and the rise of coronavirus cases, the QR code has become an effective tool that allows you to check in a few seconds whether a person has been vaccinated, whether he has had coronavirus, whether he has performed a PCR test, and with what result.
With the growing aggressiveness of the coronavirus in October-November 2021, sanitary doctors in many regions of the Russian Federation issued a number of decrees aimed at significantly reducing social contacts. Access to entertainment venues has become available exclusively through QR codes, which are displayed on the screen of the user’s smartphone or printed in advance on a sheet of paper. Such a code must be displayed along with the passport, allowing the inspector to verify the correctness of the data displayed by the code.
And while adults are fully affected by such restrictions, the situation with children is different.
Ideal age for a gift
Psychologists say they cannot accurately determine the optimal age for such a gift. The fact is that all children are unique in their own way, each of them has personal characteristics on which a lot depends. But at the same time, scientists are inclined to believe that the optimal age will be sixteen years. Until this time, try to choose other items as gifts; their choice is very large (for example, skates, skis, bicycles, musical instruments, toys, etc.) But this is not a direct indication, we are talking about a recommendation. Pay attention to the child's autonomy and maturity. Perhaps your child is ahead of development, and you can give him a mobile phone much earlier.
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Phone options for children
Watch phones: Smart Baby Watch Q80, Smart Baby Watch GW200S, Alcatel Movetime. Their cost is from 2000 to 3500 rubles.
Smart Baby Watch Q80, photo - AliExpress
There are a lot of good “dialers”, off the top of my head: Nokia 3310 (from 3,000 rubles, two SIM cards, durable body, high-quality screen), Philips E106 (from 900 rubles, a simple version with a color screen), Alcatel 2008G (from 1,700 rubles, large buttons), Fly FF281 (from 1200 rubles, comfortable keys, large screen), BQ BQM-1831 Step+ (from 500 rubles, two SIM cards), teXet TM-121 (from 450 rubles, monochrome screen, excellent autonomy).
Fly FF281 and teXet TM-121, photos of manufacturers
Well, now about the optimal smartphones for schoolchildren.
Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini Prime (from 4,500 rubles) is a compact device with a 4-inch screen (800x480 pixels), just right for a child’s palm. It supports two SIM cards, has a good 5 MP camera, a 4-core processor and 1 GB of RAM. But the battery capacity is disappointing - 1500 mAh. LG has a similar model at a similar price - K3 LTE K100DS, the battery there is a little better - 1920 mAh.
Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini Prime, photo - Samsung
It is worth paying attention to the Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime (from 6,500 rubles). It has a 5-inch screen, 8 megapixel camera, 1.5 GB of RAM, and a 2600 mAh battery.
ASUS ZenFone Go ZB452KG (from RUB 4,000) - 4.5-inch screen, 5 MP camera, 1 GB RAM, 2070 mAh battery.
LG K7 X230 (from RUB 6,500) is a smartphone with a 5-inch screen, 8 MP camera, 1 GB of RAM and a 2,500 mAh battery. For 2000 rubles. The LG K8 is more expensive, it has more memory, a better camera, and a higher screen resolution.
LG K8, photo - LG
Honor 6A (from 7,000 rubles) is a beautiful device with a large display (5 inches, 1280×720), 13 megapixel camera, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory, 3020 mAh battery, 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset.
Well, where would we be without Xiaomi with their attractive models at affordable prices. For example, Redmi 4A costs from 5,500 rubles. At the same time, it is equipped with a 4-core processor and 2 GB of RAM, the battery is also good - 3120 mAh. Camera - 13 MP. Screen - 5 inches, resolution 1280x720.
Xiaomi Redmi 4A, photo – Xiaomi
Another inexpensive (from 3,500 rubles) “Chinese” is DOOGEE X10. It has a nice body with a metal frame, a high-quality 5-inch HD screen, a 5 MP camera, and a 3360 mAh battery. But there is only 512 MB of RAM and a 2-core processor. Alas, by today's standards this is extremely small. However, according to reviews, the device does not slow down much.
Another affordable option (from 3,500 rubles) is Alcatel U5 3G 4047D. The smartphone has a 5-inch screen, 5 megapixel camera, 1 GB of RAM, and a 2050 mAh battery. The characteristics of the BQ BQ-5035 Velvet are similar, it costs from 3900 rubles.
Alcatel U5 3G 4047D, photo - Alcatel
A cool device for 5-6 thousand rubles - Motorola Moto C Plus. The smartphone is available in several different colors, an excellent 5-inch HD display, 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory, 8 MP camera. And the most “delicious” thing is the 4000 mAh battery. You can forget about charging for several days.
I recommend another good smartphone with a 4000 mAh battery - Prestigio Grace P5. I will not indicate its characteristics, they are the same as those of Motorola. And the price is from 4500 rubles.
Well, the absolute record holder for “survivability” on our list is Alcatel PIXI 4 Plus Power with a 5000 mAh battery! True, it is a bit large for a child - the screen is 5.5 inches. But the cost is from 5,500 rubles, a good HD screen, 16 GB of internal memory.
In the next article I will tell you how to keep your child safe from eating if he uses a smartphone.
Addiction
Buying a mobile phone is a difficult gift. This should be an agreed upon decision between the two parents. Think about how ready your child is for this life change. And these are not trivial words, since being in front of a monitor is accompanied by the production of dopamine. This is the hormone of happiness that “drags in” and makes you pick up your phone more and more often. Is your child ready to stop in time and not become dependent on the gadget? Here are some recommendations on this matter.
At what age should you buy your child a smartphone?
Each parent will have their own answer to this question. The decision must be made independently, based on the financial capabilities and needs of the child. As a rule, the need for a mobile phone arises at the moment when the child’s life ceases to be completely controlled by the parents. For example, when entering school. In this case, the adult will simply need to know where the son or daughter is at the moment: whether the student went to school, and whether he returned home after school.
There is no particular need to purchase a smartphone in primary school. Your child can take an inexpensive push-button phone that will allow them to contact their parents. Around the end of elementary school, your son or daughter will need access to the Internet and other functions of a modern device. In this case, the smartphone will help the child express himself.
When purchasing a smartphone for a child at a young age, you should understand that the child will be primarily interested in games and cartoons. And although parents will have more free time, their son or daughter will be constantly distracted from the educational process.
Age appropriate phone
Choose a gadget that suits the child's age. You shouldn't buy an expensive phone with a huge number of features. Firstly, a teenager doesn’t need them in principle, and secondly, an expensive gadget will attract attention in itself. This is not only a provocation of envy on the part of other children and a reason for the child to brag, but also the risk of attracting unscrupulous people. Now there are a lot of scammers who will gladly take advantage of a child’s defenselessness in order to take away a gadget.
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Disadvantages of buying a phone for a child
1. Addiction is what worries parents first. The child will begin to hang out on social networks, become addicted to toys, and listen to music non-stop. As a result, you will probably be distracted from lessons and real communication with peers.
2. Inability to control information . The Internet contains not only useful things, but also things that a child does not want to see. However, there are various applications to control the situation - we will talk about them in a separate article. This also applies to the first point.
3. An expensive smartphone means there is a risk that a child may be attacked for the purpose of robbery.
4. Eye hazard : if a child stares at a small screen for too long. And especially in low light.
Agreements
Be sure to discuss the time when the child can use the phone (don't forget about the duration of this time). Otherwise, every day you will have a reason for disagreement: you will explain to your child every day why he should not spend a lot of time on the phone. Preliminary agreements, which cannot be deviated from, will resolve this issue once and for all. Tell him about the priorities that need to be set correctly. For example, it may sound like “duty first, fun later.” Be as tactful as possible and remember confidentiality and respect. That is, you need to transfer the habits and values that are present in the family to the situation with using the phone. If you have a trusting relationship, then the gadget will not become a hindrance; it will only help your child gain new knowledge and become more erudite and responsible.
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Which phone is better to buy for a child?
A parent should ask himself why, in fact, he wants to buy a smartphone for his child, says Nikolai Romanovsky, candidate of psychological sciences, psychologist at the St. Luke Center for Health and Development. “If it is important for a parent that the child is accessible by telephone, the simplest push-button telephone will be suitable for this purpose. It is more difficult to break; the battery of such a phone lasts quite a long time. Due to the simplicity of the device, the child will not be distracted by it much, and if he suddenly loses it, it will not be a big waste for the family budget.
If a smartphone is a child’s request, motivated by the fact that “everyone in the class has one,” that’s a different question. Here you need to look at the child himself. If you doubt your child’s strong-willed abilities, if he is inclined to get overly involved in video games, there is a high probability that the gift will cause more problems than it will bring benefits,” says Romanovsky.
Operator requirements
Let's see how old different operators allow you to buy a SIM card.
Megaphone.
You can buy a SIM card from the age of 14 if you have a passport. Until the age of 18, the presence of one of the parents, also with a passport, will be required.
Tele 2.
You can connect independently from the age of 18. From 14 to 18 years of age at the request of one of the parents (guardian, adoptive parent) in his personal presence and upon presentation of the passports of the parent and child.
Beeline.
Similar rules. The right to purchase arises from the age of 14, but before reaching the age of 18, a SIM card must be issued together with one of the parents, based on his written consent (the document form will be provided at the communication store).
Yota.
Allows registration from 14 to 18 years old with a notarized power of attorney from parents, and not only in personal presence. Yota does not deliver SIM cards to people under 18 years of age.
MTS.
You can come for a SIM card at the age of 14, but until the age of 18, parents will sign the agreement on behalf of the child.
However, there are also innovations that allow operators to give young subscribers the right to connect without the presence of parents. Like Beeline, MTS also makes concessions in the form of a written statement from parents.
This rule appeared in MTS after the launch of the “Hype” youth tariff, which is now called “”. It is aimed specifically at teenagers, and it is not surprising that the company has introduced an exception for it. When visiting the salon, it is enough to bring a written statement from your parents in free form.
But the most loyal rules for teenagers were recently introduced by MegaFon. Now you can connect to the operator’s services with your passport from the age of 14, and without any statements from your parents. How did the operator manage to circumvent legal restrictions?
When connecting to the services of a minor, the operator activates the additional option “Client 14-17” under the contract. It limits the use of certain financial services on the number. Thus, it will not be possible to activate the promised payment or switch to a credit payment system, activate extended roaming around the world, or use financial services, including the issuance of a MegaFon bank card.
As soon as the subscriber turns 18, the operator will send a congratulations to the now adult client. At the same time, the restrictive service will be disabled, and the subscriber will be able to use the connection in full.
Legal bonus
The same civil code contains another condition for obtaining full legal capacity. It is received by a person who got married before reaching 18 years of age.
So, mobile operators cannot refuse to buy a SIM card for a married teenager under 18 years old, even if he came without his parents. But, of course, you shouldn’t do anything rash just to get your own SIM card.
Is it possible for minors to walk without a QR code?
As you know, the introduction of QR codes is primarily due to the desire of the authorities to vaccinate as many Russians as possible. However, the effect of the vaccine on children has not yet been precisely studied, therefore vaccination of children and adolescents under 18 years of age is not carried out. As an exception, any child, with the support of his parents or guardians, can be vaccinated, but this requires the desire of him and his parents.
Thus, the absolute majority of children cannot receive a QR code for a vaccinated person, since vaccination of children under 18 years of age is not carried out. At the same time, the government limited access to establishments solely by QR codes, which created a barrier for such children. What to do in such a situation?
The authorities of many regions took a workaround. Children under 18 years of age can enter most entertainment venues. However, access to some of them is possible only if the child comes in the company of an adult who already has a QR code of someone who has been vaccinated, who has recovered from the disease, or a negative PCR test.
If a child comes without an adult, then in the most severe cases he will be required to show a QR code of a person who has recovered from coronavirus, or a negative result of a PCR test with the corresponding code. You can take a PCR test at a state (municipal) clinic, and many of these clinics perform such a test for free. Also, a PCR test can be done in a paid clinic, the price for it is 1800-2000 rubles.
