When is a child ready for their first mobile phone?

DAR ES SALAAM: FOR many parents today, deciding when a child should own a mobile phone is not an easy choice. While phones have become an important tool for communication, learning and entertainment, concerns about online safety, distractions and inappropriate content continue to make many parents cautious.

As a result, there is no single answer. Some parents introduce phones at an early age under close supervision, while others prefer to wait until their children are older and more mature. For Henry Elisamia of Mwananyamala, the decision is clear.

His first-born child is 18 years old but does not own a mobile phone.

“He should complete school first. I will buy him a phone after he finishes A-Level studies. Besides, he is in a boarding school where phones are not allowed, so I did not see the need to buy one,” he says.

Another parent, Nasongelya Kilyinga adds that his 15-year-old child, who is in Form Two, also does not own a phone.

“I have no plans to buy one yet because I feel it could distract her from her studies,” he says.

A similar view is held by Lydia Mwanyemi, a resident of Kibaha, whose 17-year-old child still does not own a personal phone.

“The phone we have is a family phone, so she uses it whenever she needs to communicate with friends. I will buy her a phone when she joins university because by then she will be mature enough to manage it responsibly,” she says. Ms Mwanyemi believes parents should consider a child’s stage of development rather than focusing solely on age. “I cannot say there is a specific age, but I think university level is a stage of adulthood and that is when it becomes more difficult to completely restrict phone use,” she adds.

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Not all parents take the same approach. Elias Maluba, a resident of Mbezi, believes mobile phones can be useful for children when their use is closely supervised. He says his 10-year-old son owns a mobile phone, although its use is limited to playing games and communicating with family members.

“My son has a phone, but he mainly uses it for games and to communicate with his parents. We closely monitor how he uses it,” he says.

Mr Maluba says the family has also purchased a smartwatch fitted with a SIM card to help keep track of the child when he is away from home.

“The watch helps us stay in touch when he is outside the house. If he goes to church or attends other social gatherings, we can easily call him, especially if he is late returning home,” he said.

The debate comes at a time when children’s use of digital devices is increasing rapidly. While presenting her ministry’s 2026/27 budget estimates, Minister for Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups, Dr Dorothy Gwajima said studies show that 67 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 use smartphones.

Of those, four per cent have experienced different forms of online violence. Dr Gwajima said that increased access to electronic devices has exposed some children to inappropriate content and online risks.

“To strengthen child protection, the ministry trained 516 facilitators on online child safety. The facilitators later reached more than 1.8 million students, 679 teachers and 232 non-teaching staff across all 26 regions with awareness programmes on online safety,” she said Dr Gwajima also said the government established a National Advisory Committee on Child Online Safety in 2024 to advise on measures that respond to emerging technological challenges.

“Among the proposals under discussion is the introduction of a Child SIM Card system that would help filter and block inappropriate content accessed by children,” Dr Gwajima said.

The post When is a child ready for their first mobile phone? first appeared on Daily News.

The post When is a child ready for their first mobile phone? appeared first on Daily News.