Before giving your child their first phone, check these 7 online risks
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Giving a child their first smartphone can be a big milestone, but social media is only part of the risk. Here are seven online safety issues parents should discuss first.
For many parents, starting secondary school is also the moment a child gets their first smartphone.
It can be reassuring when they begin travelling to school alone or spending more time away from home, but it also gives them access to an enormous digital world that can be difficult for parents to monitor.
And social media is only part of the problem. Cyberbullying, scams, pornography, grooming, misinformation and privacy risks can also appear through messaging apps, gaming platforms, websites and AI tools.
SafetyMode, the smartphone safety software developed in partnership with Mumsnet, has now produced a free Essential Guide for Parents covering seven of the main areas families should think about when children start using smartphones.
Here are the issues worth discussing before handing over that first phone.
1. Screen time and mental health
The first concern is not necessarily what children are looking at, but how much time they spend looking at it.
Constant notifications, late-night phone use and the pressure to stay connected can affect sleep, concentration and wellbeing. Agreeing some basic rules around when phones are used, particularly at bedtime and during meals, can make boundaries clearer from the start.
2. Cyberbullying and social pressure
Bullying no longer stops at the school gate.
Group chats, gaming platforms and messaging services can allow arguments, exclusion and abusive messages to follow children home. Parents should make sure children know they can talk about anything that makes them uncomfortable and understand how to block and report users.
The SafetyMode guide for parents includes conversation starters designed to make these discussions easier.
3. Pornography, grooming and inappropriate contact
Smartphones can expose children to sexual content far earlier than many parents expect.
That can happen through websites, private messages, shared videos or contact from strangers. Parental controls and content filtering can reduce the risk, but children also need to understand why they should never share intimate images or personal information with somebody online.
4. Scams and financial exploitation
Children are increasingly attractive targets for scammers.
Fake competitions, gaming offers, fraudulent online shops and messages promising free currency or rewards can all be used to persuade young people to hand over passwords, payment details or other information.
It is worth establishing one simple rule: if something involves spending money, sharing payment details or entering account information, check with an adult first.
5. Misinformation and AI
Children now have access to an extraordinary amount of information, but that does not mean all of it is reliable.
Misleading videos, fake news, manipulated images and increasingly convincing AI-generated material can make it difficult even for adults to distinguish fact from fiction.
Encouraging children to ask who created something, why it was created and whether another reliable source confirms it can help build good habits early.
6. Privacy and personal safety
Children can reveal far more about themselves online than they realise.
A username, school uniform, photograph, location tag or casual comment can expose information about where they live, where they go to school or where they spend their time.
Parents should go through privacy settings together and explain why seemingly harmless pieces of personal information can matter.
7. Schoolwork and concentration
A smartphone can be useful for homework, communication and research, but it can also become a constant distraction.
Notifications arriving while a child is studying can make sustained concentration difficult, while unrestricted access to AI tools also raises new questions about how children complete schoolwork.
Setting clear expectations around phone use during homework can help prevent those habits becoming established.
The free Phone Safety for Teens & Kids guide goes into each of these areas in more detail and includes practical actions and conversation starters parents can use immediately.
The most useful approach may not be trying to frighten children away from technology, but making sure they understand both its benefits and its risks before a smartphone becomes an everyday part of their lives.