Over the past 3 months I’ve been posting about a very important topic which is cell phone safety.
Recently, I was given the opportunity to talk to the people who this is important for – the kids. I held 3 “classes” in the course of 1 day. It was very hectic but in the end they turned out to be great and well received.
I broke the classes down by age:
- 8-11
- 12-15
- 15-18
I am in no way a teacher so I dragged asked my friend to tag along and help me out if I needed her. In the end we loved teaching about mobile safety to the kids.
Each class had different key issues since each age range has different needs. The end result is the same though and that’s that we as parents, need to set rules when it comes to our kids having a cell phone.
According to The AT&T Mobile Safety study:
- The average age a child is given their first phone is 12.1; the average age for a child’s first smartphone is 13.8, among those with a phone.
- 48 percent of children ages 12-14 have ridden in a vehicle with someone who was texting while driving. Among those ages 15-17, the percentage of teens who have ridden with a driver who was texting increases to 64 percent.
- One in four teens ages 15-17 have received mean or bullying text messages (compared to nearly one in five reported by both 8- to 11- and 12- to 14-year-olds).
- More than half of teens ages 15-17 know someone who has received a sexual message or picture over their phone (compared to 39 percent among those aged 12-14).
- 58 percent of parents say that their mobile phone provider offers tools or resources for parents to address issues like overages, safety, security and monitoring. One in seven is not sure whether they have access to these services.
Below are some wonderful tips provided by AT&T Mobile Safety that are essential for every modern day family:
- Model Good Behavior. Turn off your mobile phones and electronic devices during dinner or while participating in family activities. Children will feel more compelled to follow rules if everyone in the family abides by them.
- Pay attention. Know where your kids go online and what they’re doing there.
- Impart your values. Cheating, lying, and being cruel online are not acceptable. The concepts of right and wrong should extend to a child’s online and mobile life.
- Establish limits. Set clear time or texting limits and time of day restrictions so children know when it’s appropriate to use mobile phones or technology.
- Encourage balance. Support their interest in offline activities that don’t require a gadget or mobile device.
- Make kids accountable. Using digital media is a privilege. Consider asking your child to complete more essential tasks, like chores or family time, before letting him get on the internet or text with friends.
- Explain what’s at stake. Remind little ones that what they do today can be used against them tomorrow, especially their when their actions are online.
- Do your homework. Research the websites your kids visit, the songs they download, etc. Stay tuned into how and why they’re using technology so they don’t have free reign.
For more great tips, make sure to visit AT&T’s new resource for parents, Mobile Safety, which features safety tips, studies, and more.
Disclosure: I have been invited by AT&T to speak about the Safety School as an Ambassador. I have received monetary compensation for my time, and expertise in the program. All opinions are my own and do not reflect the experience you may have.
Life has changed so much since I was a teen! Our family didn’t have a cell phone until I turned 17 and my dad bought a family cell phone for me to take when I drove up to my cousins farm alone (5 hour drive). The phone didn’t do anything other than make and recieve calls. Crazy what kids have today! Such great opportunities for them but it is so scary how some kids are using technology today to bully others, makes me sad to see that.
I thought those stats were crazy! 12 years old!!
Awesome tips! Safety is so important.
It is great that you are helping educate kids about cell phone safety. More and more I see kids walking and texting and not paying attention to what is going on around them making them susceptible to getting hurt by tripping, walking in front of traffic, etc.
Cell phone safety is SO super important, both the texting and talking while driving aspect as well as monitoring our teens to make sure they aren’t doing something they shouldn’t be via a cell phone!
great tips
It is so important to educate kids about this.
Wow — what a great opportunity to teach kids the basics… good job!
Modeling good habits is so important with EVERYTHING… even cell phones .
I was just telling my husband how it’s going to be so different teaching our kids something we never had to worry about as kids. I was the Snake master and he didn’t even have a phone, he used a pager!
Thanks for the tips.
What a great program this is, pretty cool you got to teach children the class to! Important stuff to think about.
This is very important. Thanks for a great post!
This is so important to teach your kids! Great tips!
This is such an important and it is so important for us to model safety to our children!