Making Mobile Phones Safer for Children
There is no escaping the importance of mobile ‘smart’ phones in today’s society… whether it be for messaging, video and regular calling, taking photos and videos, banking, gaming, or ordering yourself a pizza! It would probably also not surprise you to know that most children in the UK regularly have access to a smartphone, either a parents’ or siblings' device, or more commonly their own. A survey last year even found that a massive 53% of children aged 7 have their own mobile, jumping sharply to 90% by the age of 11.
Now with most technology, these devices are not only a lot of fun, they can be extremely helpful, particularly in terms of maintaining near constant contact with your loved one and being able to track their location at the touch of a button. They do however need to be carefully set up to ensure maximum protection for the younger users. This includes setting up content restrictions, web and search filters and carefully monitoring and limiting what apps can be downloaded.
Attached are two very handy guides, one for iPhones and the other for Android devices which are a great place to start, but if you have any further questions on how to make phones as safe they can possibly be, including using tracking apps like Life360, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
