We are calling on the relevant companies to make safe phones for children available in the UK. That means phones that come already set-up to be completely safe for children with no app store, no social media, no internet browser, parental controls built-in. Either no internet at all or a selection of safe and carefully selected benefitial apps. 

Several successful products like this exist in th USA: Gabb Phone, Bark Phone, Troomi, Pinwheel. These or similar phones should be available in the UK to keep children safe and connected.

Adults smartphones come with the app store and internet browser built-in. They are built for social media, news feeds and streaming services and because kids know this, even with the best parental controls kids are constantly campaigning for more apps. It opens the door to a slippery slope to addictive apps. Giving a child an adult smartphone with parental controls is a full-time job. There are always glitches, app updates and loopholes. Kids can find ways around the controls. 

Even putting a so-called child-safe or talk and text only SIM card into a smartphone still allows children to access Wi-Fi at home and elsewhere. This even applies to SIM cards that claim to be safe for kids. They cant stop wifi internet access. 

With basic phones designed for kids this isn’t even possible. Phones designed for kids offer protection for children while connecting families and encouraging life outside the screen.

They allow them to call, text and access a basic suite of apps such as an mp3 player, camera, calculator, calendar, and alarm. Picture messaging, video calls and child-friendly offline games are optional.

Phones with bespoke operating systems are designed to let kids be kids. They support outdoor play, book reading, and spending time with friends and exclude everything that leads to poor quality screen time, including web browsers and social media. These devices are designed specifically to help children establish healthy tech behaviours for life.

Kids phones should be tough and water-resistant. They should offer an attractive design, beyond most basic phones, but without all the unnecessary rubbish that comes with a smartphone: No notifications, news feeds, social media or advertisements.

We need phones designed for children now! 

We are in touch with companies to make safe phones for children available in the UK. We need to prove to them that the market exists. 

Delay smartphones www.kidsfornow.org.uk

Facebook: Kids For Now

#digitalparenting #internetsafety # saferinternet #onlinesafety #childmentalhealth #smartphones #socialmedia