Three Quarters Of Children Aged 10 And Under Have Mobile Phones

It’s not just us adults that are hooked on our phones – new stats have shown that 74 per cent of parents with children under the age of 10 have confessed that their tot already has a mobile.

And not just any old brick; 69 per cent said that the handset was a smartphone.

But if you think that’s shocking, the next stat will floor you further.

Some 24 per cent of parents admitted they had children aged four or even younger who had their own phones.

Yes, that's a tiny pre-schooler running around with an iPhone. And to think it wasn't so long ago that most adults didn't even have their own mobile.

The parents, polled by VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, were asked to select all of the reasons behind buying their tot a phone.

Around 90 per cent of parents claimed it was for emergencies, while 71 per cent revealed it was because their child’s friends had one.

Half of parents bought their child a mobile to keep them entertained and the same amount again said it was to stay in touch with friends and family.

Finally, 34 per cent revealed it was so they could track where their child was at all times.

Lacking Security Measures
But despite a lot of parents wanting to kit their child out with a phone to boost their safety levels, around a quarter of the polled parents admitted that they don’t know what their little one is up to on their handset.

Another 52 per cent didn't even know the passcode to their youngster’s phone.

A little under half of the parents regularly check their child’s phone and have applied parental controls to the handset and despite all of the savvy security apps out there, just nine per cent have installed an app to monitor what their little one gets up to on it.

Some experts criticise parents whose children have too much screen time and worry that it can cause them to spend more time fixated on their phone and less time interacting with others. This poll proved that to be partially true, with almost half of the parents confessing that their child doesn’t see friends as much as they did pre-phone.

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What do you think is the right age for children to have their own phone? Let us know in the comments.