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youngest age for a child to be using an iPhone
- Thread starter techiegeek1225
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When she's old enough to be out on her own and need to call for a ride, emergency, etc. BTW, she won't be getting a new iPhone unless she wants to pay for it. Handmedowns are good enough until she appreciates what it takes to make a save up bucks of her own.
Completely agree, my 3 year old uses my old iPad and my 7 year old uses my old iPhone 3G with the SIM card out of it. They only get to use it in the house, they are still too young to take them out.
One of your jobs as a parent is to prepare your kids for the world they are going to live in, and like it or not, computer literacy skills are absolutely essential for the world we are going to live in.
If you start school at age 5 and you're not comfortable using a computer, you are behind many of your peers in the class and its tough to catch up. That's the reality of the modern world.
My 3 year old has been playing with our iPhones and the iPad since she was 12 or 18 months old. She is very good with the iPad now, with several paint, drawing, shape and other toddler apps loaded on it for her. She also goes through pictures and videos on my phone every night at bed time. My 2 year old has little interest in these things. Depends on the child I guess.
My GF's little girl is 5, and I got her an ipod touch that we keep in an outterbox. She can only use it when inside, but loves the games and there is a lot of education built in. Last year we got her a leap pad to test out how she would handle her own electronic device....it is still intact and crack free, so we upgraded her to the touch this year.
I have a 4S and my wife has my old iPhone 4. When I get the new iPhone, my wife will get my 4S and my daughter (5 months) will have an iPhone 4 to play with. There's a toy called "Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Apptivity Case" that basically protects the phone and is suitable for a young one. This won't be something she'll play with right away or all the time, but it's nice to have options..
"Using" an iPhone or iPad is meaningless, as even a newborn can watch something on it. Even two year olds can operate an iPhone or iPad with ease.
Now, "owning" is something else, as in they have their own iPad/iPhone (or rather, iPod Touch).
Now, "owning" is something else, as in they have their own iPad/iPhone (or rather, iPod Touch).
I have a 2 yrs old that ask me "Where is my iPad" it's amazing how kids absorb technology. She play games, read her Elmo (audio) books, Netflix she goes to her shows and play them... its amazing. I also have a 10yr old and she is getting her first feature phone in a few weeks before school start but she would love to have an iPhone (she has a Nexus 7 and a iPod) but once she shows me that she's responsible she will get an iPhone.. so far she's not doing a good job with the iPod and every time I remind her she gets upset.. LOL
I totally agree. My son got his first iPhone at age 12 (my used 3G), and at 14 bought his OWN iPhone 4S outright! My 12yo daughter was given my old iPhone 4 and they both treat the items with respect and have not damaged them at all.
My kids also used the iPad from day 3 or 4 as I would not let it go for the first few days
Now they share the original iPad between them, wife has iPad 2 and I have the New iPad. As for the 2011 13" Macbook Air, they can have that when they rip it out of my cold dead fingers... or when I upgrade to the next one next year
Well I got my first phone when I was 12 1/2 years old, had non smartphones until I was 19 (parents paid for my phone bills) then at 19 they bought me a 4S outright and I now pay for the bill.
I see any potential kids of mine not getting an iPhone or expensive smartphone until at least 14-16... Even then would probably be an old one of mine lol.
I see any potential kids of mine not getting an iPhone or expensive smartphone until at least 14-16... Even then would probably be an old one of mine lol.
Are you getting it for communication or for them to play with?
My first phone was a Nokia candybar phone. So indestructible, I couldn't break it when I tried (I wanted a better phone). It was so my parents could find me and such, and for emergencies.
My first phone was a Nokia candybar phone. So indestructible, I couldn't break it when I tried (I wanted a better phone). It was so my parents could find me and such, and for emergencies.
Yes.
That said, both my 4-year old and my 18-month year old know how to unlock my iPhone 4, play games, and bring up Netflix to watch Dora or Phineas & Ferb.
My nephews... 2 and 4... use it better than most adults that I know. They're just playing with dad's phone obviously, but I think the age which kids get a phone should be higher. Then again I got my first cell phone in like 4th grade or something... but all you could do on them back then was make phone calls.
This, except replace Dora with Thomas the Tank Engine. They can also call me or their parents with Siri. Cutest phone calls ever.
This, except replace Dora with Thomas the Tank Engine. They can also call me or their parents with Siri. Cutest phone calls ever.
I know a 2-year old who loves his mommy's iphone so he can watch shows on youtube at restaurants while his parents finish eating. Are you referring to age that a child can start USING iPhone or OWNING one?
But what you mean by "computer literacy" here is simply consuming digital products. Children don't need to learn that any more than they need to learn to like ice-cream. Babies love iPhones and iPads in the same way they like TV. The negative here is that they will sit and potato out in front of them instead of doing the kind of physical and interactive play which they need to develop their motor and social skills.
There's nothing that they will encounter in school at age 5 (or much later) that will require using an iPad or iPhone. That's way way far in the future. Kids at that age are learning to play and read and speak and think. None of that requires a computer.
It may be that there are iPad and iPhone programs that are okay for little kids, but there is nothing that is necessary, and I suspect very little that is even as good as a cardboard box (not to mention a set of blocks) in terms of child development.
Incorrect. At our local school, kids from Primary 1 use Apple products to help them learn to read & count.
I'm not sure where you live, but here in Scotland primary 1 is the first year at school for 5 year olds. They absolutely use (old) iMacs and iPads at that age at our local school.
Sorry, I'm not being clear. Let me try again.
I live in New York, and yes, they introduce kids to computers very very early. The theory is that kids learn better with computers because they like using them. It's the same theory as teaching kids to count by having them count a pile of cookies as they eat it.
They might use computers in school, in other words, but they don't need them. Reading and counting doesn't require computer skills, and introducing your kids to computers at an earlier age offers no advantages in school. In fact, if the kid is plugged in too much, it might be a disadvantage.
My ice-cream analogy is my major argument. Kids learn to use computers at the level that they need in school very very quickly. My 15 month old is perfectly capable of getting past the lock screen of an iPad and opening folders, *even though we have actively tried to prevent her from using the damn thing.*
Computers aren't like kicking a ball, for example. Every kid will learn to kick a ball, but at wildly different levels. Some kids will be basically incompetent at it through high school. Others will learn so well they will be up front for Barcelona by the time they are 19. I can totally see the argument that if you want your kid to be a star forward, you need to have them kicking a ball as soon as they come out of the womb.
It's the same thing with languages. If you want your child to be truly bilingual, you have a window of at most two years to expose them to both languages. After that, there will be a noticeable difference between primary and secondary languages.
But there is no such analogical skill with computers. There's no such thing as a superior mouser, for example. So I just don't buy it when you say, "If you start school at age 5 and you're not comfortable using a computer, you are behind many of your peers in the class and its tough to catch up." I don't think it would be hard to catch up anymore than it would be difficult to start liking ice-cream.
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My 4 year old nephew and 1 year old niece are both playing with my iPad and iPhone. My niece is still too young to know how to operate the device, so she is only using it if an adult is around and show her the video.
My nephew however, knows his way around the iDevices. The iPhone is password protected and he knows how to unlock it. He watches children videos and games, like those matching letters game or numbers. At times, I have to hide my iPhone from his view because he'd want to play with it. We only let him play with it during meal time.
My nephew however, knows his way around the iDevices. The iPhone is password protected and he knows how to unlock it. He watches children videos and games, like those matching letters game or numbers. At times, I have to hide my iPhone from his view because he'd want to play with it. We only let him play with it during meal time.
I ended up with 2 IPhone 4S 64 gb...one was a freebie so I gave it to my 11 year old daughter. She had a 3GS before that and took really good care of that so I had no issues giving her the 4S. I havent been disappointed as she never lets it out of her sight
