The 5-Step Checklist for
Buying a Kid’s First Phone
Answers for those wondering, are cell phones dangerous?
Purchasing a child’s first phone is an important milestone. It can be a great tool for not only safety, but for teaching about responsibility too. And while durability and affordable price points are what most people look for when considering this purchase, here are a few just-as-important factors to look into before investing in a kid’s first phone.
Helps protect against blue light
Sleep is where most of a child’s development happens, so you don’t want anything messing with that. With kids constantly staring at their screens while gaming, you’re probably concerned about the blue light effect on their sleep. And rightly so. It can throw biological clocks out of whack and make it harder to fall asleep, possibly causing more serious problems down the line. So why take the risk? Outside of setting limits on usage, make sure you find a phone that safeguards the users’ eyes from any potentially harmful effects.
Set digital rules
For anyone giving a child a device, parental controls are something you should actively use. From addictive games to inappropriate social apps, there are just some things you don’t want a child coming across online. Save yourself the hassle and find a phone where you can make the rules. An app like Samsung's Kids Mode lets you set use times, allows you to customise the apps you make available and gives you a usage report to show you what the child is actually doing on the device.
Do a safety check
The sight of kids being glued to their phones is one burned into all of our minds. Pretty high up on the scale of bad smartphone habits, It’s no wonder society has a fear of what all this radiation may be doing to growing minds and bodies. If you’re worried, always check the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) when searching for that first phone. This is the unit of measurement for the amount of radio frequency energy absorbed by the body when using a phone. While experts and studies are yet to come to a consensus on how serious mobile radiation is, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Safeguard their identity
Kids lose phones and often leave phones unattended—it's just a fact of life. So it's only natural to be concerned about their personal data and accounts falling into the wrong hands. But what if their info was safe at all times? Move on from the time-worn, written-password approach and look into devices that provide an identity management service like Samsung Pass. With fingerprint sensors and facial recognition technology, the phone and signed-in accounts can be unlocked with biometric data.
Always ask “is public Wi-Fi* safe?”
Open hotspots can offer a great deal of convenience, but at what cost? Definitely have a serious chat about digital security, but also remember, a child using a phone for the first time might not know how to stay safe on public Wi-Fi—especially when there are snaps to be snapped and ‘grams to be gotten. Since you won’t be next to them at all times, why not leave that job to the phone itself? Look for a device that defends against malware and malicious threats—a platform like Samsung Knox will give you that much-needed peace of mind.
Ready to take the plunge?
Protect kids’ information, eyes and overall health with a powerful phone that’s got their back (and yours) at all times. Combined with highly secure platforms like Samsung Pass and Knox, you can rest easy knowing that their personal data and overall security is in safe hands, always.
Galaxy S10e | S10 | S10+
Samsung Knox
Read these stories next
*Faster than previous Wi-Fi protocols. Only available where Wi-Fi 6 is supported. Availability of Wi-Fi 6 support may vary depending on country or region.