Development5 to 16 yearsFree with sign-up

When is my child ready for their first phone?

3 min read Published 13 Nov 2026

By Bertie Aspinall, Co-Founder, SafetyMode

There is no "right" age for a first phone; readiness matters more than birthdays. For most UK families, a child's first phone will be a smartphone, and the move to secondary school is the tipping point. Ofcom's 2026 research found that 56% of 10-year-olds own a smartphone, rising to 83% of 11-year-olds. So the real question is less "which phone?" and more "how do we make this phone as safe as possible for my child?"

Questions to ask before you buy

What is the phone actually for? Calls and texts to family, travel to school, joining the class group chat? The answer shapes how much you unlock on day one.
Is your child ready to tell you when something goes wrong? No setting replaces a child who feels able to say "I saw something horrible" without fearing the phone will be taken away.
What will the house rules be? Where the phone sleeps at night, mealtimes, homework, and which apps are allowed. Agree these before the box is opened.

If you are unsure, a reasonable middle path is a smartphone with most features switched off at first, opened up gradually as your child shows they can manage.

Write a family phone agreement

Write a few rules down together and review them every few months. Good ones to include:

The phone charges outside the bedroom at night.
New apps are agreed together first.
If something upsetting happens, you tell a parent, and you won't be in trouble for telling.
Never share photos, location or personal details with people you haven't met in real life.
Restrictions will ease as trust and age grow.

Your setup checklist

Do this before the phone is handed over:

Create a proper child account (an Apple Child Account in Family Sharing, or a supervised Google account in Family Link) with your child's real date of birth.
Set a parental passcode your child doesn't know.
Turn on app approvals so nothing is installed without you.
Set downtime overnight and, if useful, during school hours.
Switch on web filtering and check the nudity-blurring feature is active.
Limit contacts to people you have approved.
Set up location sharing, and talk to your child about why.
Check the network content filter and spending cap.

The UK picture is changing

Since July 2025, the Online Safety Act has required sites hosting pornography or self-harm, suicide and eating-disorder content to use robust age checks, and platforms must tone down harmful content in children's feeds. In June 2026 the government went further, announcing plans to make major social media apps such as TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and X off-limits to under-16s from spring 2027, though messaging apps like WhatsApp are not covered.

These rules help, but they rely on platforms complying and on age checks working. They also leave messaging apps, group chats and games largely untouched, which is exactly where many children first run into problems. What happens on your child's phone tonight still depends mostly on how it is set up.

Sign up free to read the rest

It's free, and we'll pick more Guides for your child's age.

Already a member? Log in

This article is published by ParentBoost. It was written or reviewed for ParentBoost by the contributor below and edited by our team. It is general information for parents, not individual professional advice.

Bertie Aspinall

Co-Founder, SafetyMode

Bertie Aspinall is co-founder of SafetyMode and OtherPhone, where he works on technology to make smartphones safer for children and teenagers. He studied Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Cambridge and worked at the European Commission and Virgin Atlantic. During the pandemic he helped build Doctors in Distress, a charity supporting the mental health of NHS staff, where he remains an ambassador. ParentBoost has teamed up with OtherPhone and earns a commission when members buy one.

This article is general guidance for parents and carers, not medical, health, legal or other professional advice. Every child is different. If you're worried about your child's health or development, talk to your GP, health visitor or another suitable professional. In an emergency, call 999. For urgent advice, call NHS 111.

When is my child ready for their first phone?

Questions to ask before you buy

Sign up free to read the rest

More Development guides