Growing Pains podcast: Colman Noctor on when a child should get their own smartphone
Growing Pains podcast: Colman Noctor on online connections
Child psychotherapist and best-selling author Dr Colman Noctor and ieParenting editor Irene Feighan delve into the often-divisive topic of smartphones and social media.
There is no set rule for when children should have their own smartphone as technology is only as smart as the person using it, says Dr Noctor.
Children are being exposed to adult things - news, radical ideologies, pornography - much earlier due to their easy access to mass media. Parents must accept this and have conversations with their children rather than bury their heads in the sand.
