Kids are now getting their first mobile phones at just six years old as parents think they HELP learning
Children love to play games on phones while parents claim the handsets help with their learning
KIDS are getting their first phone at the average age of six.
Parents are forking out earlier and earlier for their youngsters’ mobiles, research revealed yesterday.
Ten years ago children typically had to wait until they were at least nine before being given a mobile.
These days most know more about phones than their mums and dads, the survey of 2,000 parents and youngsters found.
More than nine in ten children with mobiles said playing on them beat traditional board games such as Monopoly or Snakes and Ladders.
A third of the parents claimed new technology and phones helped kids “learn quicker”.
When their children were asked to guess the age of a Nokia 3310, which first came on the market in 2000, most said it was “from the 1920s”.
When children were asked what they thought phones would be able to do in the future, some suggested 'teleportation' and others said 'invisibility'.
Related Stories
Andrew Cartledge, of Mobiles.co.uk — which was behind the study — said: “They simply can’t imagine a world without phones.
"What is great is that parents are encouraging this interest, and seeing it as a positive thing both in learning and play.”
But dad Gary Cunningham, 41, who has kids aged 13, ten and eight in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, said: “Mine aren’t getting phones until they save enough money to buy them.”
Mobile phone providers and networks now offer packages aimed specifically at kids, with parental controls to limit what they can access online.
They also come with features like 'emergency reserve funds', which allow kids to make calls in situations they urgently need to, even if they are out of credit.
Parents are always advised to buy kids 'pay as you go' phones, to keep their spending from getting out of control.
Susan Tarrant, Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education at the University of Derby, said in reaction to the findings: "Devices such as tablets and phones have changed our way of thinking about where children learn because it now allows learning to take place in different and diverse locations.
“Having that freedom to experiment, play or take risks are essential for creative learning and can have a positive effect on the learners’ self-esteem.
"In 1983, Steve Jobs stated that he wanted to put a computer into a portable book; one which you could learn how to use in 20 minutes and do something extraordinary with.
"This is now a reality”