A practical, step-by-step walkthrough for setting up a child's first smartphone — the controls to turn on, the apps to hold back, and the family agreement to make it stick.
You've decided your child is ready for their first phone (or they're getting one for a birthday, moving to secondary school, or walking home alone). This is a big step: a smartphone is a camera, an internet browser, a games console, and a doorway to everyone online, all in one pocket-sized device. Setting it up thoughtfully on day one is far easier than trying to add controls later once habits have formed.
This is a positive milestone, not an emergency — but the setup you do now matters. An unconfigured smartphone gives a child unfiltered internet, an app store, and open messaging. A well-configured one, paired with an agreed set of family rules, lets your child enjoy the benefits while keeping the biggest risks (inappropriate content, stranger contact, overspending, and sleep disruption) in check.
Set the phone up on a child account (Apple: Family Sharing with a child Apple Account; Android: Google Family Link) so you can manage it from your own device.
Turn on Screen Time / Family Link content restrictions before handing it over: block explicit content, require approval for app downloads and purchases, and limit adult websites.
Decide which apps go on now and which wait — messaging with known contacts is usually fine; social media and open-chat apps can wait until they're older.
Agree the family rules together and write them down: where the phone charges overnight (not the bedroom), screen-off times, and the 'you can always come to me' promise.
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This is a setup guide rather than an incident. If, once the phone is in use, your child is contacted by a stranger, sees something inappropriate, or is bullied, follow the specific guidance for that situation — and remember CEOP (ceop.police.uk), the NSPCC helpline (0808 800 5000), and Childline (0800 1111) are there if you need them.
ตรวจสอบล่าสุด: 2026-07-13
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