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About this tool
A weighted 14-question quiz that scores a child's readiness for a first phone and returns starting rules to match.
This quiz scores a child's readiness for a first phone from fourteen weighted questions about behaviour a parent can actually observe — handing a device back without a fight, telling you when something goes wrong, knowing what not to share — rather than from their age. Four of those questions are treated as safety fundamentals and hold the recommendation back even when the total is high. The result gives a percentage, the weakest area, a suggested device tier and a set of starting rules, including the fact that mainstream social platforms set 13 as their minimum age.
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The score comes from observable habits, so a settled 10-year-old can outscore an impulsive 14-year-old.
Not knowing what to do when someone asks for a photo caps the recommendation regardless of the total.
The output includes charging location, app approval, contact rules and a review interval you can agree on the day.
There is no single right age, and the research does not support one. What matters more is whether they hand devices back without a fight, tell you when something goes wrong, and know what to do if someone is cruel or asks for a photo. Age does decide which platforms they can legally use — social apps set 13 as their minimum.
A kids smartwatch with a fixed contact list gives you the safety benefit — being able to reach each other — without an app store, a browser or a social feed. A calls-and-texts phone is the same idea for older children. Either is a reasonable step when the practical need is real but the self-regulation is not there yet.
It comes from the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which restricts collecting personal data from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent. Platforms set 13 as their minimum to stay outside that rule, so it is a data-protection line rather than a judgement that 13 is safe.
The four that matter most: it charges outside the bedroom overnight, app installs need adult approval through Family Link or Screen Time, contacts are added together at the start, and telling you about something bad never costs them the phone. Agree a review date at the same time, not after the first problem.