We got our 7 year old a mobile phone…

Do you ever ask yourself the question: When is the right time to give them a mobile phone?

If you’re kids are older than 6-7 you probably will have had this thought… and dismissed it… and thought about it again… and dismissed it. Then your child will come home and say that their friend has a mobile, purely for apps of course. Then they have a slightly older friend who is perhaps 9-10 and has a mobile phone, but only for calling mum and dad as they walk home from school or get the bus/taxi.

The truth is, our kids are getting younger and younger with their technology. Sure we have the power to stop that but… should we? We teach children to walk and run from an early age, we teach them manners, to be wary of strangers and how to make friends. So in an age where everything is technological, why are we waiting until they are older to introduce a mobile phone? So many children, including all three of mine (2, 4 and 6) have tablets, but not mobiles because we live under the illusion that they are somehow more dangerous and less appropriate.

Adam and I disagreed over this initially – I am very much for embracing technology and so is he but he was still stuck on the mobile phone angle. It just seemed a step too far. I can agree if it can’t be monitored, with teen suicides due to social media bullying higher than ever, there is a real fear that if we expose our kids to mobiles, we can’t protect them. I know some people who would make it so that tweens/teens couldn’t access social media at all – and that would be great, but it’s not reality anymore is it? The problem is that they get this new tech, often when they first start “big school” and they go crazy, they have no clue what boundaries should be set – are phones ok at dinner time? In lessons? At school at all or in the locker? Are they a way to stay connected to those important or just to mess about on?

So how if we had something that was not only a super stylish mobile smartphone, but was also a completely parent controlled, monitorable device? Something that could teach children as young as seven how to use a mobile phone responsibly WITHOUT the dangers?

Monqi have designed a new phone which has just launched in the UK and is aimed at children between the ages of 7-12. It looks SUPER sleek, has it’s very own app store which (not unlike the Kindle kids features I wrote about earlier in the year) has pre-approved apps that are free from ads and in-app purchases. Again, similar to the kindle, but perhaps allowing slightly more freedom for older kids (7+) Monqi filters illicit content – no sharing porn hub with your mates in the playground and being *that* tween because they won’t be able to get on the site.

You can set up quick contacts – so in the event of an emergency, you will be able to say that your child can reach you, your partner, Aunts, Uncles or grandparents in a hurry. Basically people that they might need and that you approve of.

Still all sounding a bit too holy-shit-we-gave-a-seven-year-old-a-mobile-phone to you?

Here’s where Monqi steals the show for me.

Remember that parental control element I mentioned? Well…

Monqi has it’s very own app for parents. You download this onto your phone and you can remotely control your child’s phone. Want that screen locked at the dinner table? Lock it from the app. Allowed your child to have the phone at school because they are travelling home in a taxi? Lock it during the hours you don’t want them to use it. No phone at bedtime? Create that good habit of no phones an hour before bed time by… ok you get the picture.

My favourite part about Monqi is the connection it creates. I struggled so much when Roo first started going out to play or wanting to play across the street. I still find it hard to let him be… and I’m not a helicopter parent. I just struggle to let him have that element of freedom. There have also been a few instances where he’s told me he’s been away with his Grandparents and really missed me. With Monqi not only would he have the option of contacting me when HE wants to, but I can monitor his location as he gets a bit older and goes out with friends. Going to grab an ice cream at the local shop down the street with friends in a couple of years time? No worries, I can see current location and movements via the app.

I can monitor his activity on the various apps he uses, manage the apps he uses and how he uses them, set schedules so that I don’t have to remember when he can and can’t use the phone at school, with family members or others. I can set parameters on who he can contact and on who can contact him – no unknown numbers, no unknown contacts, no contacts I don’t approve. Everything goes through me… but he has that extra connection.

Lastly, my favourite thing about the monitoring is that I can geo fence my child. This basically means that I can set a perimeter around where I expect him to be and if he goes out of that? I am alerted immediately. It also works vice versa – a certain location your tween has been told NOT to go or perhaps uncomfortably a location that your child has been taken to that you have already said you don’t approve of? Hello Monqi – alerts all round.

I know some would say that this is a very Big Brother way to introduce kids to phones, and I get that concern – how can we build trust this way… but in a day and age where you have to be so careful, I really do believe in monitoring this kind of thing to teach kids how to use a phone appropriately. Be honest and upfront, don’t hide the fact that this is monitored and your child will learn to respect phones and hopefully when they are and aren’t to be used.

Reuben has developed a real interest in taking photos on his kindle but one of the disappointing things about it is that the camera isn’t all that great – he watches us taking pictures on our phones and has to ask if he can have a go. With his Monqi, this isn’t an issue. Phones can take on a whole new dimension here, they are so much fun. It’s a camera, it’s a portable games console, it’s a massive encyclopedia where everything in the world is at your finger tips. Want to know which is the biggest whale? Google it. Want to know something specific to a school topic? Search for it on the phone.

Having a mum who does this job, Reuben’s world is already immersed in tech, he’s already keenly aware of what I do – he wants to help create youtube videos, wants to learn to edit and wants to take pictures (some of which I’ve used on my Instagram feed like this one and this one). Children are learning so much faster these days, teaching them to have a healthy digital diet and how to respect mobiles now is fundamental to keeping them and healthy later.

What are your thoughts?

H ? x

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