- Many parents ask when to give a phone.
- Children grow and make more friends.
- They join after-school activities with others.
- Experts often say middle school is right.
- Some families choose a home landline instead.
- Landlines do not have apps or social media.
- Shared phones help family conversations at home.
- Put phones outside bedrooms at night.
- Monitoring is harder with modern personal phones.
- Talk with children and set clear rules.
Difficult words
- landline — Telephone fixed in a home, not mobile
- social media — Websites and apps for talking and sharing
- monitoring — Watching what someone does to keep safe
- middle school — School for older children before high school
- after-school activities — Clubs or sports for children after school
- conversation — A talk between two or more peopleconversations
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Would you give a child a phone in middle school? Why or why not?
- Do you prefer a shared phone at home or personal phones?
- Do you put your phone outside your bedroom at night?
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