SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- The holidays have passed and, for many kids, that meant a brand new cell phone. However, with that new device comes a world of apps and social media, which leaves many parents wondering how to keep their child safe online.

For today’s kids and teens, a cell phone offers a world of connection and information, often feeling like a gateway to limitless freedom, but this powerful tool comes with immense responsibility. In the rapidly evolving digital age, a smartphone is far more than just a way to call home. With over nine million mobile apps available across all platforms, it can be difficult for parents to know what their kid is up to online.

Maria Maloney, a clinical supervisor at CHD, has worked closely with parents and teens for the past twenty years and said the younger a child is when they get a phone, the more at risk they are. “I think, sometimes, children and teenagers get addicted to it and just want to be on it all the time and it takes away from their socialization and their connection with their families and other friends and doing in-person activities where they can connect with others,” she added.

Maloney noted that a lack of face-to-face interactions can lead to impulsive behavior and regrettable choices. She also said the online world opens the door to serious emotional distress. “I definitely think that children are exposed sometimes to bullying where other children are putting unkind things about them online or they are worried about something they’ve posted and they have a lot of anxiety over that,” she explained.

Maloney said this goes beyond kids talking with each other. “But because a lot of their communication is artificial, they don’t know how to converse with people. They don’t know how to order at McDonald’s. They don’t know how to even, you know, call and order a pizza,” she added.

With all this in mind, how can parents ensure that their child respects the responsibility of a personal cell phone? Maloney said having a conversation is the best way to start. “And parents like with any parenting issue, we have to have that open communication with our children because if we don’t give them like ahead of time, what, what do you do if this happens? Then when it happens, sometimes they don’t go to their parents because they’re ashamed or something’s wrong and it’s hard,” she said.

While early social media use is a concern, Maloney said equally troubling is how quickly young minds can become addicted, often shutting out other vital social connections. Maloney recommended paying attention to certain warning signs. “I think that if you don’t know what they’re doing on their phone and they’re on it all the time, that’s concerning. I think if you notice that your child is not or your teen is not socializing or seeing friends anymore, but is just always on the phone, that’s a warning sign that I would look for. I would be checking in also around, you know, has anyone sent you anything on your phone that you don’t like or that’s bothering you…and just be open to have those communications and conversations,” she explained.

To foster a healthy relationship with social media in your child, lead by example. Maloney emphasized that being a good parent means being a good role model in your own digital habits. “So I can’t tell my children not to have their phone at the table if I’m looking at mine all the time, so I think, um, you know, and the flip side of it funnily enough is sometimes younger kids will tell me, ‘Oh, I can’t talk to my mom. She’s always on her phone’ so I think, you know, the phones are a wonderful form of technology and it does help us keep connected and there’s a lot of good parts to it, but just in moderation and also with parents kind of being like parents do for everything,” she said.

Maloney offered several practical strategies parents can implement at home including establishing screen-free times, like during dinner, and even setting a “digital curfew” by shutting off Wi-Fi at a certain hour to ensure kids get enough sleep.

Also, how young is too young for a child to have a smartphone? While it varies by family, Maloney suggests pushing it off as long as possible. “Kids that are small should never be unsupervised, really, with a phone that can connect to other things,” she said. “There’s also some of the kid phones that families get for, like, kids who walk home from school or something where it can just dial, like, mom and dad or the police or something like that, so there’s, like, those limited kid phones for younger and I think that’s good. I think for a regular, you know, every kid wants an iPhone, I think if you can push it off to seventh, eighth grade, I think it would help,” she said.

MORE RESOURCES

Common Sense Media

Brown University Health - A Child’s First Cell Phone: A Guide for Parents

Apple Parental Controls

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