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Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Tom's Guide
Buying your kid their first phone? Do these 5 things first
For parents, the decision to get your child their first cell phone comes with a lot of questions. There are a handful of logistical hurdles to clear, such as choosing a kid-friendly phone and then making sure they have coverage on one of the best family cell phone just as important is what comes next — setting the ground rules for how your kid uses their new phone and how you plan to enforce them. Guidelines for device usage are crucial for a variety of reasons. They allow you and your child to set and maintain healthy boundaries around issues like screen time, ensuring that phones don't get in the way of homework and other activities or lead to detrimental effects on sleep or mental health. Clear rules also help keep kids safe, protecting their privacy and limiting riskier interactions on social media or in other online spaces. Parents can also help enforce rules governing phone use at school. Dr. Tiffany Munzer, a developmental behavioral pediatrician at the University of Michigan and ambassador for the American Academy of Pediatrics' Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, notes that parents should first assess their child's or teen's readiness for the responsibility of having a cell phone. For example, you should consider whether your kid has demonstrated that they can be kind and respectful toward others when there's a conflict and that they have both an ability to complete schoolwork independently and a willingness to seek out an adult when needed. Parents should also ensure they are ready to monitor phone use. Once you've decided you and your kid are ready for a phone, here are five things you can do to ease their transition to their first cell phone. Parents can start the rule-setting process well before kids have their first phone in hand, as the device you select helps define boundaries. You don't necessarily need to start with the latest iPhones or Android devices — flip phones and 'dumb' phones allow your child to ease in with basic functions like calling and texting if they're not quite ready for social media and other apps available on smartphones. 'Think critically together about what are the minimum necessary apps to be able to achieve what you might need from a practical standpoint,' Munzer said. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. "Expect and accept the bumps along the way. They're natural parts of learning, not signs of failure." While you're deciding on a device, you should begin discussing the rules and expectations for phone use with your child. Experts say this conversation should be collaborative, ongoing, and age-specific, as younger kids will have different needs from older teens, and these rules should also be adjusted over time. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that provides guidance on media use for children, has a helpful guide with age-by-age considerations, while the Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health has a list of conversation starters and prompts for parents. 'Expect and accept the bumps along the way,' said Jill Murphy, Common Sense Media's chief content officer: 'They're natural parts of learning, not signs of failure. The key is maintaining open dialogue and adjusting your approach as your child grows or situations change.' Parents should discuss rules for texting, calling, taking photos and videos, downloading and using apps (including games and social media), and posting online. Munzer also recommends that parents discuss their own challenges with device usage and get their child's or teen's input. Don't just talk about the rules for phone use and the consequences for breaking said rules — write them down. A family media agreement or family media plan is a contract you can refer back to that helps create transparency, understanding, and accountability. Munzer advises that all family members should be included in this process, as kids and teens are more likely to develop healthy phone behaviors if these are modeled by parents. The agreement may cover topics like screen time limits, privacy guidelines, and in what circumstances parents can or will review device activity — an important consideration for building and maintaining trust with your child. If and when kids do violate guidelines laid out in the agreement, parents should address these concerns promptly and calmly. Help your child understand the purpose of the rules you've set, and use natural consequences that have a logical connection to the violation — for example, limiting certain access to an app rather than taking away the phone. If your child has a smartphone, there are many on-device and third-party parental controls you can employ for everything from limiting screen time and app downloads to monitoring what kids are seeing and sending. On iOS, Screen Time includes settings to restrict explicit content, purchases, and downloads, as well as control access to specific settings and features. On Android, Family Link provides similar parental controls ranging from global and individual app time limits to content filters to device location notifications. The best parental control apps can augment those on-device settings, too. Parents can disable in-app purchases and require approval for new downloads and should also enforce settings to protect your child's privacy and security: Murphy advises parents to implement all privacy protections available on their child's device and in apps; they should also ensure that any accounts — including social media — are child- or teen-specific. (Accounts for minors typically have built-in restrictions.) School rules for phone use may be different than those at home, but you should consult and incorporate them into your family media agreement. This includes both your child's personal device as well as tablets or computers provided by the school. If the school communicates phone-related concerns or you notice excessive phone use during school hours, address these issues promptly using the guidelines in your plan. Giving your child or teen their first phone is an important step for building healthy media and digital device habits. Thoughtful planning and ongoing communication can help ease this transition for the entire family.
Los Angeles Times
01-07-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Family separation 2.0 compounds the trauma on children of immigrants
As pediatricians, we are watching in horror as immigration raids in Los Angeles and across the country are tearing families apart. The current administration's deportation policy arrests people regardless of immigration status or criminal record and places them in detention. Make no mistake, this is family separation 2.0. We are also seeing entire families, parents with their children, apprehended in our communities and being sent to newly reopened family detention centers. These immigration policies are placing the health and well-being of children at risk. New budgeting priorities being debated in Congress would intensify this crisis. The budget reconciliation bill that Congress is considering is seeking $45 billion for adult and family detention — an 800% increase compared with fiscal year 2024. This would drastically expand the use of family detention and lead to indefinite detention of children. As the authors of the American Academy of Pediatrics' policy on the detention of immigrant children, we insist that our federal government stop these dangerous practices. Our policy emphasizes that detention is not in the best interest of the child and that family separation should never occur unless the child's well-being is at risk. Disturbingly, this administration's policies are resulting in both. Evidence shows that no amount of time in detention is safe for innocent children. The academy recently joined 10 other medical organizations in calling for its end. As members of humanitarian monitoring teams, we interviewed staff members and families in these prison-like facilities in Texas and Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2019. We documented worrisome behavioral changes and developmental regressions in children, such as problems sleeping, bed-wetting, severe anxiety, depression and suicidality. We also documented inconsistent medical and mental healthcare. Parents' concerns about their children's health often went unheeded, resulting in delays in care and at times referrals to emergency rooms. We heard myriad stories of the deleterious consequences of children placed in detention. In 2019, one 15-year-old Central American girl was placed in immigration detention in the South Texas Family Residential Center, a facility that can hold up to 2,400 women and children. Despite having no prior mental health concerns, she repeatedly tried to kill herself during her seven months of detention. This was not a unique finding and exemplified the desperation many children and their guardians experienced. In March, the administration reopened the two family detention centers in Texas to detain families swept up in raids. There is extensive documentation, by external and governmental watchdog groups, of poor conditions and lack of adequate healthcare in these facilities in the past. New evidence has emerged that shows conditions have not improved and that children are still not getting the healthcare services they need. As of this publication, no external medical teams have been allowed inside to monitor the conditions, nor the provision of medical and mental care. Without independent monitoring, there is no formal means to identify and mitigate threats to children's health and safety. We are also concerned about prolonged lengths of stay for unaccompanied children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Unaccompanied children can be released from custody only to a vetted sponsor — usually a family member living in the United States. The administration's new policy places onerous requirements on sponsors, drastically prolonging the average length of stay from one month to more than seven. Potential sponsors must now pay a steep fee, be fingerprinted, share their immigration status with law enforcement agencies, submit to background checks and agree to 'home visits' by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who are untrained in child welfare standards. We support evidence-based measures to ensure that children are safely released to sponsors. However, the administration's vetting policies are punitive against sponsors rather than protective of children — leaving children to languish for months in institutional settings and leading to further psychological harm. Regardless of political ideology, no one wants children to suffer. The public must demand that our government protect the lives of children by stopping indiscriminate deportation raids that lead to family separation and immeasurable hardships for children; rejecting expanded funding for family detention and ending the practice in favor of community-based alternatives; ensuring adequate healthcare by pediatric trained professionals for children in custody; allowing unfettered access for expert monitoring teams in all detention facilities where children are held; protecting and enhancing the minimum protections afforded to children and opposing the government's attempts to terminate them; and creating an effective vetting of sponsors for unaccompanied migrant children that maximizes their protection and minimizes detention. The ethics of our profession require that we intervene to prevent any harm to any child. Thus, we oppose family separation, family detention and efforts to needlessly prevent the reunification of families. We ask Americans and Congress to stand with us in protecting the health, well-being and safety of children. Marsha Griffin, Alan Shapiro and Julie M. Linton are pediatricians and founding members of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on Immigrant Child and Family Health.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
School is closing for the summer. Is your child ready to stay home alone?
Memorial Day has passed, and the end of the school year is right around the corner. Kids will be home for the summer, leaving parents with the question: Can they be home alone? It's tricky for any parent, but here's some help to make a decision. There is no law in Delaware regulating an appropriate age for a child to be left home alone, according to Delaware's Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. The American Academy of Pediatrics' website says most child experts agree that around 11 or 12 is an appropriate age for a child to stay home alone. Here are some things to consider when making the decision. Maturity level and safety: Is your child mature enough to handle being home alone and able to handle themselves if something happens, like a power outage or an emergency, like a fire or gas leak? Trust level: Do you trust your children to think before they act? This is important for teens who may be tempted to experiment with illegal activities. Think about how your child responds to peer pressure. Also, can you trust your child to follow the rules of the house? Common sense: Will your child make sound judgments? If your child grabbed the milk and it smelled sour or was curdled, would they throw it out or drink it? Keeping busy: Outside of video games and television, can your child stay busy with other hobbies or interests while you are out? Comfort level: How do you feel about leaving your child home alone? Talk to your child about the possibility and realize you know your child the best. See the photos: Welcome to prom season 2025 in Delaware Once you decide to let your child stay home alone, here are ways to prepare. Make a list of cellphone numbers, workplace numbers and how to reach family members and your pediatrician. Post them in a visible location. Have a first-aid kit available for minor injuries and teach your child how to use all of the supplies in the kit Show your child where the batteries, flashlights or other emergency supplies are in case something happens. If you have an alarm system, ensure your child knows how to turn it on and off. Make sure your child knows how and when to call 911. Go over the emergency exit plan. Ensure your child knows what to do if there is a fire or gas leak. Are friends allowed in the house while the child is home alone? Is the child allowed to cook and what foods are off-limits? Can the child answer the phone or the door while you are out? What should the child do with your dog or cat while you are gone? This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Can I leave my child home in Delaware? What to consider this summer
