LPT: Don't give your child an iPhone until they are at least 13 years old

A former coworker has a son that got an iPhone at age 10. He gave it to him because he wanted to facetime with his aunt and grandmas occasionally. Fast forward to age 12 and the boy had spent over 6k on Fortnite emotes and skins, and had a huge attitude problem, and refused to do anything for school or at home without cold cash. He could order whatever he wanted from Amazon with his account (which in turn was funded by his dad).<br><br>I gave my son his first phone at 13. He wanted Tiktok. I made a Tiktok account for him but never linked it to a card, and he mostly just watched stuff on it when he was bored.<br><br>Another coworker has twin 14 year olds. They wanted Instagram reels. He made them YouTube creator accounts, which on that platform you cannot make purchases.<br><br>Always, always, ALWAYS, make sure that your child's social media is not monetized in anyway. It does not matter how much they beg for it, or how much pressure from others you may be put under. Give them a walkie talkie instead. Give them a phone with no play store apps (including social media). Give them a gram phone if you live in an area with good service. literally anything that isn't an iPhone, and not linked to an easily monitized social media account.