AT&T

When to give your child their first cell phone is an important (and sometimes difficult) decision. While the average kid in the U.S. gets a phone in late elementary or early middle school, this decision is not just about age. It&rsquo;s about your child&rsquo;s developmental maturity and your family&rsquo;s values. It&rsquo;s also about the steps you can take to help your child develop a healthy relationship with technology, starting with the responsible use of their first phone. AT&amp;T has teamed up with the American Academy of Pediatrics to create the&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/digital-parenting/#phoneready-questionnaire" href="https://screenready.att.com/digital-parenting/#phoneready-questionnaire" target="_blank">PhoneReady Quiz</a>. Visit&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/" href="https://screenready.att.com/" target="_blank">AT&amp;T ScreenReady&reg;</a>&nbsp;and take the&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/digital-parenting/#phoneready-questionnaire" href="https://screenready.att.com/digital-parenting/#phoneready-questionnaire" target="_blank">PhoneReady Quiz</a>&nbsp;to assess your child&rsquo;s cell phone readiness and help you decide if you and your child are PhoneReady.

No matter what phone you purchase for your child, you can take steps to help ensure that your child has a safe and positive experience with their new device. Here are some tips&nbsp;resources to get started:

<ol>
	<li>Set&nbsp;parental controls&nbsp;on your child&rsquo;s cell phone. Visit&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/" href="https://screenready.att.com/" target="_blank">AT&amp;T ScreenReady&reg;</a>&nbsp;to find parental control guides for devices and common apps.</li>
	<li>Make your own&nbsp;Family Media Plan&nbsp;to create goals and rules about technology use in line with your family&rsquo;s values. Make your plan at&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx" href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx">HealthyChildren.org</a></li>
	<li>If your child is old enough to drive, have a strict &quot;no phone use while driving&quot; policy. Visit&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://www.itcanwait.com/" href="https://www.itcanwait.com/">ItCanWait.com</a>&nbsp;and take the pledge to drive distraction free.</li>
	<li>Talk frequently&nbsp;with your child about what they see and experience online. Visit&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/" href="https://screenready.att.com/" target="_blank">AT&amp;T ScreenReady&reg;</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/default.aspx" href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/default.aspx">HealthyChildren.org</a>&nbsp;for tips and information to have ongoing conversations with your child to keep them safe and healthy, online and off.</li>
	<li>If you are not yet ready to let your child have a phone yet, that&rsquo;s OK! Visit&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/" href="https://screenready.att.com/" target="_blank">AT&amp;T ScreenReady&reg;</a>&nbsp;for more information and take the&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/digital-parenting/#phoneready-questionnaire" href="https://screenready.att.com/digital-parenting/#phoneready-questionnaire" target="_blank">PhoneReady Quiz</a>&nbsp;to help you make the decision that&rsquo;s right for your family.</li>
</ol>

Preparing a used device for its new young owner can be a&nbsp;little tricky. Visit&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/" href="https://screenready.att.com/" target="_blank">AT&amp;T ScreenReady&reg;</a>&nbsp;for all the steps you&#39;ll need to make that happen, including how to remove all your old stuff, set it up with built-in limits, find safe, useful apps, and have a conversation about responsible phone use.&nbsp;Click here:&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/resources/handing-down-your-phone-heres-what-you-need-to-know/" href="https://screenready.att.com/resources/handing-down-your-phone-heres-what-you-need-to-know/">https://screenready.att.com/resources/handing-down-your-phone-heres-what-you-need-to-know/</a>

Yes, AT&amp;T offers great options for parental controls. You can use the&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://www.att.com/features/secure-family-app/" href="https://www.att.com/features/secure-family-app/" target="_blank">AT&amp;T Secure Family</a>&nbsp;app to customize settings for each user on your plan based on factors like age appropriateness and content type. You can set content filers, keep track of your kids&rsquo; locations, and limit internet access at specific times. This can be great for when you have kids of varying ages on a single plan. Visit&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/" href="https://screenready.att.com/" target="_blank">AT&amp;T ScreenReady&reg;</a>&nbsp;to access parental controls guides for your AT&amp;T connected devices, as well as gaming platforms and common apps.

<ol>
	<li><a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/" href="https://screenready.att.com/" target="_blank">AT&amp;T Screen Ready&reg;</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://www.att.com/techbuzz/family/" href="https://www.att.com/techbuzz/family/">AT&amp;T TechBuzz Family Hub</a>&nbsp;are both great places to learn about how to keep your kids safe online and manage their screen time. This content will help you stay informed about how to navigate some of the challenges of our connected world.</li>
	<li>A <a _rte_href="https://www.healthychildren.org/english/fmp/pages/mediaplan.aspx#/" href="https://www.healthychildren.org/english/fmp/pages/mediaplan.aspx#/" target="_blank">Family Media Plan</a> is another tool that can help your family find balance in a connected world. The Family Media Plan created by American Academy of Pediatrics and updated with support from AT&amp;T, help parents build a customized media use plan that the whole family agrees to implement. The tool helps parents  identify balance between screen time and other activities, set boundaries for accessing content, guide displays of personal information and encourage age-appropriate critical thinking and digital literacy.  Visit&nbsp;<a _rte_href="https://screenready.att.com/" href="https://screenready.att.com/" target="_blank">AT&amp;T Screen Ready&reg;</a>&nbsp;to access the AAP Family Media Plan.</li>
</ol>

Are they ready for their first phone?

Encouraging healthy digital habits helps keep your kids safe

AT&T ScreenReady®

Techbuzz family hub

Family Media Plan