"Why Can't I Have an iPhone?": Answers for your Teenager
Need some quick tips for how to respond to your child's requests around digital media? Here you go...
Parents, sometimes we need quick answers to hard questions. “Because I said so” is a perfectly fine answer on occassion, but it is not terribly effective at shaping our kids’ hearts & minds. Here are three responses to give your kids when they ask, “Why can’t I have an iPhone?”.
The data says that the longer you wait to get a smartphone, the happier you will be as an adult. See here. (Of note: This research of over 1 million respondents uses “smartphone” to refer to both smartphones and tablets.)
The first iPhone was released in 2007, so it is still a very new technology. We are still learning about what these devices do to kids. So far, it isn’t looking very good. Rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide have gone up a TON in the past decade. That means we need to make some changes, for our whole society. When you are an adult, you will have the option to buy a smartphone for yourself. Until then, it’s best to wait.
Being told no is hard, but son/daughter, I love you. Hebrews 12:11 tells us, “No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Have more questions from your kids that need answers? Comment below and I’ll get to them in a future What To Say by DCP post!