Half of children aged 11 own a mobile phone, but a quarter of parents regret the decision

Half of children aged 11 own a mobile phone

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Half of British children will own a mobile phone by the age of eleven, according to new research.

The study of 2,000 parents shows the average child will receive a phone worth £120 on their eleventh birthday, and will then spend two hours every day glued to the device.

However, four in 10 parents end up regretting giving their youngster a phone at such a young age – as by their teenage years the child is transfixed by the likes of social media, texts, and computer games.

Incredibly, researchers found one in 20 children will own a mobile handset by the age of six as parents give in to primary school peer pressure.

Owning a mobile phone comes at a price for parents – in addition to the £120 upfront fee, mums and dads will be expected to replace the phone at least twice due to it being lost, stolen or damaged.

Dan King, Nationwide’s Head of FlexPlus Current Account, which commissioned the poll, said: “Mobile phones have become central to our lives, so it’s not surprising that more and more young people are being given a phone.

“With children as young as primary school age being entrusted with a device, parents shouldn’t be surprised if it needs replacing or repairing on more than one occasion.”

The study, which considers mobile phone ownership amongst children, reveals two thirds of parents will allow their child to have internet access on their device as soon as they get it.

And 28 per cent of kids are then allowed to use their phone all day without any supervision from an adult – despite 46 per cent have access to social media channels.

A third of parents fear their children spend far too much time on their phone – with one in eight children spending more than four hours a day chatting to mates and playing games.

According to the data, one in 10 children will use their mobile during the school day, and 12 per cent will log in to their phone as soon as they get home from school.

Just 10 per cent of children can wait until after dinner before checking their phone.

That’s on top of the £163 parents spend on securing a new mobile phone deal or device for themselves.

Just one in six parents will limit their child’s phone usage to emergencies only – with many admitting their child uses their phone for a range of activities.

Six in 10 children use their phone to play popular computer games, while 54 per cent will watch videos on the likes of YouTube and other social media channels.

More than half of youngsters will spend much of their time surfing the internet, and 49 per cent regularly listen to music.

Many parents purchase a phone for their children because they want them contactable at all times – 55 per cent want the flexibility to stay in touch and more than a third cite safety fears as a reason for getting a handset for their children.

Unfortunately, purchasing a phone only adds to the worry parents have.

A fifth of parents are concerned their child’s phone has now led to them not enjoying enough quality time with the family, and 16 per cent are concerned their child is missing out on face-to-face interactions with others.

One in five mums and dads understandably worry about how much they are having to spend on phone calls, apps, music and games.

As a result, two thirds of parents control how long their child spend on their phone by limiting their credit (42 per cent), confiscating the device in the evenings (21 per cent) and introducing strict rules on phone use (16 per cent).