First phone for your child: what to set up before day one

Whether a child is ready for a smartphone of their own depends mainly on their experience and development, according to klicksafe, the EU's internet safety initiative in Germany. Its checklist "Is my child ready for a smartphone of their own?" works simply: the more points you can tick, the readier your child is, and you talk through the open points beforehand. klicksafe also suggests practising together on a family phone or on your own phone first.

It helps to be honest about what the phone is for. If it's about calls on the way to school, a phone without internet can be enough. If it's about the class group chat, your child needs a smartphone and you both need rules for it. What age Germany's medical guideline recommends and how many children own a smartphone at each age is covered in when should a child get a smartphone.

With prepaid you pay in advance and top up credit. According to Germany's consumer advice centres, this rules out shock bills: at worst the credit is gone, and cost traps are often easier to avoid. The downside is that the SIM can be deactivated if it isn't topped up for a long time. With a contract you pay afterwards, and if it's in your name, every bill comes to you.

Whichever you choose, agree beforehand how much credit or data there is each month and who pays if the bill comes out higher than agreed. klicksafe lists exactly that question in its tips for parents.

A phone bill can also carry charges from other companies, unwanted subscriptions for example. In Germany, section 61 of the Telecommunications Act lets you require your mobile provider to block this payment route free of charge; consumer advice centres call it a Drittanbietersperre, a third-party block. It protects prepaid and contract customers alike and can be requested by letter, by email and often in the provider's customer portal or app, also later on. Categories such as subscriptions can often be blocked separately. Outside Germany, ask your carrier whether it offers a similar block.

The block only covers what is billed through the phone bill. According to the consumer advice centres, other ways to pay such as credit card, invoice or direct debit stay open. For App Store purchases you therefore also need Ask to Buy on the iPhone.

According to Apple, you create your child's account on your iPhone under Settings > Family > Add Member > Create Child Account. In Germany Apple uses child accounts for children under 16, in most other countries for children under 13. With a child account you manage your child's Screen Time from your own iPhone.

From iOS 27, Apple turns on some protections for child accounts from the start: children under 13 have to ask you before visiting new websites, adult websites are limited for children under 18, and Communication Safety blurs detected nudity in shared photos and videos. The ages may vary by country. Once the account exists, you choose which apps your child can use on the device. Apple suggests starting with a few essential apps and allowing more over time through Ask to Buy.

If your child is getting your old iPhone, check under Settings > General > Software Update whether it still gets iOS 27. According to Apple, the redesigned parental controls of iOS 27 require every device used in the last 90 days by a parent or a child in the Family Sharing group to run version 27. Devices that can't update keep using the settings of iOS 26 or earlier. Reset the iPhone before handing it over and set it up again with the child account.

With Ask to Buy, your child has to ask you before buying or downloading from the App Store, and you approve or decline on your device. According to Apple, it is on by default in the United States for children under 13, and ages may differ in other countries. So check that it's turned on. Germany's consumer advice centres also recommend allowing App Store purchases only with an extra password check.

In Screen Time you also decide who your child can call, FaceTime and message, at all times or only during certain hours. According to Apple, these limits apply to the contacts saved in iCloud, so add the important numbers together before the phone goes to school.

If the wish for a phone comes from the class group chat, WhatsApp is part of the first decision. WhatsApp's terms for the European Region say you must be at least 13 to use the service on your own, and some countries may set a higher age. If your child is younger, talk to the other parents in the class about how the children can keep in touch otherwise.

For the chat itself, klicksafe recommends a firm agreement: your child only shares photos and videos of other people if those people have agreed. Also make clear that your child can come to you if something in the chat feels off, without getting into trouble for it.

Agree on the rules before the phone is unboxed. klicksafe advises working them out together with your child rather than just handing them down, so your child feels taken seriously. These questions from klicksafe's tips help you get started:

• At what times is the phone off at home, at family meals for example?
• Does your child ask you before installing an app?
• What happens at night? For older children, klicksafe suggests switching the phone at least to airplane mode from a set time.
• Who pays if the bill is higher than agreed?

Write the result down, for example in a family media agreement that you adjust together after a few weeks. How much free screen time experts recommend at each age is covered in limiting your child's phone time. klicksafe explicitly advises against secretly looking at your child's phone. Tell them openly which settings you've chosen and why.

For most points on this list you don't need an extra app. TaskBlue comes in when distracting apps should be gone at set times, for example at school, during homework or in the evening. TaskBlue doesn't just block the apps, it makes them invisible: during focus they disappear from the home screen entirely, on a schedule or at places like school, and afterwards they are back. Calls, messages to you and maps stay usable.

The BlueTag is a small key ring that comes with TaskBlue and stays with the parents. A scan with the BlueTag brings the apps back early. TaskBlue needs no parent app, and you see neither your child's location nor their messages. TaskBlue is only available for the iPhone; with an Android phone, the other points in this guide still apply.