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As the holiday season rolls in, many parents find themselves facing a familiar dilemma: “Should we get them a smartphone this year?”. The pressure can feel huge - especially when kids are convinced that “everyone else has one.”
But before a smartphone finds its way under the tree, it’s worth pausing to consider what the research - and real-world experience - is telling us. Sometimes "giving in" feels easier, but the truth is so much more parenting, limit setting, content monitoring and support are needed once children have access to an addictive device that plants the whole internet in their pockets.
📱 Early Smartphones Come With Real Costs
Studies from Australia and globally now show a clear pattern: the younger a child is when they get a smartphone, the more likely they are to experience challenges with anxiety, sleep, focus, and friendships. Smartphones pull kids into an always-on world filled with comparison, pressure, and distraction - long before they’re ready to manage it.
For school-aged children, phones don’t just sit quietly in their pockets. They reshape social dynamics. They interrupt sleep. They reduce outdoor play. And they often replace the creativity, boredom, and independence that a healthy childhood relies on.
🧒 Childhood Is Lived in the Real World
When kids spend more time on devices, they spend less time doing the things that build confidence and resilience - real-world friendships, exploration, unstructured play, and navigating challenges without a digital safety net.
These are not nostalgic luxuries; they’re developmental necessities.
🎁 So What Do You Give Instead?
If you’re looking for gifts that support a playful, grounded, real-world childhood, here are some ideas that have nothing to do with screens - and everything to do with growing up well:
- 🚲 A bike or scooter
- 🎨 Art and craft supplies
- 🏕️ An adventure or experience
- 🎸 Music lessons or a starter instrument
- 📚 A stack of brilliant books
- 📸 A digital or film camera
- ♟️ Board games or strategy card games
- 🚌 A prepaid public transport card to build independence
- 🧰 A toolbox, science kit, or model-building set
- ☎️ A landline or simple feature or "dumb" mobile phone
These gifts don’t just entertain your child - they open doors. They give kids skills, responsibility, fresh air, and the space to develop who they are without the constant pressure of online life.
💛 The Gift That Matters Most
The truth is simple: kids don’t need more time online - they need more time being kids. More exploring. More playing. More boredom that turns into creativity. More freedom in the real world.
So this Christmas, you’re not “taking something away” when you skip the smartphone. You’re giving something far better: a childhood protected from pressures they’re not yet ready to carry.
And that’s the kind of gift that lasts.
Share this blog to start a conversation with fellow parents. It's so much easier if we wait together.