A child's first phone: checklist
What to set up and what to agree: family-wide rules, nights and purchases, location sharing discussed openly, safety and what to do when something goes wrong.

[ ] Agree the rules before handing the phone over
    When it is not used, where it sleeps, who pays, what to do if something goes wrong. Agreeing afterwards is much harder.
[ ] Make the rules apply to the whole family
    \u201cNot at the table\u201d and \u201cnot in the bedroom at night\u201d only work if they apply to adults too. Otherwise it is not a rule.
[ ] Decide where the phone spends the night
    Ideally outside the bedroom: sleep beats messaging, and this is the most common conflict in the first months.
[ ] Set up a passcode and basic protection
    A passcode, screen lock, find-my-device. And explain why it matters for the child, not only for you.
[ ] Limit in-app purchases
    Game currencies and subscriptions drain money quietly and fast. Agree how the child asks for a purchase rather than only banning them.
[ ] Set age limits for the store and content
    Check that you understand how those settings work. Decorative controls are worse than none.
[ ] Switch on backups
    A child's phone gets lost and broken more often than an adult's. A backup prevents tears over lost photos.
[ ] Discuss location sharing openly
    It can be useful, but secret monitoring, once discovered, damages trust more than any mistake a child makes.
[ ] Talk through what to do when something goes wrong
    A stranger messages, photos are requested, threats, bullying. The core message: come to me and you will not be in trouble.
[ ] Be honest about privacy
    Say plainly what you will look at and what you will not, and why. A surprise check of messages is the fastest way to lose trust.
[ ] Explain what is never sent to strangers
    Address, school, schedule, photos, parents' details. Simple rules stick better than long lectures.
[ ] Save the important contacts and practise calling
    Parents, a trusted adult, emergency services. Check the child can call from a locked screen.
[ ] Talk about bullying and what to do
    Do not reply, keep the evidence, show an adult. And agree the phone will not be taken away as punishment for telling.
[ ] Agree what the phone never overrides
    Sleep, meals, schoolwork, sport, time with people. That works better than arguing about hours.
[ ] Agree to revise the rules as they grow
    Rules for a ten-year-old do not fit a fourteen-year-old. A scheduled review is fairer than sudden tightening.

Checklist from Unload: https://unloads.me/c/child-first-phone