No smartphone, no problems: What does a 10-year-old need one for anyway?

Published 12:30 pm Thursday, September 11, 2025

Every day, my 10-year-old asks me for a phone… every single day. And every day I say no. It is almost comical at this point.

The other day, she walked out of her bedroom and I knew she was going to ask me, so I stuck a Post-it note on my forehead with the word NO on it. And just looked at her, she started to ask, then read my note and rolled her eyes before stomping off.

At first, I said no because it costs a lot of money to have a phone, money she doesn’t have. But more so, I hear and learn more about cyberbullying every day. Why would I want to subject my daughter to that at such an early age?

She tells me that her friends have phones, and she is left out. I told her that I am OK with her being left out of the bullying and feelings of inadequacy that come from social media. I am okay with her missing out on getting brain rot from scrolling.

I recently saw a quote on social media that said "Give your kids a smartphone when you're ready for their childhood to end."

I am not judging those parents who have given their children a phone. Maybe in some cases it is needed, but for my child, she doesn’t need one and probably couldn’t handle one.

It would be an extreme distraction for her in school. She would probably fall victim to cyberbullying and her need to fit in with other kids may cause her to also be a cyberbully. I went to school with mean girls in the hallways, I could not imagine if I had them in my pocket, taunting me at all hours of the day.

I recently watched Netflix’s documentary "Unknown Number: The High School Catfish" and have never felt better about this parenting decision. 

It is about a 13-year-old couple who are berated by vulgar text messages from an unknown number. This goes on for about two years.

Thousands of messages that come in at all times, even during the night. Some of the messages are beyond bullying. There is an investigation, first by the school and then the police get involved. Fingers are pointed and friendships are broken. A high school is turned upside down by these text messages.

The entire time I was watching this documentary, I kept thinking, just take away their phones. Do 13-year-olds really need a cell phone? Take away the phone, and you take away those awful messages.

And why are they allowing them in school? The principal said in the documentary that he didn’t ban phones in the school, instead he set up surveillance cameras everywhere to see if he could catch the catfish.

Wouldn’t it have been easier and more effective to just ban phones in the schools? The entire situation is so heartbreaking. The documentary exposes the culprit. And it is mind-boggling. Worth the watch.