Phone or tablet for a child: how to choose

Start with what the device is for

The best device depends on the job. If your child walks to school, takes a bus or goes to tuition alone, a phone solves a real problem: they can call, and you can see where they are. If the main use is homework, e-books and video at home, a tablet is bigger, cheaper to replace and easier to leave on a shelf.

Many families end up with both, a tablet at home and a phone for outings. Both can follow the same rules, which keeps things simple.

A side by side look

Age is a guide, not a rule

For younger children, a tablet used in a shared room, with a short list of apps, is a gentle start. For ages when independence begins, a phone with calls, maps and a school app set is reasonable. For teenagers, the device matters less than the agreement around it. See parental controls for teenagers.

If you are unsure, wait. A child can ask for a phone for years. A phone given too early is hard to take back.

Questions that settle it

• Will your child be alone away from home, and do you need to reach them?
• Is there a spare device already in the house that could be reset and used?
• Do you want your child to have a messaging app, or is calling enough?
• Who will check the rules every few months?
• Does the device run Android 12 or newer, so it can be managed?

Cost and the device you already own

Buying a dedicated kids phone, such as those from Gabb or Pinwheel, or a kids tablet from Amazon Fire or Samsung Kids, gets you a packaged setup. Check each company's current pricing and terms yourself. A cheaper route is to use a device you own and add management software. Skie is software only. It does not sell a phone or tablet, and pricing is on request.

Whichever device you choose, it needs to be freshly set up or reset once to be managed as the device owner, with any Google account removed first.

Setting up whichever you pick

For the phone, follow how to set parental controls on an Android phone. For the tablet, use how to set parental controls on a child's tablet. Both follow the same pattern: allowed apps, adult-site blocking, schedules and location.

Daily screen time limits are not available yet in Skie. Schedules do change what the device allows at set times, and the team is working on limits.

Special cases

A child with a long commute or after-school activities nearly always needs a phone, even a basic one with calls, maps and a school app. A child who learns from video lessons or reads on a screen may do better with a tablet that stays at home. A child in a hostel often needs a phone for calling home, with night rules applied. Skie supports hostel night mode with calls allowed.

Children with learning differences may benefit from a tablet with a very short app list that you build carefully. Because Skie works on tablets exactly as on phones, you can use the same dashboard for both.

A decision in four steps

• Write down what the device must do in the first six months
• Check what you already own that is Android 12 or newer
• Pick the smallest device that meets the need
• Set it up with controls before the child touches it

Frequently asked questions