THE WORLD’S richest man and former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates says children should not be given mobile phones until they are 14.
The computer giant said parents should limit their children’s screen time and admitted he didn’t permit his own kids to have mobiles until they turned 14.
But Australian telecommunications* experts say it may be too late for Australian children to follow his rules as one in every five 10-year-olds is already using a mobile phone, and nine in 10 Aussie teens own a smartphone.
Technology and parenting experts have welcomed the tech leader’s comments, and argue parents should “hold off” buying their child a smartphone “for as long as they can”.
Bill and Melinda Gates with their three children. Picture: Melinda Gates/Twitter
The 61-year-old father of three Bill Gates told British newspaper The Mirror that he and his wife Melinda limited their children’s exposure* to digital screens around bedtime.
“We often set a time after which there is no screen time and in their case that helps them get to sleep at a reasonable hour,” Mr Gates said.
Mr Gate’s children, Jennifer, 20, Rory, 17, and Phoebe, 14, were not allowed mobile phones until they turned 14 and then their use was still restricted.
“We don’t have cellphones* at the table when we are having a meal, we didn’t give our kids cellphones until they were 14 and they complained other kids got them earlier,” Mr Gates said.“You’re always looking at how it can be used in a great way — homework and staying in touch with friends — and also where it has gotten to excess.”
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Picture: AFP
Mr Gates grew up in the pre-mobile phone world and spent a lot of his childhood reading books.
It has been reported that he read an entire collection of encyclopedias* when he was a child.
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