Christmas is usually the time of year when parents gift their child their first smartphone. The question is: Is the child ready to accept that responsibility?
New research from Digital Readiness Lab has revealed two in three parents say their child is ready for their first device.
The 2026 Australian Digital Readiness Index has established three capabilities that will indicate whether a child is ready for a device.
These capabilities include self-regulation, critical judgement and help-seeking.
Self-regulation is the ability to manage attention limits and emotions around your devices.
Critical judgement is being able to recognise advertising and judge information, knowing what to do when something doesn’t feel right.
Help-seeking is turning to a trusted adult when the user is upset or confused or feels unsafe.
The Digital Readiness Lab conducted a Christmas device study where it spoke to 1,039 Australian parents and carers of children aged 5 to 14.
It asked which devices they’re weighing up, what makes the device feel right for their child, how they judge readiness and what help they want with the handover of the device?
Of the two in three parents, 66.3 per cent who thought their child was ready for their first device when they were shown the three digital readiness capabilities the picture changed dramatically.
The study showed only 1 in 7 parents say their child consistently shows all three readiness capabilities.
The social media ban has been in place for almost a year. One in four parents weighing up a device for a 12- to 14-year-old say social media is already one of their main uses.
Nearly every parent, of course, will expect parental controls and family settings on the new device but just over half feel completely confident and comfortable that they know how to set the device up properly and safely.
“Parents are doing exactly what you’d hope. They’re thinking hard about whether their child is ready,” says Rinat Strahlhofer, Founder of the Digital Readiness Lab.
“But what this study shows us is that most families are judging readiness without a yardstick, because nobody has ever shown them what readiness looks like.
“When two in three say yes but only one in seven are seeing all three capabilities consistently, that’s not parents getting it wrong.
“It’s parents being asked to judge something they’ve never been given the tools to measure.
“The phone gets bought in a shop or handed down, then it’s set up at the kitchen table and gifted on Christmas morning with the best intentions, and not much else.
“Parents are telling us they’d like more help, but the places that can reach families aren’t necessarily the places they trust most. That’s a gap every organisation around that child could help close.
“If you sell a phone or a plan, make a device, run a school or set the rules, you’re already part of a child’s digital world. The question is whether families can rely on you for effective help.”
“Parents have told us what would help and when they’d use it. We’ve heard them, and the Lab will put free tools in families’ hands before Christmas.”
KEY FINDINGS IN SHORT
– 74 per cent of parents surveyed are planning or considering a device for their child this Christmas.
– 66.3 per cent rate their child as mostly or completely ready for a device. 14.9 per cent of children were rated as consistently showing all three Digital Readiness capabilities. These are different measures, not a single readiness score.
– 43.8 per cent of parents weighing up a device expect to work out the rules on the day. 32.8 per cent expect to have them sorted before Christmas.
– 95.1 per cent expect parental controls or family settings on the new device. 53.3 per cent feel very or completely confident they know how to set the device up safely.
– 41.9 per cent would like guidance from the shop or phone company when they buy. 9.5 per cent named the shop and 9 per cent their phone or internet company among the sources they’d trust most.
– 72.4 per cent would be likely to use a free tool to prepare their child before the device arrives: an app (42.3 per cent), a family agreement (34.2 per cent) or a child-readiness checklist (30.9 per cent).
– 17.9 per cent of parents of 7- and 8-year-olds are weighing up a smartphone this Christmas, rising to 48.4 per cent among parents of 13- and 14-year-olds.
– 50 per cent of parents considering a smartphone as a first device worry they may regret it, compared with 37.7 per cent for any other first device.
– One in five parents weighing up a smartphone say it would be handed down from a parent.
– 24.3 per cent of parents weighing up a device for a 12- to 14-year-old say social media is one of the main things their child already does on a device. The question didn’t ask which platforms, or whether the child had their own account.
– 13.7 per cent of parents planning or considering a device say someone outside the household will also be giving their child one, most often a grandparent.
