How times change, way back when I was a kid there were no such things as mobile phones, yet with the advancement of years the smartphone has now become a gadget in just about everyone’s daily life, and it appears that includes kids under the age of 10, and even as young as 4 years old.

According to a recent survey by Westcoastcloud, to coincide with the release of its Apple iPad Internet security product for schools, found the 1 in 10 primary school kids under the age of 10 uses an Apple iPhone.

The survey took in 2,000 parents of kids under the age of ten and found that due to their kid’s constant pestering, 17 percent of parents have purchase a mobile phone for their child, with parents opting to buy the latest smartphone such as the iPhone or a BlackBerry handset, and apparently 68 percent of those polled said they did so to keep tabs on their child.

The survey also revealed that almost 1 in 10 primary school kids own a social networking account with a quarter of parents confirming that their kid has an email account, while a third of kids that use their parents smartphone do so to access the internet for such activities as Twitter, Facebook, emailing and using YouTube.

The director of Westcoastcloud, Bill Strain says, “It’s great that youngsters are interested and engaged with the latest technology, but children owning their own phones as young as four does seem unnecessary. Kids will always be able to gain access to their parents’ phones and laptops but when primary school age children gain access to the Internet on these devices, parents need to be aware. There’s the potential that they could access unsuitable or potentially harmful content.”

The survey revealed that when it comes to paying the bill for their kid’s phone, 88 percent of parents paid the bill while two-thirds of children have a pay as you go plan with three-quarters of parents topping up £10 per month on their kid’s PAYG while 1 in 5 fork out £20 in top ups.

The CEO of Childnet International, children’s internet charity, Will Gardner said, “With children of a younger and younger age accessing technology, even owning technology, it is all the more important that we are equipping them to navigate these technologies safely.”

Furthermore, half of parents surveyed stated they did not have parental controls installed on their devices, 15 percent say their kid uses their smartphone on a regular basis, while 1 in 10 children are capable of logging on to their parents tablet or laptop.

Parents said that on average their kid spends almost three hours per week online either via a smartphone or computer, whilst 22 percent of parents say they frequently argue with their child over the amount of time they spend surfing the Internet.

Image courtesy of Edrudge90.