I got my son a £900 iPhone for his THIRD birthday… he plays Roblox & scrolls TikTok for 12 hours a day, it’s educational
DRIVING home from picking up her son Addison, seven, and daughter Cora, 12 from school, Whitney Ainscough, 31, enjoys a moment of peace and quiet.
Her youngest child, Adley, three, is also in the car - but despite there being three kids in tow, it’s as quiet as a funeral home.
There’s no fighting, insult-throwing or cat-calling.
Because all the children are glued silently to their posh phones.
And despite the recent rise in parents giving their children ‘dumbphones’ - Nokia-style bricks which were popular in the early ‘00s and have no internet access - Whitney would not have it any other way.
“My kids all have smartphones,” says Whitney, an influencer from Rotherham, South Yorks. “Adley turned three this month and his birthday gift was an iPhone14 worth £900
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“They spend up to 12 hours a day on the weekend and on weekdays between three to six hours on them - but I don’t care.
“Their phones include multiple apps like Roblox, YouTube, TikTok, Baby Games, and Sparxs . It keeps the peace.
“Going back to old-fashioned bricks would be mad. I’m not going to force them to have an old phone which only has Snake on it.
Going back to old-fashioned bricks would be mad. I’m not going to force them to have an old phone which only has Snake on it.
Whitney Ainscough
“I gave that up years ago, and I don’t see any reason why my kids have to endure it. It’s regressive.”
Whitney’s kids’ phones - which cost a staggering £2,800 combined - are replaced yearly, as soon as the newest model comes out.
“They moan if they don’t get the trendiest model and I don’t want them to be left out,” she says, adding she does the same with their clothes and would never put them in charity shop stuff.
“And they aren’t bad kids. Cora works hard on her homework and her grades are consistently good. A phone isn’t mucking things up. So what if she scrolls TikTok? It’s not doing her any harm, whatever the naysayers claim.
“I do understand some kids’ parents might not be able to afford them, and they have my sympathy, but I want to give my children the best I can.”
Her comments came after MPs on the education committee urged the government to consider a total ban on smartphones for under 16s.
They’ve also asked for a statutory ban on mobile phone use in schools as part of a crackdown on screen time for children.
Robin Walker, then-Conservative chair of the committee, said in May too much screen and smartphone use had a “clear negative impact” on the wellbeing of children and young people.
Meanwhile, earlier this month Prince Harry also criticised social media.
Phone facts: in numbers
ALMOST a quarter of five to seven-year-olds now have a smartphone according to new findings by Ofcom.
The watchdog warned that infant school kids are increasingly online and going unsupervised.
Social media usage has jumped by 38 per cent among the five-to-sevens, accessing apps such as WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram and Discord despite these sites requiring users to be at least 13-years-old to have an account.
But the study also revealed that a third of parents let their child use social media independently.
The number of parents of younger children who said they were more likely to allow their child to have a social media profile before they reached the minimum age required has also risen from 25% to 30%.
"While parental concerns in some areas have increased considerably, their enforcement of rules appears to be diminishing, in part perhaps because of resignation about their ability to intervene in their children’s online lives," Ofcom's annual report reads.
It comes months after a new law to crackdown on tech giants was introduced.
The Government is considering new curbs on social media access for under-16s that could go as far as a total ban.
And more recent reports suggest children could be banned from buying smartphones too - though this wouldn't stop parents from handing them one.
Some three quarters of kids use a tablet or computer, Ofcom's data also showed.
Speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, he commented on "the pervasive threat that our online world poses to us, especially our children".
“The harmful effects of social media are made by design,” he said.
Whitney is angry about the comments.
“I do not care what Prince Harry thinks,” she says. “I am their mum. Smartphones are not stealing their childhood, they are enhancing them. They help my children access homework apps. They call their friends and family which inspires connection.
“I am acting responsibly. Giving a three-year-old a smartphone makes perfect sense and is actually super tech savvy parenting.”
I am acting responsibly. Giving a three-year-old a smartphone makes perfect sense and is actually super tech savvy parenting.
Whitney Ainscough
“Parents need to be online bullying aware like me.
"I check their phones and messages to monitor possible bullying. Bullying can be awful.
"However, as an influencer, I have spoken to my children about how I deal with it. I monitor the phones and my kids have an open relationship with me to discuss any negativity they receive.
She says “smartphones are critical to everyday life” and it is fine to let a three-year-old have one - even let him play on it for three hours a day.
“He uses it for Duolingo, BabyGames, drawing using Scribble Scrubbie Pets, chatting to relatives on WhatsApp and watching YouTube,” she says.
“It stops other people from going crackers too.
"Rather than holler or shout when we’re out, he’s glued to his phone.”
I won't be hypocritical and deny my children access to one. They're educational for any age.
Whitney Ainscough
She’s well aware she would be hypocritical to criticise anyone for having a smartphone - considering that’s how she made her money.
In early 2022 she set up accounts on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram where she recounted her relatable mum life.
They took off and a little over a year ago she was earning enough - sometimes up to £15,000 a month - to go off benefits.
She’d been on them for two years previously, after quitting her job as a pharmacy assistant.
My kids learnt to read in part using their smartphones and tablets. I refuse to be told I have made the wrong decision.
“I can’t criticise,” she says. “I use a smartphone to earn a living as a social media content creator.
“I won't be hypocritical and deny my children access to one. They're educational for any age.
“When I read Harry’s comments, I was furious. How dare he lecture British parents about their children using smartphones?
“He assumes parents don’t police their child’s phone use.
“I am proud that all my kids have smartphones. If he wants to tell me I’m wrong Harry should come and spend a week at my house.
“He’s out of touch with how normal kids communicate, how they learn and how they access information.
I remember when people told us TV would rot our brains. Now it’s smartphones.
Whitney Ainscough
“I was able to succeed and pull myself out of the benefit trap because of my phone and social media work.
“I’ve actually saved money from the public purse because of my phone.
“So to criticise us for giving our kids phones - which are necessary in 2024 - is completely bonkers.”
Whitney says she is proud her kids had smartphones when they were toddlers.
“Smartphones are educational,” she claims. “My kids learnt to read in part using their smartphones and tablets. I refuse to be told I have made the wrong decision.
“Just because a child has a smartphone from an early age does not mean they don’t spend family time together.
“Letting your children have a smartphone from an early age does not make you a bad parent, it makes you a smart, savvy parent. I am preparing them for a world where being tech-aware is a critical life skill.”
Cora is allowed to take her phone to school while Addison has to leave him at home while he’s at primary school.
But as soon as he’s out the school gates it’s back in his hands.
My kids are more empowered, better able to communicate and haven’t had their childhood stolen because they got smartphones when they were toddlers.
Whitney Ainscough
“It means I always know where they are,” she says.
She says her kids have better relationships with relatives because they can use their smartphones to WhatsApp or message them.
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“A smartphone is an extension of modern living for us,” she says. “I remember when people told us TV would rot our brains. Now it’s smartphones. It's only when you give a child a phone, or a tool or a toy unsupervised do things go wrong.
“My kids are more empowered, better able to communicate and haven’t had their childhood stolen because they got smartphones when they were toddlers.”