Age you allow dc to have cell phone?

[Green Vixen]

At what age would you allow your dc to get a cell phone? Would you pay for it or would they need to? My kids are little so this is mostly out of curiosity, back in my day pagers were all the rage :lol:!!!

 

Marisa

 

Poll to follow

[Koerarmoca]

When they have a job & car and are able to pay for it by them selves. Their is far to much tween/teen drama with children of my friends it confirms it for me every time I hear a texting horror story.

[joannqn]

Up until recently, we've been against it until the teen years or later. They don't really need it, and we don't have the money for it anyway.

 

That was before my daughter, age 11, was invited to youth group at our church. The topic came up during Sunday school, and they found out she is in 6th grade (accelerated officially by our virtual public school) and invited her. For the first time, she's going someplace without us. And, a youth leader we've barely met is providing her transportation. Right now, she's taking my phone (she texts DH when they arrive and when they leave), but we're considering getting her some sort of prepaid phone to carry.

[dhudson]

We got our son a phone when he started traveling with Bible Bowl and was away from us. I want daily contact with him.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I voted 16 but I honestly don't know. My oldest will be 13 tomorrow :001_huh: and we have NO plans of her getting one. I did 16 because I think she will be driving and possibly have a job so I think then she will have a need for one. I don't know about paying for it. Maybe we will split the bill with her? We really have never discussed this before but once she is driving then I will want her to have a cell phone- you never know what could happen. :001_smile:

[Daisy]

Here is the plan for our family...

 

We buy an extra cell phone and it becomes the "house" phone. The children may borrow it AS NEEDED and AS DETERMINED by the parents. Since it is our phone we retain the right to do whatever we want with the phone. We can look at previous calls, text messages, and any other features that are on the phone (which would probably be limited).

 

When our children get their OWN full-time job, they can decide for themselves if they wish to purchase their own cell phone and plan.

[kchara]

When they start going places without us. When DD was 7, she graduated into a class at our church's Camp Meeting in the summer, and I knew she'd be taken off campus for a couple of field trips during the week. I got her a cheap prepaid from WalMart, to keep with her. It only had like 3 numbers programmed into it, and she was only allowed to call those 3 numbers. After that, we moved, things happened, and she doesn't really go anyplace without her dad or I anymore, so she doesn't need a phone. The prepaid has long disappeared, I'm not sure where to. DS has my old 'Driod, but it's not hooked up to service. He just likes the game apps, and the camera. Until they get going a bit on their own, they don't particularly need one. Even then, we'll be strictly monitoring it.

[iamrachelle]

My 10 year old DD plays sports away from home. We bought her a cell phone for her birthday simply because I wanted her to have a way to call me if she was hurt during practice, or practice let out early. I like knowing I can get in touch with her when I'm not with her. Having said that, she doesn't have access to the phone when she's not on the field.

[mom4him]

I voted other as mine won't have one until they absolutely have to have one or can pay for it themselves. If possible it won't have a camera on it.

[pbt1294]

There is no real reason that my kiddos need one, although they have asked. I agree with others that say when they get a job and can pay for them.

 

Although my kiddos did get ipod touches for Christmas. They have free phone apps so as long as they have wifi they can use them as a phone.

[3lilreds in NC]

Here is the plan for our family...

 

We buy an extra cell phone and it becomes the "house" phone. The children may borrow it AS NEEDED and AS DETERMINED by the parents. Since it is our phone we retain the right to do whatever we want with the phone. We can look at previous calls, text messages, and any other features that are on the phone (which would probably be limited).

 

When our children get their OWN full-time job, they can decide for themselves if they wish to purchase their own cell phone and plan.

 

This is a really good plan. My girls ask sometimes when they can have a cell phone, and I tell them, when they start going places without me! :lol: Right now they are eyeballing my current phone, because I will get a new one in June. I will ask dh what he thinks about a family phone for as-needed usage. They really don't need one, but if they were going to do all-day camps in the summer and I didn't want to hang around, it might be good if they could call me on their own without depending on someone else's phone.

 

ETA: I didn't vote because I don't have a specific age in mind. I have to believe it won't be much before they're driving themselves places.

[Nakia]

My 10 year has had a cell phone for about a year because she participates in several activities without me. It's worth $10/month to know she can reach me anytime and vice versa.

[The Girls' Mom]

I voted other. It will happen when one of two things occur: 1. I see a real NEED for them to have one. (hasn't happened yet) or 2. They have a job and can pay for it themselves.

[Abigail4476]

I couldn't really vote since we don't have a set age. My dd15 got hers when she was almost 14. Her church youth group took a bus to Nashville and my husband decided he wanted to make sure she could contact us anytime. Then dd13 got one because we needed a line so my husband could upgrade his phone, and it snowballed from there. :D

 

They have basic phones with unlimited texting <---A cost saver for us after a shocking first phone bill after dd13 received her phone. :glare:

 

No smart phones; they don't need internet capability, and I have parental controls set on the account through at&t that prevents them from subscribing to any service or purchasing ringtones, etc., without me putting in a passkey.

 

It really depends on what suits your family best. Kids don't need phones simply because they want them, but there are times when it's convenient, and I feel more comfortable letting them go places if they can reach me at anytime.

Edited April 1, 2011 by Abigail4476

[AngieW in Texas]

My oldest got hers at 15yo, but I was pushing for her to have one at 14yo. I was already giving her my cell phone to take with her when she rode her scooter to her cartooning class and I would have preferred for her to have her own. Sometimes I had to be somewhere while she was in class and then she didn't have any way to reach me because she had my cell phone.

 

The other two got their cell phones when we went to Disneyworld. They were 11yo and 13.5yo. I would have liked for them to have their cell phones earlier too.

 

If I had to do it all over again, I'd get them all cell phones at 10-12yo. It would have been 12yo for my oldest because she had a lot of responsibility issues (would have lost hers at 10yo or 11yo) and probably at 12yo for middle dd as well (because she wouldn't have been interested). I would have gotten one for my youngest at 10yo.

 

Right now we all have basic phones with unlimited texting. I want to upgrade us all to unlimited everything this summer and get us all phones that are better for texting (only 12yo has a phone that's made for texting right now).

[Crissy]

When I had to begin leaving them at various practices and lessons without me (9-10).

[eternalknot]

At what age would you allow your dc to get a cell phone? Would you pay for it or would they need to? My kids are little so this is mostly out of curiosity, back in my day pagers were all the rage :lol:!!!

 

Marisa

 

Poll to follow

 

I'm not big on the x-age for thing thing. I think it's more about the specific kid's maturity and/or specific situation's needs.

 

My 5 and 10 year old inherited our 3G iPhones when we upgraded. We took out the sim card and put in the sim card from a cheaper, pay as you go phone; both kids have call and text ability. Their dad pays for everything because it was his idea. He wanted them to have the phones so they were able to reach me when they were staying with him, and reach either of us when they were staying with his parents.

 

The kids live with me 95% of the time. When I have them, I don't let my 5 year old use her phone. Anything she needs to do, she can use mine (she plays words with friends with her cousins, and likes to take pictures/video). I give my 10 year old free-reign for now because he's been moderating his own usage just fine. For now. He'll check it a few times a day, but doesn't carry it around 24/7. If we're going somewhere like the museum or zoo I ask him to bring it so I can call/text him if we separate or split up. He uses my phone for most of his calls and texts, still. Mine are free :D. He learned that lesson when he blew through his dad's pre-paid minutes in a few days then learned his dad wouldn't be refilling the minutes until my son's next visit - three months later.

[KidsHappen]

My oldest was long married before she got her first cell phone. The next got hers in 7th grade because she was in PS that year (the first PS foray and we were uncomfortable with her being out of contact). The next didn't go to PS and didn't get her first cell until 14, almost 15. The next got hers at 12 because she started middle school and would once again be out of pocket. The last got hers at 11 because she started middle school a little earlier than her sisters due to an early birthdate. So the age has trended down in our family. We still have a six phone plan: hubby & I, two college kids, and the youngest two still at home. It eats up a ridiculous amount of money but I really can't imagine anyone not having cell phones. The college kids don't have any other phone. My hubby needs his for work. I want mine in case of emergency and I like being able to keep track of the littles and for them to be able to get ahold of me.

[charlotteb]

I have told my children they can get a cell phone when they turn a teenager. But they have to pay for it themselves. They both get an allowance once a month. Adding another line to our plan would cost about what they get for their allowance in a month. So even though DS is 13 now, he has decided it's not worth it. :001_smile:

[QueenCat]

For us, it wasn't an age but when we saw the need. We saw the need when we were dropping elder ds more and more places with limited or no access to regular phones. Since we saw the need, we paid for it. We do not have texting on our phones because we were getting quite a bit of spam texts.

[Momling]

As soon as my daughter begins to be more independent, I want her to be able to call me. I imagine around age 11 or so, I'll probably let her walk to the library or shop and I want her to be able to reach me.

[MyLittleWonders]

We've told the kids that they can have one when they are in college (including taking classes as a high schooler at the local community college). So, I voted 16 because I can't see them taking classes any younger than that. We may eventually have a "family" phone so that if they go to their friend's house or something, or even for when they do baseball camp, they can call us without taking one of our phones. But, for now it's a non-issue.

[littlebug42]

I voted 11 just because we are currently considering school for our oldest when she begins 6th grade. If we do this, I will want her to have a phone with her but it will likely have no texting capability. Just basic service. If she doesn't go to school, we will assess the situation as needed with outside activities. If they are going to be places without us, I would prefer them to have a way to contact us.

[OnTheBrink]

DD got one a few weeks ago. She's 13. It was a hassle for her to have to borrow someone's phone to call me or her dad to pick her up from places or events. The phone was free and it it's only $15 a month to add her one to my plan (family plan plus insurance on her phone). It's not a smart phone, but she can call and text on it. The texting has ended up being beneficial. She can text me at work when she's at her dad's if he's being a jerk and talk to me about what's going on without having to say anything out loud. Tonight was one of those nights. :glare:

[Tutor]

Here is the plan for our family...

 

We buy an extra cell phone and it becomes the "house" phone. The children may borrow it AS NEEDED and AS DETERMINED by the parents. Since it is our phone we retain the right to do whatever we want with the phone. We can look at previous calls, text messages, and any other features that are on the phone (which would probably be limited).

 

When our children get their OWN full-time job, they can decide for themselves if they wish to purchase their own cell phone and plan.

 

This is what we do as well.

[Lilymax]

Here is the plan for our family...

 

We buy an extra cell phone and it becomes the "house" phone. The children may borrow it AS NEEDED and AS DETERMINED by the parents. Since it is our phone we retain the right to do whatever we want with the phone. We can look at previous calls, text messages, and any other features that are on the phone (which would probably be limited).

 

When our children get their OWN full-time job, they can decide for themselves if they wish to purchase their own cell phone and plan.

 

I voted "other" because it depends more on when the child can afford to pay for it himself. But I really like this idea! I'll have to share it with the hubs!

[JadeOrchidSong]

I had never had a cell phone until dh bought me one for X'mas. We pay $10 a month, using it or not. Then for each time I use it, I will be charged 25 cents. I haven't used it once yet.

I can do without a cell phone. I find it hard when people I talk with have to take off and answer their cell phone.

[knit247]

We buy an extra cell phone and it becomes the "house" phone. The children may borrow it AS NEEDED and AS DETERMINED by the parents...we retain the right to do whatever we want with the phone.

 

:iagree: Oh - I really like this!

 

My DDs are still young (9 and 7) so I have no need to think about this now. My best friend OTOH, has her DDs (4th and 2nd grades) in PS and they both have carried cells from k or 1st grade. They are never to get them out of their backpacks unless there is some sort of emergency. They also get to use them at home to call their grandparents, which is fun for them. If my girls were away from me for any length of time, I would do just as my friend does.

[Heather in Neverland]

When they have a job & car and are able to pay for it by them selves. Their is far to much tween/teen drama with children of my friends it confirms it for me every time I hear a texting horror story.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

[jelbe5]

We purchased a Trac phone recently. It is for all the kids. My oldest takes it when she goes to play practice (so she can call if practice ends early or will run late). My youngest can take it when she goes around the corner to visit her friend. It is inexpensive and offers a little additional security. We do not see the need to add our children to our "real" cell phone plan at this time.

[creekland]

Ours get their own when they head off to college. Until then they can use ours when they need them. We don't have texting on ours. I don't want mine on gadgets all the time. I prefer they learn to do other things when their brains are in their development stages. I'm of the camp that believes texting/twitter and even too much TV shortens attention spans and limits deeper thinking. (To each our own if you disagree.) Plus, if there is anything to brain cancer and cell phones my gut feeling tells me it's worse for a developing brain.

 

We don't shun cell phones entirely, but try to keep their use to a minimum when needed for actual contact. To me, texting is never necessary. College boy uses it a lot. It didn't hurt his ability to pick it up by not doing it in his earlier schooling years.

[Lolly]

We started with a "family phone" for the kids to share as needed when the eldest was about 13. Then, we got the twins their own phones when they were 12, and eldest kept the family number as her own. Ds had his own phone very shortly after. I discovered it was much nicer for ME for the kids to each have their own phone. :D I also discovered that it wasn't the horrid thing that I had envisioned and was holding out against. Oh, we pay.

 

The girls are always in a bit of a tiff because ds gets to do everything younger than they do. Just the advantage of being the youngest.

[Carrie12345]

When I want the convenience and/or they buy their own.

 

I got one for ds when he was 9, right after he was in a minor school bus accident and I wasn't contacted until nearly 3 hours later. We disconnected it when he stopped going to school.

 

We're getting one for my now-12yo and almost 9yo to share during Little League season, since practices and games are bound to double book on fields up to 20 miles apart.

[Elfinlady]

I voted 13, but we really only got DS a phone at 13 because he ended up needing to stay home by himself for a few hours one afternoon a week, and we no longer had a landline.

[Luckymama]

My older kids were 16 and 14 when they got their phones. Ds had started driving and dd was attending a different high school. They have basic but nice phones (qwerty keyboards) with unlimited texting and no internet, only $10/month each added to our plan.

 

I expect dd11 will get a phone when she either starts high school or participates in multiple activities away from home.

[Catherine]

When they need it-when they are old enough to be responsible and away from us and needing to call. Fifteen for one so far, fourteen for the other. Third doesn't have one yet.

[Jennifer in MI]

My 14 and 13 yos have smart phones. They presented us with a multi-media presentation one night as to why they should have them. They were very convincing. We have VERY strict rules about the internet use. (They mostly wanted the smartphones for games.) They pay for their own internet and their phones. We pay for talk and text.

 

My 10 yo has a Tracphone. He goes to friends' houses and the park regularly without us. He rides his bike all over the place. I want him to have a way to contact us.

 

We started out getting our kids phones when they were riding their bikes to meet friends/to baseball practice/to karate, etc.

 

What we've found is that this has improved our kids' social lives. The kids make plans now by texting! No texting + homeschooling meant that my kids got forgotten. Not on purpose! They just weren't as accessible! I'm SO glad we did it!!!

[bettyandbob]

My kids got cell phones when they started attended things on their own. Clubs, practices, etc. Pay phones are difficult to find or non existent. I want my dc to be able to contact me without having to ask someone else to borrow their phone.

 

It's simply a safety device and I pay for it. When I was a kid before I went places, I was always supposed to have spare change with me for the same reason.

 

Generally in our house kids are more independent and attending things without parents by age 12 or 13. They do not have data plans and would have to pay for an iphone or similar device and their own data plan if they wanted that.

[Mommyfaithe]

At what age would you allow your dc to get a cell phone? Would you pay for it or would they need to? My kids are little so this is mostly out of curiosity, back in my day pagers were all the rage :lol:!!!

 

Marisa

 

Poll to follow

 

Our kids get a phone at 16...when they start driving. The phone is really ours...we pay for it.

 

Faithe

[kewb]

I used to be firmly in the "when they have a job and can pay for it themselves" camp.

 

Then I had a babysitter who did not show up to pick my son up from school when he was in 4th grade. After that we got him a Migo (one of those program in 4 numbers only phones). A year later we got him a regular phone because my dh wanted the new blackberry and it was less expensive to add a line then buy the phone. DD then became the owner of the Migo.

 

Basically, it boiled down to a need and has become a huge convenience for us. I could go back to the pre-cell-phone days but I don't want to. Long story longer - I now believe the right age is when there is a need and the child shows the maturity to handle it.

[NanceXToo]

My daughter is 10. This spring/summer is when we have told her she will start being allowed to go off of our block to ride bikes "around the block" with her friends or to go to a local playground, etc.

 

Therefore, we will give her a cell phone. Not a fancy cell phone with a gazillion features- likely just a cell phone where she can call certain pre-programmed numbers.

 

If she's going to be out of my sight on her own, I want her to be able to contact me at any time, and, likewise, I want to be able to contact her at any time.

[Cinder]

I voted 13 because that's when we allowed ds1 to have one. He purchased the phone himself but we paid for his minutes. He wanted one because he was going to be a soccer ref and would be on his own at the soccer complex for several hours at a time. His initial excitement was for the "cool factor," but that quickly waned as he is not a phone person.

 

At 15yo he bought himself an ipod touch and now uses that for keeping in touch with people he needs to talk to. It's pretty much all texting, but he does very little of that as well. He's just not chatty in any form of communication.

[Geek]

Up until recently, we've been against it until the teen years or later. They don't really need it, and we don't have the money for it anyway.

 

That was before my daughter, age 11, was invited to youth group at our church. The topic came up during Sunday school, and they found out she is in 6th grade (accelerated officially by our virtual public school) and invited her. For the first time, she's going someplace without us. And, a youth leader we've barely met is providing her transportation. Right now, she's taking my phone (she texts DH when they arrive and when they leave), but we're considering getting her some sort of prepaid phone to carry.

It's because of this that we're going to get a cheap prepaid phone for the kids to share as need comes up.

 

Do we *need* it in light of the fact that my generation survived without this electronic umbilical cord? No. But if we can afford a $20 phone and some emergency minutes and that gives us a little peace of mind when one of them is out somewhere, it's worth it for us. I know we survived but my mom sure worried a lot. :)

[snickelfritz]

We buy an extra cell phone and it becomes the "house" phone. The children may borrow it AS NEEDED and AS DETERMINED by the parents. Since it is our phone we retain the right to do whatever we want with the phone. We can look at previous calls, text messages, and any other features that are on the phone (which would probably be limited).

 

When our children get their OWN full-time job, they can decide for themselves if they wish to purchase their own cell phone and plan.

 

Love this.

 

As they start doing more activities where I leave them, I think I want them to have " something.". We're not there yet, but it would be well before they are driving themselves.

[waa510]

Here is the plan for our family...

 

We buy an extra cell phone and it becomes the "house" phone. The children may borrow it AS NEEDED and AS DETERMINED by the parents. Since it is our phone we retain the right to do whatever we want with the phone. We can look at previous calls, text messages, and any other features that are on the phone (which would probably be limited).

 

When our children get their OWN full-time job, they can decide for themselves if they wish to purchase their own cell phone and plan.

 

 

This sounds like a good plan..stealing it! ;)

[Parrothead]

Dd has her own phone. I pay for it. The monthly cost is nominal with the plan we have.

 

We do not have a landline in the house.

[DawnM]

My boys have a shared cell phone.

 

DH had a cell with our plan but his work gave him another one, so we kept his old one and it costs us $7.50/mo.

 

Anytime a child needs one, he can take that one. He can only use it to call us though.

 

However, my kids don't have lots of friends they want to talk on the phone with so they haven't asked to use it to call friends.

 

Dawn

[KS_]

When they have a job & car and are able to pay for it by them selves.

 

This is what I'm thinking, too. We really don't have the extra money in our budget for them to have cell phones (I don't even have a cell phone), and so if it becomes something important to them, they're probably going to have to be able to pay for their own.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I voted 11, under the condition that the phone was there for MY convenience, not their social life. My kids don't talk to friends or text on theirs and I actually have to push them to remember to bring it everywhere. I want them to have phones with them so we can arrange rides if someone is delayed. Some days, my kids have activities all over the place, so it is a delicate dance to make sure some of my kids are not stranded if things don't always go as planned. Also, since my oldest drives himself places, I like having him text me when he gets there and when he is leaving.

 

My kids do not get the "cool" phones until they can pay for them. They get my hand-me downs. When ds gets a job, he can get a phone with a data plan. It would be convenient for us because he would have our Google Calendar at his fingertips.

 

I also would have no problem removing a phone if they showed rude behavior. If you are with people, you should not be texting other people. This drives me nuts. My niece was texting her friends while we all went out for ice cream. Could she have not put that phone away for 2 hours? Arrggghh. This has not been a problem for my kids, though.

[Jenny in Florida]

For the first time, she's going someplace without us.

 

Exactly.

 

In our case, our daughter got her first cell phone when she was 10 or 11, because she joined a choir that met downtown and was made up mostly of older girls. Sometimes, they would finish rehearsal early, or I would get stuck in traffic on the way to pick her up or whatever, and it made all of us nervous, because the older girls were driving themselves or car-pooling, and the director would forget about our daughter and just head home.

 

A couple of years later, my son got his first phone at about the same age, for more or less the same reasons. I would be driving and dropping each of them at different places all over the city, and my husband and I both felt more comfortable if we had an easy way to get in touch with both kids when they were away from us.

 

For what it's worth, my kids are now 16 and 13, and neither of them uses their phones much of socializing. My daughter communicates with friends mostly by computer (Skype and online chatting). My son occasionally texts friends, but not often. Each uses the phone primarily for communicating with us.