What age would you/did you get your child a cell phone?

[AlmiraGulch]

DD16 has had one off and on for several years. At first it was one of those pre-paid phones that had certain numbers programmed in and those were the only ones she could call or that could call her. Didn't last too long, because it really was a crappy phone. The one she has now (and has had for about a year or so) is a decent, touch-screen phone, but I turned off the data plan. She doesn't know it, but she's likely getting an iPhone for her birthday in July. Maybe. I haven't decided for sure.

 

I also think I'm getting DD10 a phone soon. She now has days when she walks home from the bus stop and is home alone for about 90 minutes before her sister gets home. I'd be more comfortable if she had a phone. And given that the school doesn't communicate when things are cancelled, I think she may have her own soon.

[2squared]

Are you really asking about texting? If so, my 10yo bought her iPod last summer and texts her friends with it every day. She has to have wi-fi to text, so she can only text from home. Texting is her lifeline to her friends. She desperately wants daily social contact, and texting provides it for her. Her texting is limited to friends that I approve.

 

My 8yo texts with his iPod too. He texts me, his sister, and his grandma.

 

My 10yo and 8yo each have prepaid phones that they only use to contact dh or I. They are both routinely dropped off for activities and I need to be able to contact them. In the next year or two, I expect the girls my dd's age to move to texting via cell phones. When that happens, we will provide dd with a texting phone. Most of the girls around the 7th grade age don't even use their phones for making calls. It's all texting.

[Tokyomarie]

Both of our older children are old enough that cell phones "belonging" to children was not yet a standard procedure. I got my own phone when my oldest daughter was in 11th grade. She started driving to CC classes during the summer after 11th grade and I let her borrow my phone so we could communicate when she was out. Neither she nor her sister got their first phones until they were 19yo.

 

I was always with my youngest, except for church activities, until he started his CC program at just shy of 17yo. He had no need of a phone to contact me. During the first year of the program, he used a texting app on his iPod (connected to the school wi-fi) to contact me when necessary.

 

Ds got his first real phone, an iPhone, for his 18th birthday. He's not a social butterfly and is even less enamored with talking to people on the phone, so he rarely uses it to contact anyone outside of family- either voice or text. He checks his email and facebook, and sometimes other websites on his phone when he is out.

 

 

If I was raising young ones today, I probably would have a cheap pre-paid phone with no bells or whistles that the child who was going out without me would "borrow" for the duration of the event. But I don't think I would give a child younger than high school age a phone all of his own.

[TraceyS/FL]

When they needed it - art classes at the library by themselves. It was awhile ago - and it was Migo that could only dial 4 numbers. The younger two still share that, the 17yo has a prepaid ATT smartphone without data for now.

[TraceyS/FL]

OH and the younger two have iPods and use that to text/iMessage with family and each other.

[hsbeth]

We got our older girls phones at 12 b/c we dropped our landline and they would spend short amounts of time at home alone. Our third child received one on her 11th birthday for the same reason. Her's is a pre-paid non-smart phone mostly b/c our family plan is maxed out on lines. Our older girls do have have smart phones now (ages 15 and 16) only because dh and I went the smart phone route on our last upgrade so it only added $10/mth to our costs for our girls to have data too. They like being able to upload photos to FB and use the internet on the go. They've been very responsible with its use.

[Lisbeth]

16. And no driving until 17.

[Lanny]

I believe our DD got her first cell phone for her 6th birthday. It was a Firefly. The Firefly phone is designed for children to use and it has some security features that are excellent for children. However, it is very strange to set up and operate. DD found it very confusing and so did her parents. Eventually, I gave her my Nokia 1108, which is a regular cell phone, very rugged, and she had no problems with that one. She is 12 now and she has what was my Sony Ericsson Walkman W300.

 

Having a cell phone, in the event of an emergency, can save someones life. Her's is a "Prepaid" phone and she uses it occasionally, for phone calls or SMS Text messages.

[happyhomemaker25]

I said around 16-17, but pretty much not until they need one.(Job, school, driving... )

[momofkhm]

Can't answer the poll as all my kids were different.

 

Oldest got hers at 15 going on 16. So she had it when she drove by herself to call us if she needed us. We also required texts to tell us she got to where she was going. She is now 18.

 

Middle got hers at about 14. I can't remember our reasoning for her getting it sooner. Unless it was that oldest wasn't always around with her phone. Oldest dropped a few classes but we still needed to get in touch with the other 2.

 

Youngest got his a month ago. He's 12. I am soo used to the other 2 having one. But when oldest was 12, I thought it was silly for kids this age to have one. DH and ds text in the middle of the day. Just silly stuff. (We have unlimited texting.)

[DawnM]

When they are away from us and need to contact us, they get a cell phone.

 

However, they are to contact us for the most part. My boys aren't really into social calling or texting since none of their friends are.

[Jennifer in MI]

Are you really asking about texting? If so, my 10yo bought her iPod last summer and texts her friends with it every day. She has to have wi-fi to text, so she can only text from home. Texting is her lifeline to her friends. She desperately wants daily social contact, and texting provides it for her. Her texting is limited to friends that I approve.

 

My 8yo texts with his iPod too. He texts me, his sister, and his grandma.

 

My 10yo and 8yo each have prepaid phones that they only use to contact dh or I. They are both routinely dropped off for activities and I need to be able to contact them. In the next year or two, I expect the girls my dd's age to move to texting via cell phones. When that happens, we will provide dd with a texting phone. Most of the girls around the 7th grade age don't even use their phones for making calls. It's all texting.

 

 

My dd uses her big brother's iPod to text her friends. She's 7! But, she has a really fun time making short videos and texting them.

 

Can't answer the poll as all my kids were different.

 

Oldest got hers at 15 going on 16. So she had it when she drove by herself to call us if she needed us. We also required texts to tell us she got to where she was going. She is now 18.

 

Middle got hers at about 14. I can't remember our reasoning for her getting it sooner. Unless it was that oldest wasn't always around with her phone. Oldest dropped a few classes but we still needed to get in touch with the other 2.

 

Youngest got his a month ago. He's 12. I am soo used to the other 2 having one. But when oldest was 12, I thought it was silly for kids this age to have one. DH and ds text in the middle of the day. Just silly stuff. (We have unlimited texting.)

 

 

Isn't that funny? My oldest was 14 when he got his. Second was 13. My 12 yo has had one since he was 11. I felt safer with him out and about so much (during the summer, he rides his bike all around the neighborhood). But, I never would have considered a cell phone when my oldest was 11!

 

Now, my dd wants one too. She is a gymnast, and is at the gym 10 - 12 hours a week right now. As that increases, I can see the need for one.

[hsmom2011]

I voted 14/15, but would like to add it would strictly be for emergency use.

[NotSoObvious]

When they need one. I voted 16-17. In our case driving is what created the need.

 

 

This exactly.

[justamouse]

It has nothing to do with age, and has to do with need.

[NotSoObvious]

But I'll add that we don't do a lot of "drop offs" and I know where my kids are 100% of the time. If that ever changes, maybe my opinion will change, but I'm still uncomfortable giving my young teen a cell phone will all the s*xtng stuff going on. We'll have to check on the climate of all that (and their friends) in a few years.

[2squared]

My dd uses her big brother's iPod to text her friends. She's 7! But, she has a really fun time making short videos and texting them.

 

My 10yo & her friends make elaborate videos and text them to each other. My dd will alert us that she is "filming" and we are not to interrupt. :D My dd was very disappointed that our wi-fi can't send a video longer than 6 min. They also stage pictures and send them. I find texting to be very fun for my dd.

[TraceyS/FL]

 

My 10yo & her friends make elaborate videos and text them to each other. My dd will alert us that she is "filming" and we are not to interrupt. :D My dd was very disappointed that our wi-fi can't handle send a video longer than 6 min. They also stage pictures and send them. I am finding texting to be very fun for my dd.

My kids crack me up with this too!

 

They also used the "stop action app" (Lego??) to make a video. It made me totally dizzy to watch - but it was cute even if it did involve My Little Ponies! :bored:

[Dmmetler]

When she's regularly going places without me or being dropped off in situations where she might need an early pick-up. So far, I tend to stay close when she has activities simply because there's nowhere for me to go, and until she no longer needs a car seat, I don't think that will change (right now, I'm often the only mom who stays regularly for dance, and I feel that since the building is open to the outside, having SOME adult there to keep an eye out if a child needs to go use the restroom or get a drink is important

 

Having said that, last year she did get an iPod Touch, and one of the main reasons was so she could iMessage/Face Time her cousins. The girls only see each other a couple of times a year, and we want to encourage that relationship. She uses my Apple ID, so I see all the messages they send, and she can't add anyone. She has figured out how to message a few of her friends via their parents (in at least one case, the child ALSO has an Apple ID shared with a parent-in other cases, she simply sends a message to the parent's iPhone/pod/pad, and eventually the parent notices and passes the message to the child). It seems like a reasonable compromise given her age.

[Dmmetler]

My kids crack me up with this too!

 

They also used the "stop action app" (Lego??) to make a video. It made me totally dizzy to watch - but it was cute even if it did involve My Little Ponies! :bored:

 

My DD loves that app. If you haven't downloaded Version 1.5, you should-it lets the kids use any music stored in iTunes. My DD did one to "Never Smile at a Crocodile" with a toy crocodile going around the room eating various things ;).

[Jerico]

My sister and I shared one once I could drive at 16. It mainly stayed in the car I think I averaged 4 minutes a month lol. I don't expect giving my kids a call phone until they can drive.

[Rebel Yell]

"under 9"

 

BUT.... at the time, the phone was shared by all 3 girls. I don't even remember the ages now, but it was more than 2 years ago, so BabyBaby would have been younger than 9. Cheap-o $10 pre-paid tracfone. Whomever was out without parents carried the phone with them.

 

We now have 2 tracfones for the girls- Diamond has her own- she;s driving and out of the house alone often. SweretChild almost always has the second phone, but BabyBaby will occasionally take it with her if needed.

 

The phones cost us an average of $10/month each. No unlimited texting, no data plan. Well, SweetChild's phone *can8 go on the internet- but it;s a massive pain, slow and stupid, AND sucks up major minutes- so she doesn't.

[Lady Florida.]

I voted 10-11, but that's because he had a need for one then. If "when there is a need" was an option, that would be my vote.

[Catwoman]

It has nothing to do with age, and has to do with need.

 

I think that is an important point. It looks like pretty much everyone else's kids were older than my ds when they received their phones, and people probably think I'm a nut for giving a 4yo his own phone, but we spend a lot of time in NYC and although both dh and I have always been completely paranoid about making sure he was with us at all times, we also worried that there was still a possibility that we could be separated, so we wanted to be sure that ds could call us on the phone (and we could reach him) if that ever happened, or if there was ever some kind of accident, he could call a family member or 911 for help.

 

Fortunately, he never needed to use the phone for safety purposes, but we still feel it was money well spent, "just in case." It was only the cost of the phone plus $10 a month back then, so it seemed well worth the money. (Don't get me started on the price of the phones and plans now, once you add in all the data plans and stuff, but back then it was cheap! :))

[*********]

I gave my old, 'dumb' phone to my boys when I got a smart phone. They were, um, 5 and 7 at the time.

 

Which is HILARIOUS to my girlfriends, because we are SO not the kind of family that gives cell phones to five year olds, LOL. :D

 

But it's one of those pre paid phones. And what else was I going to do with it, you know?

 

Zee just recently started actually using the phone. He texts his sister who is off at college now. It's very cute. He actually bought some minutes for the phone because he likes texting her.

 

If I hadn't already had the pre pay phone when I got my smart phone, the boys STILL wouldn't have a cell, because they don't need one. They don't go places without me, so no need for a cell.

[Susan in TN]

We got ds17 a cell phone a few months ago because he started having to drive downtown to rehearsals and classes at night. He has a prepaid tracfone - nothing fancy at all, but much less embarrasing than dh's cell phone which is a 10yo Nokia. I don't have a cell phone myself - we consider dh and ds's phones to be "community phones" - if someone else needs a cell phone for something, we use theirs.

[dirty ethel rackham]

It was different for each of my children. My oldest didn't get one till he was 14 (a very basic model.) It was for safety and MY convenience - so he could go to places without me and be able to arrange rides, etc. My next one got one a little earlier, but my mom had passed away and ds got her phone. Again, a very basic model. Dd got a phone last year at 11, but she was doing things more independently (lots of babysitting) so she needed it earlier. She has a basic phone, but uses it much more socially. Since it is pre-paid, she knows she has to pay when she runs out of her the allotted minutes I purchase a year. But, she is rolling in dough since her babysitting services are in demand.

[Lara in Colo]

WE only have cellular at home, so I bought another one for the house--or the children.

It only has my number, my mother, my husband and our neighbor on the call list.

My children were 5,7,9,10 when we got it. They share our minutes and basically use it when we are separated.

When I go to the store and leave them at home.

When we go places (like the county fair) and we might get separated.

 

They get some freedom (with a cellular leash)

 

 

These days the need for a cell phone is higher than when we were children, there are no more phone booths, and people don't let you borrow the telephone anymore.

[amsunshine]

We got dd11 a prepaid simple "talk and text" phone for xmas this year. It was mostly because of her ballet schedule -- she's spending so many hours in class/rehearsals, and sometimes the schedules change at the last minute. It just became a necessity for us. Otherwise, I wouldn't have seen a need for it.

[Trilliums]

Depends on the kid and situation but if it was the one thing he needed socially to help keep him at home, your ds's age sounds good ;-)

 

 

:iagree:

 

My kids were 14-15 but it was when they started to need them for communicating with me. They aren't very sociable or into chatting with friends on the phone. If they were though, I would not have been opposed to getting them a phone earlier.

[2squared]

It has nothing to do with age, and has to do with need.

 

 

And "need" can be defined in various ways. My kids feel secure with their phones knowing they can call me for any reason. My 8yo ds got hurt at wrestling practice one day and wanted to call me. He wouldn't have asked his coach to borrow a phone, but he would call me on his own phone. He didn't "need" to call, but it helped him.

 

My 10yo can text me privately instead of asking to borrow a phone and having a pubilc conversation for her friends to overhear. I can also text her privately and she doesn't even have to let the other kids know I was checking on her. We have fun texting each other in the house, and I three way text with her and her friends occasionally.

 

Then, of course, there are the times the PS bus forgets to pick up the 5th graders from basketball practice and my 10yo dd is in a town 30 minutes away in the middle of our MN winters. Or the times the buses are late or the times we are late to pick her up. It's nice having the phone as a security blanket.

[speedmom4]

We got our dds iPhones when they turned 15. We text a lot as a form of communication when they aren't with me. It's much easier than calling. Also they don't tie the computer up as much since they have their phones.

 

Elise in NC

[Mommy22alyns]

Rebecca will inherit my cheap prepaid dumb phone for her 10th birthday next month. She's only allowed to call us on it. We're allowing it because she has very long gymnastics practices and we don't stay at the gym that whole time. If she got out early or something, it'd be nice for her to be able to contact us. She'll especially need it in the summer, when I'll be dropping her off and DH will pick her up after work. She's going to have some down time at the gym.

[Jenny in Florida]

My daughter got her first, cheapy, pay-as-you-go phone when she was nine or 10, when she started singing with a choir that rehearsed downtown. She didn't want it and hated carrying it, but I insisted after the first time I got stuck in traffic trying to get back to pick her up and found her standing on the street by herself in the dark across the street from where the local group feeds the homeless people. She was the youngest member of the choir, and the director just wasn't used to having to worry about kids her age. There are no pay phones in the area, and I had to leave to drop off and pick up her brother at a different location while she rehearsed.

 

My son got his first phone, also a pay-as-you-go type, when he was seven, as I recall. At that point, I was dropping him at his dance school for a few hours at a time and leaving to take his sister to show rehearsals across town. There was a phone in the waiting area that was, in theory, available for kids to use. However, it was one phone in a school with 200 students. In addition, the school's door locked automatically when it closed, and students had to buzz an intercom to unlock it and get back inside. The receptionist left at 6:00. So, if you had to buzz for entrance any time after that, you were at the mercy of any random staff member or even student who might or might not hear the buzz or notice someone on the screen waiting for entrance. That one phone was behind that locked door and up a flight of stairs. So, if my son finished his class and went downstairs and outside for me to pick him up, only to find I wasn't there, he would have to go back to the locked door, buzz for admittance, hope someone heard him, maybe buzz a second or third time before someone did notice and let him in, then go inside and upstairs and possibly wait in line to use the single phone so he could call me to find out when I might arrive.

 

I would not have bought kids at those ages cell phones just because. In our situation, though, it made sense to make the minimal investment required for my own peace of mind, if nothing else.

[Jenny in Florida]

My 10yo can text me privately instead of asking to borrow a phone and having a pubilc conversation for her friends to overhear. I can also text her privately and she doesn't even have to let the other kids know I was checking on her.

 

We've found that a nice bonus even now that my kids are older. Because of the theatre stuff, they both spend a lot of time in mixed-age groups, often hanging out with people who are older than they are for long periods of time. The potential for sticky, unpleasant, confusing situations is higher than it would be in, say, a supervised, structured activity. It gives all of us more peace of mind knowing our kids could pull out a phone and appear to be casually texting but really be letting me know they are uncomfortable and need me to extract them.

[AngieW in Texas]

Oldest got a cell phone at 14yo. I wanted her to have one at 13yo, but dh didn't. When she rode her bike to her weekly art class, I had her take my phone in case she ran into any problems on the way there.

 

We went to Disneyworld two years later when the kids were 16yo, 13yo, and 11yo. I insisted that we go ahead and get cell phones for the other two so we'd be able to get in touch with each other at Disneyworld if we got separated and dh agreed. We dumped our home phone and our overall phone bill actually went down by $10/month.

 

At that point, we did unlimited texting for everybody along with shared minutes.

 

Now we all have smartphone with data, so our bill is higher. The oldest and dh and I all have iphones. The two younger girls have Samsung Replenish, which really is a pretty crappy phone. When our contract comes up for renewal in June, they will get iphones also. They'll get the same ones that the rest of us have. They're just a lot cheaper now than they were two years ago.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Mine get a simple phone when they are old enough to be doing sports, plays, groups by themselves so 12-13. My 14 yo got one last year as she is very active and gone a great deal. My soon to be 12 yo won't get one yet because except for scouts he's usually with me.

[Greenmama2]

Other. As PP's have said, it will be need based. DD is a dancer and I can see her needing one before 10 with the amount of classes etc she does.

[LaxMom]

I'm in the "no specific age, but when there's a need" camp. (Not that I think a cell phone is ever an actual need)

 

My oldest daughter got one when she was 16, in preparation for her having a driver's license. My younger three don't have activities where they would need to be able to contact us (we're there, or they're with other trusted adults). If they had such activities, they would have cell phones, but it's not necessary now.

[Wabi Sabi]

Dh and I were just talking about this last night. We think it's time to get a cell phone for our oldest child who is 8. We can add a line to our existing account for $10/month (then we get a 27% discount off that) so it's really more affordable than a prepay phone.

 

A few years ago I'd have thought it was crazy to get a young child a cell phone, but clearly my views have changed. First, we do not have a landline. We have recently begun to allow ds to stay home by himself for short periods of time (we're talking 15-30 minutes at most right now). We also very occasionally use a babysitter and while most people have their own cell phones I feel it is our responsibility to provide a phone here at the house that a sitter could use in an emergency. Finally, ds is at an age where I drop him off at his various classes and do not stay. Years ago I'd have given him a quarter to use in a payphone if something happened and he needed to contact me, but payphones are near impossible to find anymore.

 

However, here's what started the discussion last night: ds was invited to go to a maple syrup festival with some homeschool friends this weekend. It is about 1.5 hrs from home. We know the family who has offered to take him, but we don't know them particularly well. We're allowing him to go, but were just saying that we wish we had a phone to tuck into his pocket just in case he got lost or had any other problems. It would simply give us an added layer of peace of mind.

[2squared]

Not that I think a cell phone is ever an actual need

 

 

Very true. Owning more than one pair of shoes isn't a need either, but I own three. KWIM? ðŸ˜

[Cassy]

DS8 got a cheap cell phone (£15, ca $22) as part of his Christmas presents when he was 5 yo. He had a wonderful time playing with it, taking photos, listening to music, and later learning to text. I think DH put about £10 (ca $15) on it during the first couple of years. It's still going strong and he now takes it with him when he goes out and about playing in the neighbourhood; it's good to be able to call him to let him know when I want him home for meals, etc. He only ever uses it as a phone to call me occasionally when he's out playing. It was very good value for money as a toy :001_smile:.

 

DS8 is dyslexic, and I've since heard that research here has shown that learning to text can be very helpful for dyslexics learning to write.

[raceNzanesmom]

Ours can have them when they can afford it. If under 18, no internet access. (Internet is only allowed with filters.)

[caroljenn]

We had to get one early for dd because she had to go with my eh for visitation. She needed a way to call us for help.

 

I probably would have waited until 12 or so if she hadn't needed it earlier.