What age did your child get a phone?

[Kalypso]

So far, age 16 for my 2 older girls that were homechooled, and 15 for my ds 18 who attended public school. I will have a new driver in December, so we will have to decide if he's getting a smart phone or a dumb phone.

[DawnM]

Okay, hate is a strong word. I do not like to see young kids with expensive smart phones playing games, texting and doing social media. It's unnecessary and silly. Everywhere we go small kids have phone, teens and parents are staring at their phones constantly...it's annoying. I just don't understand the generation of kids being brought up. Small kids think they deserve a phone because everyone else has one. Also I don't like that social interactions all occur because of online and social media stuff...if kids can't hang out with their friends and talk and play and go places without phones, that is just silly to me. When my kids friends come over that have phones t

hat is all they do - no board games or giggling, just staring into a phone taking selfies a d editing the crap out of them.

 

This is my opinion by the way, so no need to criticize my opinion. Yours is different and I'm cool with that.

 

 

You don't seem cool with it.  

Edited July 14, 2017 by DawnM

[Bluegoat]

You are really reading a whole lot in to why people's kids have cell phones.

 

Fitting in with peers ranks WAY down my list of why my kids have cell phones.  WAY DOWN, like not even part of the equation.

 

A few people specifically mentioned it.

[meganrussell]

You don't seem cool with it.

I'm not criticising your opinion though. I'm just stating my opinion. I am not coming with kids having phones, but I am cool with their parents reasoning and opinions.

[DawnM]

I'm not criticising your opinion though. I'm just stating my opinion. I am not coming with kids having phones, but I am cool with their parents reasoning and opinions.

 

 

Reading your post I don't see it.  I see a lot of criticism for others' choices, but then telling those of us with other opinions not to criticize you.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2017 by DawnM

[Guest]

I'm a bit confused too. I didn't see Megan's post:

 

I also don't like my kids to feel left out, but, hey that's life. I also don't want to teach them to conform to society's "standards". It's okay to be different, even preferable. I don't want to teach my kids that to be happy, they must fit in, or to fit in, they must have/do what everyone else is.

 

 

as judging others, just accepting the fact that she and I are going to have something in common in a few years and possibly high fiving other parents who were going to be raising kids in families that did things a little differently.

 

ds9 and I definitely have our tech friends in the same sense that we have homeschooling friends who can remind us to bean dip nosy neighbours or lighten up our gloomy moods by asking if we've mummified a chicken yet.

 

I hope Megan has some friends like that who "get" her or maybe I just don't speak smartphone?

 

No snark intended, just trying to understand and work out the social nuances of when it is polite to say, "Yes, as a matter of fact I do think my $20 laptop is better than your $2,000 smartphone because....and did you know....and we had so much fun doing/learning/using..." and when it just makes more sense to say, "Nope, we're not smartphone people. Wanna play Scrabble? Like cats? You hungry?"

Edited July 14, 2017 by Guest

[threeofakind]

My oldest who is 22 got a dumb phone around 12. She was flying to her visit her dad in the summers and she could check in with me during her layovers. We also only paid for it in the summers. When she was around 15 and was active in school events (she went to public school) her dad paid for her dumb phone. She got a smart phone from my family as her high school graduation gift.

 

My other kids 14 and 12 don't have one. My 14 might get a dumb phone as he will be attending public high school next year and plans on participating in sports, etc. We can't afford smart phones and we have a land line so we will stick with the basics for now.

[IsabelC]

Our family decision was to give the kids their own phone when they start high school (which is 7th grade, or about age 12.5, here).  But YMMV; I think it depends a lot on the maturity of the kids, where you live, and how often your children are going to be away from you.

Edited July 14, 2017 by IsabelC

[meganrussell]

Dawn M. Why do I feel like you're picking on me? 🤔

 

I just wanted to add my thoughts to the conversation. I will not make that mistake again.

[Mimm]

Smart phone when Oldest was 13 and Middle was 12. It was the right time for our family so I don't wish we would have waited.

 

ETA: For people wondering how they can afford smart phones for multiple adults and children, the way we do things is we buy refurbished phones off Amazon that are a couple versions old. So the Samsung Galaxy S8 just came out. My husband uses an S7 (bought by his work) and I'm in an S6, and both teens are in S5s. Oldest was recently in an S3 because she broke the screen on the S4 so she was using the back up phone. We bought me an upgrade and I passed mine down to her. When my husband gets an upgrade (bought by his work), I'll get his old one, and Middle will get my old one. Upgrades benefit more than one person around here. We spend around $200 on phones, which isn't bad for a smart phone. My mother just bought a top of the line fancy phones and is making payments on it and by the time it's paid off will have paid over $600 for it. For a phone that's only a couple versions ahead of mine. That's just fine, if that's what you want to do, but we certainly can't do that times four. We require that everyone uses phone cases and screen protectors (the tempered glass ones) and when Oldest shattered her screen earlier this year, it was the first time anyone had broken one. *knock on wood*

Edited July 14, 2017 by Mimm

[DawnM]

Smart phone when Oldest was 13 and Middle was 12. It was the right time for our family so I don't wish we would have waited.

 

ETA: For people wondering how they can afford smart phones for multiple adults and children, the way we do things is we buy refurbished phones off Amazon that are a couple versions old. So the Samsung Galaxy S8 just came out. My husband uses an S7 (bought by his work) and I'm in an S6, and both teens are in S5s. Oldest was recently in an S3 because she broke the screen on the S4 so she was using the back up phone. We bought me an upgrade and I passed mine down to her. When my husband gets an upgrade (bought by his work), I'll get his old one, and Middle will get my old one. Upgrades benefit more than one person around here. We spend around $200 on phones, which isn't bad for a smart phone. My mother just bought a top of the line fancy phones and is making payments on it and by the time it's paid off will have paid over $600 for it. For a phone that's only a couple versions ahead of mine. That's just fine, if that's what you want to do, but we certainly can't do that times four. We require that everyone uses phone cases and screen protectors (the tempered glass ones) and when Oldest shattered her screen earlier this year, it was the first time anyone had broken one. *knock on wood*

 

We had always gotten older phones.  But about 18 months ago (Christmas 2015) ATT had a BOGO Android deal.  I got them for the older two kids.  They have really taken care of them and they ended up being around $250-$275 each with the deal.

 

Youngest has DH's old phone.  His work gets him a new one every couple of years.  The one he has now I will get in a year or so.

 

We are glad DH work buys him his phones and pays for a good portion of the family plan.  It brings our cost to around $120/mo for the 5 of us.

[RegGuheert]

ETA: For people wondering how they can afford smart phones for multiple adults and children, the way we do things is we buy refurbished phones off Amazon that are a couple versions old.

:iagree:

 

We just added four new lines and purchased four used Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime smartphones with a quad-core processor and a 5" screen.  These are low-end Samsung Galaxy phones which were current just last year.  The lines cost $10/month plus taxes and fees ($14.19/month total) each and the phones cost $47, $59.99, $59.99 and $59.99 in very good condition.  (The same phone in mint condition is only $69.99.)

 

It used to be that I would pay about $200 for a one- or two-year-old used smartphone, but those were not nearly as powerful as these used low-end phones I just purchased.

[Meriwether]

Dd14 got a flip phone for Christmas, because she is away from home a lot. She does text some of her friends on it. I just got a smartphone myself this spring, and my Dh still has a flip phone. The kids will be both much older and able to pay for it themselves when they get smartphones.

[Guest]

 

ETA: For people wondering how they can afford smart phones for multiple adults and children

 

<snip >

 

Oldest was recently in an S3 because she broke the screen on the S4 so she was using the back up phone.

Just FYI the S3 can run replicant.

 

Link to Replicant page

 

Please don't toss it; there are other reasons people don't use smartphones than money but if it makes you feel better, Isomeone could buy it from you for $30, spend half an hour flashing it, sell it for $300, and buy a lot more curriculum and computer parts than I they thought they could afford.

 

Or you could free it yourself or let one of your kids if you're into fun projects like that.

 

Just FYI because it sounded like you thought the S3 was useless; somebody else would probably enjoy the project and/or the money a lot more than I would.

Edited July 14, 2017 by Guest

[DawnM]

 

Just FYI the S3 can run replicant.

 

Link to Replicant page

 

Please don't toss it; there are other reasons people don't use smartphones than money but if it makes you feel better, Isomeone could buy it from you for $30, spend half an hour flashing it, sell it for $300, and buy a lot more curriculum and computer parts than I they thought they could afford.

 

Or you could free it yourself or let one of your kids if you're into fun projects like that.

 

Just FYI because it sounded like you thought the S3 was useless; somebody else would probably enjoy the project and/or the money a lot more than I would.

 

Wow!  $300 for an S3?  

[Guest]

&nbsp;

Wow! &nbsp;$300 for an S3? &nbsp;

&nbsp;

 

You want to flash it for her?

 

We really need more folks doing it for the technically challenged.

 

Hardware's not my thing and I know you'd only be in it for the cash but seriously, the need is there and it's a great way for someone to pick up some curriculum money without hurting or exploiting anyone and you'd be providing a needed service.

 

Keeping $$$ in the U.S. too; they wouldn't have to waste money on shipping from Roumania.

 

Great business opportunity for some entrepreneur.

 

Anyway, this has got to be my dumbest threadjack yet: no I don't want to carry a smartphone but will you sell me your old piece of useless eWaste anyway....

 

Geez louise, IEF, do you LIKE being troll bait or something?

Edited July 14, 2017 by Guest

[DawnM]

&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

You want to flash it for her?

 

We really need more folks doing it for the technically challenged.

 

Hardware's not my thing and I know you'd only be in it for the cash but seriously, the need is there and it's a great way for someone to pick up some curriculum money without hurting or exploiting anyone and you'd be providing a needed service.

 

Keeping $$$ in the U.S. too; they wouldn't have to waste money on shipping from Roumania.

 

Great business opportunity for some entrepreneur.

 

Anyway, this has got to be my dumbest threadjack yet: no I don't want to carry a smartphone but will you sell me your old piece of useless eWaste anyway....

 

Geez louise, IEF, do you LIKE being troll bait or something?

 

 

I admit, I have no idea what you just said up there.

[AngieW in Texas]

Cell phones were not as ubiquitous when my kids were younger as they are now.

 

If I had younger kids now, I would probably get them "dumb" phones at about 10yo and smartphones some time between 13yo and 16yo (depending on maturity). 

 

[Murphy101]

16

 

ETA: They usually don't get a new phone. We hand them down ours, which is usually 2-3+ years old. So mine or dh's is usually one or two+ versions old unless we caught some great bargain to upgrade to better, then the newest kid on the plan will get the oldest phone in the house. Sometimes we hang on to an old phone for so long that it isn't as reliable as we'd like, so we will look to upgrading it in various ways. Buy used, buy refurbished, or whatever... So anyone seeing us might think, daaaang they have 8 smart phones?! But what they don't see is the wheeling and dealing and waiting that happened. When they turn 19, they have to buy their own phone, but our plan is awesome so we keep them on that.

Edited July 16, 2017 by Murphy101

[Lady Florida.]

There really is nothing new under the sun, including parent wars. When I was a teen the argument was whether or not a teen should have a phone in their room. You were charged for the number of phones you had. You couldn't just go buy another cheap phone and plug it in. All phones came from the phone company and the number of live phone jacks you had determined the size of your bill. Mind you, this is a phone on the same line as the rest of the family, not a separate line (though some kids actually had their own number).

 

It was never an issue in my family because my mom couldn't afford it, but I had friends who begged their parents to let them have their own phone in their rooms. There were parents who were cool with it and those who thought it would turn out kids who never left their rooms to have actual social contact (sound familiar?) because they'd be on the phone all the time. 

 

I think all the fear is overblown. I'm sure someone will tell me this (electronic media) is different, but that argument isn't new either.

Edited July 16, 2017 by Lady Florida.

[Janeway]

My son wants one. The 13 yr old. He is starting to make friends who have cell phones. Right now, he has mine that does not work well. It connects to WiFi but not 4G or anything. He carries it with him and everything.

[DawnM]

There really is nothing new under the sun, including parent wars. When I was a teen the argument was whether or not a teen should have a phone in their room. You were charged for the number of phones you had. You couldn't just go buy another cheap phone and plug it in. All phones came from the phone company and the number of live phone jacks you had determined the size of your bill. Mind you, this is a phone on the same line as the rest of the family, not a separate line (though some kids actually had their own number).

 

It was never an issue in my family because my mom couldn't afford it, but I had friends who begged their parents to let them have their own phone in their rooms. There were parents who were cool with it and those who thought it would turn out kids who never left their rooms to have actual social contact (sound familiar?) because they'd be on the phone all the time. 

 

I think all the fear is overblown. I'm sure someone will tell me this (electronic media) is different, but that argument isn't new either.

 

 

It is the same argument we had back in the day about TVs and then computers.  

[elegantlion]

There really is nothing new under the sun, including parent wars. When I was a teen the argument was whether or not a teen should have a phone in their room. You were charged for the number of phones you had. You couldn't just go buy another cheap phone and plug it in. All phones came from the phone company and the number of live phone jacks you had determined the size of your bill. Mind you, this is a phone on the same line as the rest of the family, not a separate line (though some kids actually had their own number).

 

It was never an issue in my family because my mom couldn't afford it, but I had friends who begged their parents to let them have their own phone in their rooms. There were parents who were cool with it and those who thought it would turn out kids who never left their rooms to have actual social contact (sound familiar?) because they'd be on the phone all the time. 

 

I think all the fear is overblown. I'm sure someone will tell me this (electronic media) is different, but that argument isn't new either.

 

:iagree: I was teenager about the time the phone company started letting you buy your own phones - not quite cordless ones either. I remember being mad because my parents wouldn't get a push button phone, we had a dial phone forever. Then my dad worked at a tv station and finally relented to let us have a second phone in the hallway to the bedrooms. We had an extra long outlet cord, so you could drag it into your bedroom, BUT it has come from the newsroom and had no dial, just a big red button in the middle that lit up when someone called. We still had to go to the living room and dial and then run down the hallway, pick up that phone, then run back to the living room and hang up the other one. 

 

To me, cell phones are not about fitting in, they are about convenience. When I was a small child, my mom still had a wringer washer, who really has time to do that anymore? I like technological improvements, cell phones are just that. Remember watching them carry around those tablets in Star Trek? Even in the new shows up to Voyager, that type of technology either didn't really exist or it was not commonplace. It would be hard to have a kid now watch those shows and understand how cutting edge they actually were (gods, I sound old!). 

 

My son can travel across the world and he's still a phone call away, that's pretty cool. I remember taking several solo road trips as a young adult and making sure I called my mom once I got the hotel because she needed to know I was okay. Now, as a parent, I can see how she might have worried with me traversing across states in a beater car by myself. Today, I would feel much more comfortable about ds roadtripping. 

 

Back to Lady Florida's comment, it's not the phone that creates the conflict, it's the parenting beliefs about use of communication tools in general. There are so many methods and beliefs and what is right for each family varies. I needed to be able to communicate with my son at about age 10, that worked for us. 

 

The use and abuse of cell phones, like being buried in your cell phone all day, could be a product of generational parenting. I didn't grow up with a cell phone, so it's harder to parent from that place of knowledge about its pitfalls without vilifying the entire product. Do I think people abuse the use? Yes, I see it. It's also a great tool for introverts who want to avoid conversation in public, especially if you don't want to drag a book around everywhere. 

[blue daisy]

I would have waited longer but my oldest got one last year at 11 because I had to drop him off for a class downtown in a college building and wanted to make sure he got to his class ok. I didn't feel like parking in a ramp and dragging three other children with me to do so all year long. And if he was more mature/aware of his surroundings, maybe I would have gone without the phone, but with mild ADHD and autism, I needed the peace of mind. He occasionally texts friends, but mostly texts me and DH and plays a chess app from time to time. 90% of the time, the phone is plugged in on my desk.

 

Eta - He is a total rule follower and very responsible so I don't really worry about him having a phone. My 9 year old thinks he will be getting one at 11 because his brother did but he is mistaken. When he does get one, it will be a very basic one without internet because I don't trust him to make smart decisions like I trust his brother. Lol

Edited July 16, 2017 by blue daisy

[Ivey]

Our kids got their first phones at 16, 13, 12, 9, and 10. Youngest doesn't have one yet, and probably won't until he's 10 or 11. We made each decision based on the individual kid and what they had going on, and it's always worked out fine. No regrets. 

[theelfqueen]

My 21 year old got his first phone at 13... wrestler. It was a dumb phone. He bought himself a smart phone at 18. My 16 year old got his first phone around 13, too. Also, a dumb phone ... still using it and had to turn off texting due to abuse. Youngest 12 doesn't have a phone.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk