Because I told my DD I would--first cell phone poll :)

[MercyA]

At what age did your children receive their first cell phone, for their exclusive use? Let's restrict the poll to your children who are currently 18 years of age or younger. Please choose the average age if you have more than one child with a cell phone. 

Thank you! 😉

(BTW, we are planning on getting her a phone before too long, but she doesn't know that. Shh!)

[ikslo]

12, but by default.  DH got a 2 for 1 deal, and I already had a fairly new one.  So the extra became a “house phone.” But DH and I both had our own, so it just morphed into DS’s phone.

[Meriwether]

14 for my older two. Ds13 will be 14, too, at the earliest. 

[Pen]

12-ish—when being at things (sports, homeschool co op...)  alone frequently became important 

[klmama]

I think my current teen got the first cell phone at 12, but it might have been a year or two earlier.  The older dc got them a bit later, around 14.  We gave all of the dc one of our older phones as their first phone.  After a few years of proving they could keep track of them, we bought them new phones.  Well, new as in unused; they were still the last year's models, so cheaper.  

 

[Junie]

Our oldest two are the only ones with phones.  They got them for Christmas during their senior year of high school.

[Terabith]

We got my oldest hers either right before or right after her 13th birthday, because we were leaving her places like the downtown library (which is in a slightly sketchy part of town) and other places where we didn't necessarily have access to a phone.  I also had resorted several times to calling her friends' phones to try to track her down places, which felt awkward.  

Second child got hers at 12 for Christmas, because we had decided we were pulling both kids out of their private school at the end of that academic year for financial reasons, and her one request (and really, this is the kid who hasn't asked for anything for Christmas or birthdays for YEARS) was for a phone to keep in touch with one particular friend at her private school that she was worried would be bullied without her around to stand up for her.  

[Laura Corin]

1 hour ago, MercyA said:

At what age did your children receive their first cell phone, for their exclusive use? Let's restrict the poll to your children who are currently 18 years of age or younger. Please choose the average age if you have more than one child with a cell phone. 

Thank you! 😉

(BTW, we are planning on getting her a phone before too long, but she doesn't know that. Shh!)

I chose 12, but they were dumb phones. Smart didn't come until 16-18. They needed phones at twelve because they were attending activities on their own.

[Rosie_0801]

A dumb phone at about 8, with pre-programmed numbers, so she could communicate with her other parent without having to go via me. She wasn't allowed to keep it for long, though. 

Her stepsister was allowed a phone at 13 when she started high school, but now dd is 13, their house rule is 16.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Currently, we have a spare cellphone that we call the "kid phone".  If ds13 is going out and about without us, he can take it with him.  The kids also use it to take photos occasionally and also What'sApp with their uncle or listen to audiobooks on the audible app.  Their German book we use also has an app for the audio lessons and they use it for that.  They are not allowed to use it without asking.  

DS will begin attending school outside the home at age 15 for the post-obligatory "gymnase", so I assume he'll have a phone by then.  And like with most first child things, I'm guessing there will be a domino effect and his younger siblings will end up with phones at a slightly younger age.  Right now, the neighborhood culture leans away from phones- they are completely forbidden in our canton's (state's) public schools (must be off and stowed away at all times including between classes)- which makes my life easier.  He isn't asking for one and there isn't really peer pressure to get one at his age.  Many local families do like we do and have a spare phone for when their middle schoolers start doing stuff like taking public transit alone. or running errands.  

[LMD]

My oldest is about 2 months away from turning 15 and doesn't have her own phone. Though she's making noises about buying one with her money soon. We have a simple extra one that she or her 12 yo brother use when they're out and about.

She does have a tablet with apps that allow her to communicate with her friends. Not having a phone hasn't made much difference from what I can tell. I still monitor fairly closely. 

[catz]

One was 10 one was 13.  But that is when they were out of the house enough with activities that I needed them to have a phone.  So for a home body kid, I would have waited longer.  My kids don’t have data plans either.  Just talk, text, and wireless phones.  The oldest went to college this year and got a small data plan.  Would get for a kid driving regularly for maps but my oldest got his license late.  

[Ausmumof3]

I’m in the no one has one.  I’m not against it we just don’t have the cash till it becomes essential.

[DawnM]

Youngest was 11.  My older 2 never had a cell phone that early, but it just happened that way.

Oldest was 16

Middle was 14 (when he started going to B&M school).

[Arctic Bunny]

Mine got them on the same date, so they were 11 and 13. I started working full time outside the home, and because our cell phones are technically  distance call from the school, only the principal’s phone could be used. 

[Carrie12345]

Obligatory other.

My 9yo has had an old iPhone for maybe less than a year, but it doesn’t have a phone number or data, so it’s more like a really small tablet.

My now-13yo has had the full hook up for over a year, maybe closer to 2, once we started leaving him places and giving a wider freedom radius.

My daughters were sharing one around 10 or 11 when we left them places. 

My oldest (in the over 18 bracket) had a dumb phone at age 8, when his school bus was in an accident and I was notified 2 hours later to pick him up at the hospital 40 minutes away. He wasn’t hurt, but they transported all the kids. I’ve been big on my kids being able to contact me every since.

[Martha in GA]

My children didn't go too many places on their own. We live far enough away from places that I would usually stay, or they would borrow a phone from Dad or me to use if necessary. They were given phones about the time they started driving on their own (17-18).

[Carrie12345]

10 minutes ago, Happymomof1 said:

  Plus, why pay that much extra for a smart phone each month??????  

My plan is cheaper and easier to add an old smart phone than to deal with another type of service, and gives me parental control features all in one place.  I have a tab currently open for a non-smart option as a “house” phone for additional kids, but it’s the same darn monthly price (for the many fewer features) and a whole other system to deal with. Blech.

Edited May 2, 2020 by Carrie12345

[MEmama]

6 hours ago, ikslo said:

12, but by default.  DH got a 2 for 1 deal, and I already had a fairly new one.  So the extra became a “house phone.” But DH and I both had our own, so it just morphed into DS’s phone.

This is kinda how it worked for us. When I got a new phone my older one became the house phone. DS was welcome to take it with him when he was out and about, and eventually it just became his when it made sense. I think he was 12, although IIRC he didn’t take one with him regularly until he started high school, because there just weren’t that many opportunities.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, ikslo said:

12, but by default.  DH got a 2 for 1 deal, and I already had a fairly new one.  So the extra became a “house phone.” But DH and I both had our own, so it just morphed into DS’s phone.

Almost exactly what happened here. My other kids were 14 when they got theirs, but my youngest was 12. I was planning to activate an iTouch for him, but since there was a 2fer deal on IPhone 8, and I needed to get a new phone for myself, he got a phone - a nicer phone than his older siblings had even! 😄 (There was a fair amount of bitter grumbling about how the baby of the family gets all the perks.) 

[barnwife]

I chose the "none" option, but our oldest is only not quite 10. I have been thinking about getting a house phone. It'd make me feel better about leaving him at home for short periods. (Then I wouldn't have to leave my phone with him. DH is often OOT, so I'd feel better if I had a phone and could be reached.) But I am not to the point where he needs a phone dedicated solely to him yet.

 

[gardenmom5]

Iimiting it to current is skewed.

My four adults didn't have a cell phone until they were 18/heading to college.

dudling has one - because it has a tracker app.  so he was 14.  we can turn off data.

[sweet2ndchance]

Obligatory Other

The rule in our house is 13 years old for a phone that has the ability to make and receive calls and texts.

However, ds(7) has a "phone" that was my old phone before we got new ones. It is a smart phone and we mostly use it on long car trips and errand days so he has games and videos to keep himself occupied. He gets 1 hour of phone time per day after school. The phone has no ability to make or receive calls or texts and I control when it is allowed to connect to the internet via tethering when I need to load a new game, download a movie or show or  install an update on his phone. He is only allowed to play games that have an offline play option. He is my youngest child but the only child to have any kind of phone that is "his" before the age of 13. Same as the other kids, he won't get a fully functional phone until he is 13.

[Donna]

DD got her first cell phone at 13 because that was the age when I began to leave her at her music lesson or orchestra alone and I wanted her to be able to contact me in an emergency or to coordinate pick-up.

[alisoncooks]

I voted 13... but it might have been 12. And while I am glad she has it, she probably wouldn't have got one then except that it was a hand-me-down phone from my parents and they added her to their plan (worked better for them for getting unlimited data).  I would have waited, not for ideological reasons, but because of the cost. 

[Scarlett]

@MercyA how old is your dd?  
 

My kids are outside the age range you requested.....one is 19 and one is 20....dss19 got his first phone at 9 but only because elf his parents divorce and his xw attempting to limit contact.  My ds got his at age 12 for similar reasons....a divorce and I wanted him to be able to reach me when he was at his dads.  

main thing is to not allow them to have it at night and honestly I wouldn’t even let a younger teen have it in their rooms with doors closed. Besides all the usual dangerous stuff that can go on with a computer,  texting allows relationships to progress at warp speed long before they are mature enough for such a relationship.  

[Splash1]

Older kids were all between 13 and 14.  Really didn't think they needed one until then because I was always with them anyway.  Once they got that age I would leave them at the soccer field or dance studio so I felt they needed a way to contact me.  Then they started taking classes and finally go to local charter school high school.  

Number 4 got hers at 12.  She had just been through a traumatic hospital stay and rehab along with lots of out patient infusions, new diagnosis of a chronic disease  and had anxiety whenever she wasn't with me.  The phone allowed her to text me when she was anxious and I was out and about.  For her it was a link to mom and dad when she wasn't with us. She really didn't use it for anything else for years

Number 5 got his when he was 11. He is five years younger than number 4 and decided to attend the charter school middle school that his siblings went/go to next door for high school.  Twice the first semester no one picked him up and he didn't have any way to contact us, nor us him.  (once my mom forgot to pick him up and once older sister got into a fender bender on way to pick him up).  We live 30 minutes from the school.  We decided we needed a way to contact each other so he got a phone. Also who picks him up each day is constantly changing so whoever it is just texts him after school so he knows what car to look for.

See I can rationalize anything,

[teachermom2834]

When we feel a need and that has been different for each kid. My youngest just turned 12. She was going to go away to a camp this summer and it was going to be her first time away from home without an older (phone bearing) sibling. So we planned to get her one around now. However, with everything canceled for the summer it will probably be next summer now. 
 

I prefer to delay as long as possible and then delay any additional functions/apps until necessary. Like the initial phone is for emergency calls or so I can get ahold of dc when they are away from me. As they get older they tend to need different apps for school or extracurricular stuff and we add those on a case by case basis. Less is better, in my opinion, with kids and phones but they are a part of our world and being overly strict isn’t practical or ideal either. 

[saraha]

Oldest two got theirs when they started at the community college, both 17. Next one got one when she got her first job, so 16. None of our other ones have a phone but are allowed to text/call/face time their friends from my phone.

[slackermom]

I think it was 11. They switched from homeschooling to a charter middle school beginning in grade 6. The school was about a 40 minute drive away and I wanted to be able to send and receive messages as needed.

[ScoutTN]

My kids will get a cellphone when they have a driver's license and a job, so 16. 
We are a low-screen family and have not found that our preteens or young teens actually need a phone for anything. 

[BusyMom5]

A phone at 13, but it was a Trac Fone, no phone plan.  They just wanted to be able to get online and text friends via other aps on their own device- and they think just having a phone is cool 😉  We didnt get an actual phone plan until my 16 year old was driving on her own.  I voted 13-14.

[smfmommy]

My oldest two got theirs when they started driving at about 16/17.  We have a "house phone" that my 14 year old uses often as an Mp3 player.  But none of my youngest have one that is specifically theirs.  Although three of them have kindles and two have laptops, so they are able to communicate with friends via apps, just not own their own cell phones.

 

[Sherry in OH]

Dumb Tracfones at roughly 9 and 11, older edition I-phones at 11 and 13 (still Tracfone).  

The first phones were because dh travelled a lot, the boys' activities were becoming age and interest-segregated, and I could not be in two locations at one time.  The new phones were because their phones were so obsolete that Tracfone was dropping support.   Dh found a good deal on the I-phones.    We do not have a house phone.  

[73349]

DS is 12 and does not have one. We have a landline.

I'm thinking we may get him one in 2 years when he starts high school.

[HS Mom in NC]

13

[Just Kate]

Ds (now 16) got a flip phone when he was 8, due to being dropped off at swim team practice. I think he was 12 when he got a smart phone. Dd (now 12) got a smart phone when she was 10. She really lucked out, because I was getting a new iPhone at the time at AT&T was having a buy one get one free deal. Also, at the time, we could add a fourth smart phone to our plan and it didn’t increase our fees (other than taxes). So she got a phone a bit earlier than I’d planned, but since we didn’t have a landline, it made life so much easier. 

[EKS]

Older son was 17.5 (not included in poll).  Younger was 14.5.  The younger definitely benefited from my love of being able to text his older brother.

[Spryte]

At 13, but it needs clarification.  He was out and about, and with anaphylactic allergies, needed a way to call for help should the need arise.

It was not a smart phone.  But not a dumb phone either.  🤣 I wanted GPS to see where he was, plus texting for him.  And we wanted him to have camera and video ability.  So it was a totally locked down (read: no internet, no ability to buy apps, only could call and so those above four things were its only functions) made-for-kids iPhone.  I don’t know the model but not expensive.

With quarantine, DD (9) has an old phone, no service, so she can use the WiFi for google hangout play dates with her BFF.  She uses the kindle app, and plays games.  To get a new app, we have to approve it from our phones.
 

 

[Lecka]

We thought 8th grade was the right time for our oldest.  
 

I get it is so convenient, but actually my son could borrow friends’ phones, so he didn’t need his own.  But we depended on other kids to have them, in a way. 
 

Edit:  he was not ready before.  He did do fine borrowing the use of phones from more responsible kids.  

Edited May 2, 2020 by Lecka

[Ali in OR]

Older dd got hers on her 15th birthday which was too late. Youngest got hers on her 14th birthday. They attend public high school, and we figured out with older dd that it helps all of us if they have a phone by then. They need to call because band practice ended early, come pick me up from soccer, dd went on an out-of-town, weekend-long field trip and I couldn't contact her, etc. They got them as birthday gifts, they got iphones because we're an apple family, but they didn't get the newest models. No need for a phone before then in my opinion.

[hippiemamato3]

DD was 10 and in 7th grade, enrolled in an online charter school, so email communication was important and we felt she was ready.

[Loowit]

DD was 9 when she got a flip phone (didn't vote including her because she is 19).  She needed it because she was in activities that we left her at that didn't have a phone available to call us if she needed to.

My boys were around 11 or 12.  It is hard to remember really.  They got them when we started to leave them home alone because we don't have a landline.  Youngest was older than the other two when he got his, because he wasn't left home by himself very often.  For a while we had youngest use Skype to our phones if he needed us, but then we finally just decided to get him his own phone.

[matrips]

I have three 15yos, two boys and one girl. No phones.  Their schools give them iPads and we email if we need to communicate during the day.  If they are out somewhere and need to phone me, they borrow someone’s phone for the call.  It’s never been an issue.  I do know they ‘miss out’ on all the social texting that happens, but I don’t consider it a great loss.  And they don’t seem to care much either.

[SKL]

My kids were 10 when I bought them tracfones.  Access to the "dangerous stuff" was unavailable and they had strict data limits.  It is a decision I have not regretted.

I got them iphones at 12.  Still certain restrictions though.

[mom2scouts]

My oldest four didn't get their first cell phone until they had a driver's license. The next child is a young teen and doesn't have a cell phone yet.

[rebcoola]

We had a basic cell phone that they used at home or occasionally when they were out from like 8 on since we didn't have a landline.  Than around 12 the no oldest really needed a phone because of all the places she was going alone.  Her tablet was also dying so we went ahead and gave her an old I-phone it has some apps for school, apps for games, but no social media.   Than we switched plans and had to get new phones and middle daughter was travelling to gymnastics meets without us so she got an upgrade at 11 to an old iPhone also.  We have been very happy with the parent controls and haven't had any issues. 

[Tap]

I put the age of the youngest age instead of an average.

There are 12 years difference between my older son and youngest daughter. Times were different when my son got his first phone. We still had a home phone at that time. He was in high school and he got it to communicate about pick up times from sports, etc. He didn't really use it for texting with friends etc. It was a dumb phone, so no games or apps etc. It was absolutely a utilitarian device, not something for fun. 

DD21 got her phone in middle school, so probably about 13yo. She got it for sports pickups and because she went to a private school. Smart phones were expected by the school, and used in the classroom. The teachers often told students to take a picture of assignments written on the board or to look up something on the internet. If she didn't have a phone it would have been a hindrance, and embarrassing. 

DD13 (special needs) got her phone at 12yo even though she didn't need it yet. We don't have a home phone but at the time, she wasn't left alone. She got a phone, partly because we added a phone to our plan, and were paying for the extra number anyways. It is a smart phone but it is locked down to to make it a dumb phone for her. Uses it for music on the bus to school and for texting us and friends. She only has 6 contacts in the phone. I like it for being able to track her and contact her in the neighborhood. I also like that she has it to contact me when she is at her bio-dads. 

It isn't uncommon to see kids in young elementary school with phones. I don't think there is really a right age, it depends on the situation. 

 

[MercyA]

4 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

Iimiting it to current is skewed.

I guess I was thinking of those whose children are in their mid-20's now. It was a very different world even 10 years ago when they were 15, YWIM? 

Maybe there was a better way to do the poll. 🙂 It was late. 😉 

[MercyA]

@Scarlett, DD is almost 12.