The Great Cellphone Debate: What’s the Right Age?
My daughter got her first cell phone in 7th grade (after much lobbying, whining, begging, and squabbling). Because she took public transportation home from school, my husband and I decided it was a good idea from a safety standpoint. There were no texts, the phone couldn't take pictures, she was told how many minutes were allowed, and we did take it away from her as a punishment once (and it was very effective). Flash forward to the next child, four years her junior. He got a phone in 6th grade, mostly for the same reasons. But technology had moved on, and his came with text and photo ability, not to mention games. By then, our daughter had also become a text messaging ninja, and we'd upgraded our plan for unlimited texts (a very wise move) and replacement insurance (ditto).
by Liz Perle, Editor-in-Chief
My daughter got her first cell phone in 7th grade (after much lobbying, whining, begging, and squabbling). Because she took public transportation home from school, my husband and I decided it was a good idea from a safety standpoint. There were no texts, the phone couldn't take pictures, she was told how many minutes were allowed, and we did take it away from her as a punishment once (and it was very effective). Flash forward to the next child, four years her junior. He got a phone in 6th grade, mostly for the same reasons. But technology had moved on, and his came with text and photo ability, not to mention games. By then, our daughter had also become a text messaging ninja, and we'd upgraded our plan for unlimited texts (a very wise move) and replacement insurance (ditto).
But what's the right age for kids to get cell phones, and what functions are age appropriate? This question is best answered by asking other questions: How independent are your kids? Do your children "need" to be in touch for safety reasons -- or social ones? How responsible are they? Can they get behind the concept of limits for minutes talked and apps downloaded? Can they be trusted not to text during class, disturb others with their conversations, and to use the text, photo, and video functions responsibly (and not to embarrass or harass others)?
Just remember: When you hand kids phones today, you're giving them powerful communications and production tools. They can create text, images, and videos that can be widely distributed and uploaded to Web sites. If you think your child's technological savvy is greater than their ability to use it wisely, pay attention to the gap. We're still the parents. And it's our job to say "no, not yet."
i'm 12 and i think the appropiate age is as soon as they hit middle school, which for me was last year. My parents think way differently. They won't even tell me why i can't have 1. ugh. No im not spoiled and i am blessed, but we have already had 4 physical fights at our school and 2 kids in my grade got caught for having drugs today! I think i need 1 for safety purposes, not popularity or brattiness.
I have had a phone since I was 10 (honestly,I never really wanted one) and it comes in handy calling my Dad to pick me up at the end of school. But I've seen people who say"KIDS ARE SPOILED BRATS THESE DAYS! THEY GET ALL OF THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY! RANT! RANT! RANT!
I got mine when i was 10 for safety reasons. I got a new one this year! My phone can text( it has a keyboard) but my friends dont have phones, and we dont have unlimited text. I do e-mail my friends through my phone though.
The right age is when they are responsible enough not to run the bills up the roof.
id say about 10 or 11 i however got a cellphone when i was 8
I'd say about 12 or 13 would be a good age. Encourage your kid to save up for his own cell phone too if he wants a nice one.
well i got my phone a year ago and i'm turning 14 soon. my parents decided to get me boost mobile cuz its a prepaid cell phone so if i get into trouble then my dad can take my phone away, but doesn't have to still pay the monthly plan. but when i get money on my birhtday, i get to buy a new phone and get unlimited text. sure, boost mobile isn't the greatest service, but it works
I got my first phone in 5th grade. Kids now get phones at young ages. I've seen kids in 3rd grade have cell phones. If your kid is really young like in 2nd-4th grade then get them one of those phones that has 4 buttons on it. One button calls your home, one calls your cell phone, one calls any other contact, and one call 911
I got my first cell phone when I was ten.
i asked this same question at www.netsmartz411.org and got a great answer - there is no age that it's ok - each child is different and matures differently. but when i do feel my child is ready, there will be no camera feature on the phone and texting will be monitored by me.
you know you can now use monitoring software on cellp hones, right?
Both of my kids, a thirteen yr old girl and boy have cell phones, mainly because they have afterschool activities a lot.
They both have minutes, but unlimited texting. I'm always allowed to read the texts, and check the erase history.
I, for one, am only in sixth grade, so I think I speak for a lot of kids when I say that I beleive that a kid should get a phone around the first years of middle school. In my opinion, phones are essential. "Where's my locker key?", "Where's Mom picking me up?", "Can I get help getting my project up the stairs?!?" are all answered on the phone. If you haven't noticed, middle schools all have "cell phones are prohibited during school hours" signs posted somewere on the wall while elementary schools don't. But, I do hate seeing 3rd graders having cell phones. THEY DO NOT NEED THEM IN ELEMENTARY!!! Hint, Hint...
During the fall of 2008, my then twelve-year old daughter received her first cell phone with picture and text capabilities. Ten months later the text feature was removed from her phone as her many of her "friends" and she exchanged rude and alarming messages to one another that was simply another form of bullying. In addition, there were obvious concerns with possible addiction as she was spending enormous amounts of time sending and receiving text messages at all hours of the day. It became so frequent that I began to notice I was seeing and talking to the lids of her eyes rather than the eyes themselves! Since removing the text feature from her phone one year ago, life has returned back to normal and I feel that I got my daughter back! She herself has admitted this was a good choice and we have agreed to revisit the possiblity of adding text messaging when she enters highschool.
I think there are multiple circumstances wherein a cell phone is not only appropriate but potentially necessary for kids of various ages from 6 to 16. I wouldn't imagine that a 1-size-fits-all posture works given the wide variety of environments, scenarios, and situations possible.
It is safe to say that not all kids are the same, not all family situations are the same, nor will all same age kids behave the same way if they are given a cell phone. So, I think the answer is for the parents to look at their specific situation(s) and do what makes the most sense for them and their kids. That said, 6 year old would be my lowest age given the circumstances call for it.
For example: My ex and I don't get along at all (surprise).
The issue of talking to our (then) 7-year-old kid while he is with the other parent had been a hot issue for years with us (I'll spare the gory details).
To avoid having to go through my ex to talk to my kid, or worse, being falsely accused of not letting my ex talk to him when in reality we are simply not available at the very moment of the call, I decided he should have his own Kid-Friendly (with parental protections: see http://www.fireflymobile.com) cell phone.
This is an excellent solution to the situation - that way we (the parents who seem to keep acting like children!) can get out of the loop and the kid can talk to us whenever he wants, and we can call him directly whenever we want and there is no finger-pointing, blaming nor any more drama.
I know... the ideal situation for all the obvious reasons would be for us, the parents, to just cool off the drama, but sadly the reality at hand is different.
As such the interim solution works because the cell phone in question only has 2 buttons (one for Mom and one for Dad) , the option to listen to voice mail messages, and all other functions (text, free dial, unfiltered in-coming calls) are password protect-able.
I would not get him an iPhone or any other full-featured phone with all bells and whistles. He is clearly not ready for that. But a simple communication device that does that well is a good solution for younger kids.
We felt they needed to have cell phones when they started driving. Now, there basically are no pay phones out there and just about everyone who gets around independently needs one. It does depend on how responsible your child is with their things and their time. None of us have texting and we are all surviving. I've heard some bad stories about texting. Some kids are spending WAY too much time texting plus doing it during classtime (yes, they do even when they aren't suppose to have phones on). I think parents give in way too much to their children. I think the cell phone should be an issue of safety for the child not a "must" for the social aspect.
My daughter, now 12 in the 6th grade, got her first phone when she was 8 in the 3rd grade. No text, no web, no downloads. Nothing but phone calls, unlimited minutes.
I worked at her elementary school but didn't have an office. There was no way to know where I'd be after school, so she would call me to find out where to meet up.
We switched to an unlimited text and picture plan a few months ago. She still calls or texts me after school every day. Now and then I'll send her a text from across the room as a joke.
She knows that I can and will look through her phone messages and pictures any time I feel like. She has no more "expectation of privacy" than she would on a land line. Because of a couple of coincidences, she belives that I can see everything she does on her phone, and that's fine by me!
The only time the phone was damaged, her dad jumped in the pool with it in his pocket. She has never yet misplaced it. After 3 years, I dropped the insurance on it. She'd proved herself.
She uses it as her alarm clock and mp3 player.
It's not allowed to come out of the backpack during school hours, but she's been told to call immediately if anything odd or scary happens.
We had a pair of school shootings and a pair of raging wildfires in our city in the past few years, so nothing could make me give up that instant line of communication with my daughter.
My Son, now 14, got his first phone summer after sixth grade. I was sending him on a cross country plane ride on his own and wanted to make sure I can contact him at any time after his arrival. So far he has been very responsible with his phone. He has never gone over minutes, in fact he rarely uses more than 20. He prefers to text. He has come close to using his maximum allowed but hasn't, and I have since switched to an unlimited texting plan.
I think, that if your child is one that spends alot of time away from home and shows they are responsible in general than a cell phone is a idea. I know I feel a bit more comfortable when my son isn't home knowing that I can get a hold of him at any time. If he ever didn't answer than I would start rethinking the freedom he has even before cell phone restriction.