What's the right age to give your kid a cell phone?

How did we ever live without them...sarcasticly written. When they can pay for the phone themselves. My son's first bill when he started college 15 years ago was $500.

i didn't get a phone till i was 17 (graduation present) but i like the numbers and 911 thing, but there will be no full phone usage till she can pay for it herself

When they can pay the bill themselves. That's the perfect time they can get one.

It's so bizarre why so many people are so paranoid nowadays that they need to be in constant contact with their children yet simultaneously not teach the proper discipline needed to use the device.

I didn't have or needed a cellphone when I was a kid or teenager, primarily because they weren't a "trend" yet. Since the advent of the Information Age the past 15 years with assorted mediums of information, 24 hour news networks, internet media, hundreds of television channels..advertisers bombard us on a consistent basis of what new appliances/devices we supposedly need just to make a $ off everyday social interactions. Cellphones used to be a basic portable phone, now they come with all sorts of features: cameras, texting, internet access etc and tweens and teens define themselves by a device that's just another accessory.

Yuppie parenthood is a scary thing to behold. It's a vicious cycle of mindless sheep breeding more sheep that absorb everything the media tells them. Its a social cancer in itself. There needs to be less friendship oriented guidance with children and more parental guidance where discipline isn't just a metaphor for punishment.

Speaking of discipline, it's slowly becoming an outdated concept, the "I want it now" instant gratification mentality seems to be the norm. The word "No" can be pretty empowering if you are willing to take a deeper look.

/steps off soapbox

It's a very good idea for a kid , age 10 and above, to have a phone for security reasons. But it doesn't need to be a phone with all the bells and whistles. It shouldn't be a camera phone for obvious reasons, not until that child is much older and wiser. If the child is prone to losing and misplacing things, then he probably shouldn't have a phone yet. If my child sent 1200 texts in one month, she would no longer have a phone but would have a lot more chores around the house.

I child of the age 12 and older (or going into Middle School/ Junior High) ought to be amture enough to handle a cell phone. I am a teen and have had the sme phone for over 7 months. I have only sent roughly 100 texts. Mostly to my mom/dad/1 or 2 friend(s). Parents are so utterly stupid when it comes to kids. I need a cell phone since I can;t drive yet when to tell my mom/sister to pick me up or where I am going, if I got there,etc.

I got my first cell phone when I was 16 and got my license. I mainly used it to let my parents know where I was or if I wanted to go out after school. I think when you are old enough to drive it is a good idea, although it seems like almost everyone has a cell phone before then. I still think any child under 13 is much too young to have a cell phone. My boyfriend's daughter (who is 8) has been bought several cell phones by her mother's family in the past few years. She has lost every one and is obviously not old enough or responsible enough to have a phone.

I got my, at the time 6 year old, daughter a cell phone three months after her father and I divorced. When he started denying her use of the phone to talk to me when she was with him I felt this was a reasonable thing to do....until he started taking her phone away. It was one of those Fireflies where you could only input three numbers, one being 911. I eventually had to take him to court for continued denial of phone usage. Our judge was not too happy with him and entered an order for mandatory phone parenting time when she was with either parent. She is now nearly 10 and has been given a regular cell phone with the condition that she only use it to call either her myself, her father or her step-parents....

Keep your child with you and then you wont have to worry about them missing. Although if your seperated i could see them having firefilies. But not so they can call and complain about the other parent just so they can be in contact with both parents all the time. But I think that most kids with cellphones are ridiculous. If i ever gave my child a cell phone it would only be used if they were not going to be with me. They would never be allowed to use it when they were with the family and it would stay in my drawer till they needed it. :)

Quit acting like your children are some generalised definition to a dictionary. Always see the same thing. People looking for a answer that fits best from a general perspective and not the child themself. Every village must of raised a bunch of idiots that don't want to think for themselves.

I got my daughter her cell phone at the age of ten, when she started walking to & from school. I wanted her to be able to call me if she had an emergency or a problem--fell down & got hurt, if a stranger tried to talk to her, if there was anyone bullying her or her friends--& I have not been sorry. I got my son one at the age of eight, when he started walking to & from school also ( we changed school districts. ) My daughter has gotten hurt on the way home ( twisted her ankle ), there have been incidents with bullies ( there was a group of older kids bullying several kids from the elementary scool ), etc. I feel safer knowing my kids can reach me when they need me or have a problem, & they do too.

Never - unless its a prepaid plan with your home phone number, office number, 911, etc. programmed into it.

Ok Babble after reading your article I have to ask...How in the hell did you loose your child after he went to the bathroom???? OH I KNOW YOU WERE BABBLING ON THE PHONE!!! So now because you don't know how to watch your child your excuse was to buy a CHILD a cell phone. I remember when I was a kid my mother would literally wait at the bathroom door for me and my brother and if we did not come out in 2 minutes she was right in there even if it was the men's bathroom. One reason for this was because some sicko was stuffing kids in the toilet. Also kids were getting snatched and killed. Me and my brother didn't get a cellphone until we could get our own metro pcs in highschool.

Now I do agree with the whole GPS thing that's cool but please PAY ATTENTION parents! I watch my godson 5 days a week when his mother is in school and I make sure he is in front of me where I can see him and I know where is going to be at all times.

Only grown-ups are allowed to have cell phones in this house. Me and my husband have phones that we hardly even use. Our children will have a phone when they are old enough to go out on their own and when they can show responsibility. Phones and texts and emails are starting to really bother me because they disconnect you from personal experience. In my work I have started to walk more and see people in person rather than on the damn phone, and they like that!

I survived without a cell phone as a child and my children will be no different.

I got my phone at around 14 years of age. I was getting to be old enough that I was doing things with friends without a parent involved, such as going to the mall, and my parents thought it would be safer if I had a phone. This also made it easy if I scheduling got shifted, such as staying late after school.
I had the free phone, with a small amount of minutes and no texting.

I got mine in 8th grade because I was a cheerleader and game and practice times were unpredictable. I wasn't allowed to text until I was in 10th grade and didn't have unlimited texts (a fantastic plan for teens by the way) until 11th grade and I'm in college now.

i got mine 6th/7th grade and i'm in 10th now. except that i always have and continue to only use it to contact my siblings (3 of them!) and my mom as we try to all find each other at the end of the day all around the school (k-12 school & my mom works there) and to call my mom/siblings at other times (road trips with 2 cars, call mom to say we need milk from the grocery store, etc.) it even isn't mine per se. I don't text my friends at all (and i don't want to ) so it works out in my favor