At what age would you buy your child a cellphone?

Question

How old should the child be when you get them a cellphone? Is it better to be safe and take them one when they are 7 or 8 and know where they are all the time - at that age you can't control every move they make - or it's better to pretend that the cellphone is a part of the discipline and they could get one when they can buy it with their own money (while in the mean time they could go out with friends, walk alone after school, stay alone at home, etc. and you have no idea if they are alive or not)?

Answer 1

Age 7 is ok. Not later than age 9-10. That’s when they start going out with friends without us, so it’s a good idea to call them any time while if they don’t have a cellphone, you may only guess where they are. When they start staying alone at home for more than 2-3 hours, you should be able to call them. I’d like to know what my child is doing any time. All my brothers and sister (including me) got cellphones the first years at school. I will buy my twins their own cellphones as soon as they can understand how to call.

Answer 2

I gort one for my 15th birthday and my sibs got one at 12

Answer 3

SOME Kids are becoming more responsible earlier on...i think it depends on your child. If you think that he/she is responsible enought to look after and take care of a cell phone, then he/she is...its really up to your mommie instinct.

Answer 4

I got my first cell phone at 13 and honestly, I didn't really need it.  Young children don't need a cellphone because they should never be left alone or put in a situation where they will need it.  If you still feel that they should have one,  just get them the kind that will only call the parents or 911 and only allow them to have the phone when they are away from you (like at a birthday party or friends home).  It might also be a good idea to have one in middle school if they are involved in after school activities, but you should limit their usage.  The best age to get a cell phone would be in high school or when they start to drive.  At this age, they have an actual need for one.

Answer 5

As a mother of 8 children (oldest is 17, youngest is 1yo), I advise you to buy them their own cellphones not later than age 6. If you have more than 2 kids, you should even consider a cellphone when they are 4-5yo. You can’t control all of them all the time and you may know where the younger kids are but when they are about 10 they go out with friends and you can’t say where they are every minute. Also, the younger kids need a cellphone to call you (and you call them) when you are late for picking them up from school or activities.

Answer 6

when they graduate from elementary and go off to junior high.

Answer 7

My daughter is lobbying for a cell phone now, she is 10.  I told her that when she gets a job, or does enough chores around the house to buy her own she can have one, with her own money and her own responsibility.  Until then she gets a couple of quarters to call home if she needs to.

Answer 8

well it depends on your kids maturity level. are you allowing them to go and do things by them selves are the in sports. if they are off doing things independently then i would say you should get them one now but i would suggest using a prepay-ed phone just in case they lose it it would be less expensive. also make sure your child understand what you want them to use it for and that they know how to use it efficiently.

Answer 9

Once a child is potty trained. My daughter is now learning to use the potty so we took her to the sprint store yesterday. She kept looking at the Samsung Instinct, but it is way to advanced for a 3 year old. Some advice, keep it simple, an easy to use flip phone is ideal for the 3 to 4 year old range.

Answer 10

Holy c**p, you all are obviously taking about middle to upper class families. A cell phone at age 6, are you kidding. I didn't have one until i was 19, one that i bought myself. Although, if i was to answer your question seriously, the person above has the best idea, with the parental controls.

Answer 11

i see nothing wrong with an 8 years old having a phone however i recommend the pre-paid phone and they have to buy it themselves. cause kids tend to run huge bills.

Answer 12

When they are drinving. Where is your 6 year old going that they would need a cell phone???

Answer 13

Around age 6-7. It’s better to know where your children are all the time, especially when they start walking home alone and staying home alone (around age 8-9) or play outside the house without supervision (around the same age). I would feel a lot better if I can have access to my child any time, no matter where they are and what are they doing. Sometimes when the parent is late to pick them up from school (if they are 6-7, not older), you never know where can they decide to wait for you or go and have a snack before you’re there. Also, when they are alone at home, it’s better for both of you to be able to access the other any time.

Answer 14

When they are old enough to get a job and pay for one themselves. If you're concerned with their whereabouts get them one of those with four buttons YOU program the numbers into in case of emergency.

Answer 15

I dont think kids should have cellphones at all, until they can afford one themselves. What do you think parents did before cellphones were around? Let kids be kids, and if they are 7/8 why would they be walking alone after school someone should be picking them up, and they certainly should not be staying at home alone, plus if they are at home cant you call your home phone to check on them....but again a 7 or 8 should not be home alone anyways

Answer 16

A 7 or 8 year old???  If you can't watch every move they make at that age, then you shouldn't have kids.  Most people I know with kids that age walk them or drive them to school and are walked or driven to play dates that are arranged.  I'd never let my child just walk out the door at that age for any reason!  IF my children EVER got cellphones it'd be for when they were going away on a trip or out to a friend's or with a friend at 16 or older.  If my child got one and paid for it with their own job at 14 or something, that's their choice.

Answer 17

You could get the Disney phone.  You program in the numbers that they are allowed to call.

Answer 18

i am 17 and i just got mine when i was 16

:(

Answer 19

I got mine at 6 because im diabetic and my mom needed contact w/me incase of emergencys

Answer 20

I almost got my daughter one in JK.  Sounds silly, but one day the school actually forgot her outside when it started to rain!!  The yard duty teacher didnt do a count and she was stuck out in the rain, ALONE for 15 minutes before the teacher came back and noticed she was gone.  She said she tried to knock on the windows, and open the door, but the doors lock right away now.  I thank God that she didnt go out to the front of the school, or worse. After that I thought of a cell phone.  If she had one she could have called home or something!  They have these kids phones called a firefly (I think). It only has 3 buttons, one for mommy, one for daddy and one for home (if I remember correctly). That way they cant call China or anything.  Just you.  In this day and age I think its a great idea to have a way for your child to get help.

Answer 21

9 or 10 is good for a prepaid or firefly, but 12 or 13 for a "real" cellphone.

*~AMBER~*

Answer 22

about 10 or 11

Answer 23

I am debating to get my 6 year old daughter (going into 1st grade) a cell phone. She will be going on the bus, and I'm a little worried about it. I think at her age it's just to communicate with myself, my husband, and emergancy.

That is opposed to my 13 year old daughter who has 1,000 minutes, unlimited texting, etc. She pays me $10 a month for her texting. I never take her cell phone away, but I have canceled her texting plan before.

Hope I helped!

Answer 24

We got our son a cell at age 8 1/2  because we wanted him to be able to use his bike and scooter in more than just our front yard.

I also got it, because his bus stop was set at quite a distance from our house, and I wanted to be able to contact him when he got off the bus.  unfortunately, our school system has decided that an 8yo with a cell phone  is a "significant threat" to school safety, and has made carrying a cell an expulsion offense.

The phone we bought has parental controls, and only accepts calls from the #'s we put into his address book, and can only call out to those #'s.

It's been a blessing.  I can contact him at any point in his day, and let him know it's time to come home, or just touch base and make sure he's OK, and he can call at any time and have one of us answer.

Answer 25

I think i would wait until my daughter can get a job and get one herself..but i also think its something good for a child to have expecially if they can go out of the site of your house

Answer 26

We have several unlimited cell phones and my daughter has had hers since she was 7. It's just a part of life to us. I never have to worry about her running up a bill because it's unlimited and it stays the same every month. All of her friends have had one since about the same age, and she's 10 now, so if they didn't have one before - they do now.

No big deal to me. I love being able to hit a button to contact her while she's at activities, relatives or friends.

I think you should get your child a cell when you feel like it works for YOUR family.

This works for mine.

Okay. Let the thumbs down roll........