Should i let my 10 year old son have a cell phone?

Question

he says all of his friends have one, and he feels left out

i heard about bad side effects cell phones have? (cancer?)

and i don't want him exposed to that

but having him use it for emergencies is the only reason why i would want him to have it

is he too young

Answer 1

I don't see the point of young kids having their own cell phone. I think it's just bound to cause problems. Personally, I'd advise against it. But ultimately it's your choice.  

Answer 2

i got my 1st cell in 4th grade i was only allowed to use it to call my mom, dad, grandma, or freinds mom in emergincies. i had to prove i was responisble before i could text or anything lol

Answer 3

give him aprepaid phone where he cna't text he will get so wrapped up in tesxting you'll barely know your son if you let him text  

Answer 4

no he isnt to young and i think there is a necklace tht prevents the cancer thing

Answer 5

If he is busy, in a long hour school, with divorced parents, yes. NO CANCER.

Answer 6

I don't think it is a good idea. Do you ever watch Judge Judy on TV?"

Answer 7

Well it depends. If he just uses it for emergencies that fine. You can even just he him a prepaid one. Just so h does'nt feel left out i guess

Answer 8

My 10 year old has a cell phone.  She doesn't use it often,  hardley ever as a matter in fact.  But if she goes out, riding her bike or to a practice or karate, she takes it with her so that she can contact me.

Answer 9

i'm 17, and i used to whine and whine to my parents too about wanting a cell phone......they wouldnt let me have one, but honeslty thta was fine cause at ten i didnt need one...i didnt really need one till i got into high school and they finally let me have one when i was 16 in grade 11! i thank them for it though cause its not like i really went without anything, all my friends had phones like ur sons say they do, so if i needed to use a phone there was always one avaliable...he'll live, its a waste of money, what do u need a phone for at 10 he prly just wants to txt haha. i dont think u should worry about cancer, thats an unproven myth, that prly isnt true, i'd wait till hes in highschool, he doesnt need one yet :)

Answer 10

does he really need a cell phone? Theres no point in paying for it if he's going to use it every 3 months. It dosn't matter if his friends have cell phones. If you give him everything he wants just because he whines, he's going to end up a spoiled brat, and you're going to be broke.

Answer 11

No way that is not to young if he wants to use it for emergencies only bu anything else i don't think so. And i am pretty sure that u cant get cancer from a cell phone

Answer 12

are you serious about the cancer part? you seem like a parent that worries to much. You should buy him one, because just in case he is in trouble, which i hope will never happen, he will need a way of communicating with you.

Answer 13

It really depends on the child. Do you think he is mature enough to have one. As his parent only you can really answer this questions. My daughter is 11 and i will not allow her to have one but kids sometimes dont understand the limits that you have to put on them. Only use for an emergency is easy to agree to for a kid but what if the temptation to use it to call friends is too much and you have to pay for all those minutes? Not sure if you know this or not but almost all the new phones will allow you to dail 911 even if theres no SIM card in it. I thought about giving one to my daughter like that just to keep in her backpack. That way i know she has some way of calling for help without having to paying tons of money for minutes she used without being allowed. Its really only you that can decide though. Good luck

Answer 14

Yes he is not to young Its Fine its the 11 yrs old you have to worry about you know Like my daughter this is her yahoo answers which I go on cause she doesn't know how to unsign off but anyhow THIS IS HER YOU SHOULD

Answer 15

idk about the cancer, but I got one when I was in 6th grade but that was because I was going to a new school and had no family members there. I think 10 is WAY to young kids nowadays are getting it so easy with cell phones(EXPENSIVE ONES)at 10,9, and sometimes even 8. no offense but it's stupid. Maybe if you give him a simple first phone/pre-paid (Boost, Metro) it will be easier. When I got my first phone it had no front screen,no camera,no games,and I didn't have texting so I only could use it to call people. Hope I helped!

Answer 16

being around 19, children getting cell phones at an early age is getting more popular... my girlfriend's little sister is 13 and has a cell phone, she actually uses it more than I use mine... a tracfone is a good emergency only phone. they have some benefits and some cons, but worth checking out. cancer from phones is not worth thinking about but seriously think about tracfone link below...

Answer 17

just get him a tracfone and make im buy the minutes and if you  dont want to buy it make him save the money and buy it if he really  wants it then make him buy it thats what my parents did

Answer 18

Yes he is too young. No one that young needs a cell phone. He'll just abuse it and the experience will spoil him.

Answer 19

look i;d had a cell phone ever since 4th grade. okay kids feel protective about that.and since when cell phones can give you cancer okay.as your child grow up he gonna b more responsible. so pretty much i'd give the phone.

Answer 20

no cell phones do not cause cancer,at all and yes you should and stop making up silly things like that CELL PHONES DO NOT CAUSE CANCER.

Answer 21

Don't get it just because all his friends have one.  If you do that you will be buying him all sorts of unnecessary things just because his friends have them.  A cell phone though is a good idea to have just in case there is an emergency and he needs to call you or vice versa.  Be sure it is a plan that doesn't allow him to use it excessively and rack up a huge bill every month.

Answer 22

NO.

You shouldn't be worrying about cancer, it's the INFLUENCE you should be concerned about, Your son should not be getting something just because "his friends have one". No offense, but your son should know this at a young age. However, if you're really worried about emergencies, lend him yours when he's out for movies or something like that. Other than that, give him coins for payphones. As innocent as they may seem, cellphones may not be something you want your 10 year old child to have. It'll be the start of something much worse ("I can get anything I want if want." or "It's not fair that he has it.", etc."

Answer 23

I think this question is best answered by you, as his parent.  Is he mature enough to handle the responsibility of only using a cellphone for emergency?  Also you have to ask if he were to run up a $300 bill with texting, ring tones, games, etc.  Are you ready to deal with that? If he looses the phone, are you ready to replace it?  Does his school allow cell phones in the building?

If you are really worried about emergencies and him not being able to call someone, but don't want him to have a "real" cell phone... there is the firefly.  The phone that only calls emergency and pre-programmed numbers.  Also, they are making them just as fun as a regular phone and the only person that would know its limitations are you and him.

Answer 24

he feels left out at school? so what! there is no reason for a 10 year old child to have a cellphone. this is insanity. what's next, a BMW? a $2000 computer and unmonitored internet usage? condoms? p**n?

cellphones throw out a lot of microwave radiation, which is why there have been so many cases of people burning a tumor into their head in the shaoe of their cellphone antenna. yes, this is real.

if your 10 year old kid wants a cellphone, tell him to go out and get a job to pay for it.

you cant lavish your children with things like this. doing so teaches them the wrong lessons and impairs their ability to function in the real world.

EDIT

These people insisting that the microwave radiation emmitted by cellphones doesnt cause cancer are either completely uninformed or lieing to themselves.

So for your sake, dont listen to anyone on this website. Do your own research.

Answer 25

We got our ten year old a prepaid cell phone. It is for emergencies only. There were a couple days here and there where I would be driving still from work and he was getting off the bus and I wanted to make sure he had a way to call me if something happened. Then he went to Florida with a grandparent and I was never so glad to have bought the phone. He got lost at disney world and was able to call his grandma's cell phone to find her. It all depends on what you want it for. We never got it because his friends had them, and he never gets to carry it to school or while out with friends.  

Answer 26

I think he's to young. I got my first cell young and mine purposes were to show off cause everyone else had one. LOL! You should get it anyway. Although he just wants it mainly because everyone else has one but things could happen. Just by a prepaid one because he isn't mature enough and would probably run up the minutes pretty fast no matter how much he might say he won't. Plus the risk on cancer is not that high and it is only a risk if he is constantly on the phone or has it near his body ALL the time which is very unlikely.

Answer 27

he needs a cell phone, im 12, and i just got a cheap camera phone, and i use it for emergencies, and to talk to friends, don't get him something expensive like a voyager, just a cheap cell phone for emergencies or for homework questions or an after school activity that got cancelled and he is there and u left or something..but do whatever descision u think is best, and there is no side affect, he will be addicted to it for a week like upsessed with it, but thats normal, i was, my sister was, so ya.

Answer 28

everything can give you cancer, fast food, dieting everthing. As for the emergencies side it is really convinient but just know it definately won't only used for that. You will he having to buy him phone credit constantly unless you put him on a plan then you'll be raking up phone bills. It doesnt matter how old you are, i mean toddlers are given toy phones so i don't believe there is a difference, its just another mode of communication.

Just make sure to not let him bring it to school because either he'll get it stolen or confiscated. He shouldn't need it there there should be all the facilities for teacher to contact you in case of an emergency.

So to help you make your decision ask yourself weather he really needs it at all.

He really just wants a phone cos his mates have phones and thats it, i mean sometimes kids can be mean if you don't have stuff they do like some kids go to school with brand clothes and those who parents can't afford it usually get given a bit of grief but as he get older it should stop. The other solution is to get him a cheap phone just to make him happy.  

Answer 29

My sister who just turned ten has a prepaid one and my son who is 8 also has a prepaid phone. But for my son he has to do his chores to earn money and then he buys his minutes when he runs out. And if he is out of minutes for a few days because he has no money I do not pay for it he has to wait until he gets the money to buy more. He has a virgin mobile phone so I can check all of his calls that he makes and recieves on his phone. He mostly talks to his 2 friends and his uncle who is 14.  

Answer 30

Ok, to the answer the cancer part of the question, the evidence is completely inconclusive: there is no definite evidence that says cell phones give you cancer, but then there is also no definite evidence that they don't.

With the way society is today, I think a cell phone at a young age may be appropriate, not to make your son 'fit in' more at school, but for safety. However, the best sort of phones for younger kids are the very basic, pre-pay phones, which only allow for phone calls and texting. That way, your son won't think it;s really cool to have one for games or for the way it looks, and if you keep the credit in it to being quite low, he can't use it for calling his friends - just if he needs to ring you, or 911 or something.

Hope this helps!

Answer 31

Why get him something just because everyone else has one? He'll just use that against you in the future when everyone else gets to go to the late movie at the theater or he wants a new toy. "Everyone else is doing it!" "Everyone else has one!"

There isn't a need for a 10 year old to have a cell phone. There just isn't a real reason. Pay phones still exist, and where is he that there can be an emergency? He's too young to be going places unsupervised, so why can't he just use a parents' phone or something? If there is a problem at school, he can use the office phone.