Ready for a cell phone?

[Cloud]

How old do you think kids should be before getting their own cell phone? Do you have strategies for limiting time and costs?

[Aliantha]

This is a subject Dazza and I have been talking about for a while now. Quite a number of kids at my boys school have them. My oldest boy is only 11. I think that's too young, but apparently some parents don't. Either that or they just cave in because it's easier.

Occasionally I'll let one of the boys carry mine. An example of this was when we had our big show which is what you might call a carnival, but there's livestock judging etc also, so in a capital city, it's pretty big. I let Aden carry my cell phone while Dazza and I had his. In this way, if we got separated, he'd be able to call us.

I don't think kids should need cell phones except under exceptional circumstances. Parents should know where their kids are, so they shouldn't have to be calling them to find out that answer. I've also noticed that some early teens simply choose to ignore calls from their parents anyway, so what's the point other than to give the kid another way of racking up the bills they don't pay for.

I think when they're old enough for a part time job and can pay the bill themself is soon enough for them to have a cell phone.

[TheMercenary]

We let ours get cell phones as they became more mobil. It was a bit different in age as each of them moved through the teens. The oldest got one when she started to drive, at 15. The boy got one at the time when he started to do lots of activities, sports so his would have been around 13 or 14. The youngest got one earlier because she was so much more active and involved in things that we wanted to be more connected. We limited their use by docking the allowance if they went over the minutes we allotted for them, so they had to pay for any amounts over, but we learned early to just buy unlimited text messages.

[jinx]

Spence got his first on his 5th birthday. He was staring school that year, at a school that took frequent spur of the moment field trips.
Both my kids have their own, they are 7 & 9 now... they don't call anyone but it comes in handy sometimes.

[TheMercenary]

The other thing is, no phone calls after 930pm to the house, cell phones or land line. We dropped the rules for the cell when they got to 17 years, the youngest is not there yet.

[SteveDallas]

We got one for our daughter last year, when she started 6th grade at the middle school. It just seemed practical... at this point she could take the bus home, or walk around the corner to the public library, etc. It also gave my wife more flexibility, to be able to say something came up, go study at the library for an hour till I can pick you up.

We had a couple old phones from the last time we upgraded though, so it was just $10/month to add her to our plan. Overall, it's definitely been worth it. Except for the part where the phone doesn't let you download ringtones, or play games, or ... or ... or .... whiiiiiinnnee.

Have you considered prepaid plans? Some of those have very cheap basic phones. Maybe that's a solution for letting them have one on the two or three times a month you think it's really needed, without paying for one fulltime.

[ZenGum]

I have seen five year olds with their own keitai (cell phone). But, this is Japan.

I once saw a woman on the subway talking on one phone and texting on another at the same time!

You can get "locked" phones that can call home or parents' phones or emergency numbers, or other ones mummy and daddy program in.

You can also get phones that monitor their own location by reference to their base station, and automatically SMS the parents if the phone isn't where it should be. Somewhere between Big Brother and Where's Waldo?

[monster]

Depends on maturity/need not age.

I used to be horrified by the young kids I see with them and think it was ridiculous, but as it turns out, we were the first among our friends with kids the same age to get them for ours .....

We got the first for our kids 2 years ago, once they started at school with spontaneous field trips and being unaccompanied at swim practice with variable finish time, and after the school closed early for snow one day and the bus dumped the oldest (7) in a snow drift in the middle of the afternoon half a mile from home with no adult supervision, no check that she knew how to get home etc. (yes, people were fired).

We called it the "sprog phone" it's a Virgin PAYG -free out-of-style phone, no contract, minimum top-up $60/year -cheap at twice the cost for the peace of mind it provides. Oldest was 8, she was responsible for carrying it, but they all knew where it was and how to use it if the needed to (all were usually in same place at that time). They are not allowed to call/text anyone except me, and they don't.

Just got the second sprog phone, same deal, now that the oldest two tend to be in different places at the same time with variable taxi requirements. More often that not, we need to get in touch with them to inform them of pick-up arrangements rather than the other way around (3 kids, 2 parents, flexibility required). Middle sprog is about to turn 9.

I think the 3rd sprog phone is a long way off -the little guy (age 6) has enough difficulty remembering his pants and can break jello. Plus he's off with the fairies most of the time, and is still almost always accompanied by a responsible adult (with ready-to-go-straight-jacket) at all extra-curricular activities

[glatt]

This thread is interesting. It never occurred to me to get a cell phone for one of our kids. I suppose if we ever do, it will be one of those prepaid Tracphones with no bells or whistles.

[aimeecc]

I'm not for younger ones having cell phones unless there's a need and tight control. But my stepsons got their phones at 8 or so. Good for my hubby to be able to call without talking to the ex in order to talk to the kids.
Will's 12 now... texts during school... Jon's in college, so he's free to do whatever.
Its going to be difficult raising our little one once he realizes were stricter on him than his half brothers. The ex allows the boys to do things a lot of parents would curb. Candy bar for breakfast? Sure. Unlimited minutes? Sure. Text in school? Don't get caught. Miss school? Ok. Luckily there's such an age gap he may never know it.

[TheMercenary]

Well Cloud, what do you think about all the comments?

[Cloud]

I think there are some very interesting strategies here. Couple things I agree on: the right answer is "it depends" -- depends on circumstances, how much the kids are out by themselves, have activities, etc.; how responsible they are; and that certainly by the time they are driving they need one. Every driver needs one--that's why I finally broke down and purchased one for myself.

It's not a real immediate concern for me, since the relevant parties in my family are grands, not my own kids, but it is coming up for them. It was brought up at Christmastime. Certainly the kids are going to want one before they're ready for one. Economics is a factor--neither set of parents can afford an additional high bill, so pre-paid would be the way to go, I think. Perhaps with the kids earning their own minutes.

The texting in school thing bothers me, though.

[TheMercenary]

Don't worry to much about the school thing. Our schools (public) are very strict about cell phone use in class or the hall. If they get caught our rule is that you lose it forever. Thankfully the school sees it the same way.

[Clodfobble]

When I was in school, cellphones were not yet ubiquitous, but they definitely existed. This was still in the time of the big ol' clunky things that filled your hand. Of course texting wasn't even an issue. I was the only person I knew who had one. It lived in the glove compartment in my car, and was specifically for emergencies and nothing else. The bill listed every call I made, so they would have immediately known if I had ever abused it.

[Tink]

When I was in school, cell phones didn't exist. It was a dime to make a phone call and phone booths abounded.