So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

[DC]

Been getting different answers from different folks. Curious as to what my OS brothers think

[DakkoN]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

When they get their driver's license.

[Chef Matt]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

I gave my daughter hers when she turned 14 last october. We have some restrictions on it but the one rule that she MUST follow is that she must either answer the phone when her mother or I call immediatley or return our call within 5 min. If not we take it. Has been going well for almost a year now.

[Whitesox]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

Got mine after 8th grade graduation.

But I saw a kid in McDonalds the other day who was like 10, and he had a phone.

I also think it depends a lot on the kid, how mature they are, if they do anything after school, if they are out a lot, etc.

[Cebby]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

Depends on the circumstances.

I think a kid needs one once he/she starts driving.

After that, it really depends on what the kid does. My second year of middle school and first year and a half at high school, there were like 2-3 kids in my neighborhood my age and I was mostly at school or my one friend's house about a mile away, so I didn't really need one since my location was generally known.

However, my sister (10 or 11 years old) has about 15 friends in her neighborhood, so my mom bought her a cheap cell phone to nail down her location instead of calling everyone's mom trying to find her (but none of them take their phones to school or anything).

[pfunk880]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

High school in most cases.

[Jukeman]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

1st grade

[WeLLWeLL]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

Middleschool/highschool. Only if you lay ground rules out like everytime time the parent calls the kid has to pick up the phone and rules like that.

[Brandwin]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

Probably no eariler then Jr High. Although she already wants one and she is 7...lol

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

I didn't get my first "real" cell phone (with a plan) until sophomore year of high school. My 10 year old cousin has one, though.

[Vince]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

15-16

[Po Pimp]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

I didn't get my first phone until I was a junior in college...7 years ago

[luv_mist]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

I didn't get my first phone until I was a junior in college...7 years ago

Mine was my freshman year in college eighth years ago only because my parents wanted to make sure I could call them back. Never liked having a cell phone. Think I might try that with my daughter. Lock her down until her senior year and then send her off with a cell phone.......

[Blzer]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

Ugh, my kids aren't getting phones until they drive or unless it's necessary (they have to walk home or something). They can survive without one, as I did for seventeen years. Even to this day I despise texting and only use it as a wakeup alarm and for phone calls. Anything else should be spent adapting to something else in future's society (unless that is our impending doom).

[Cebby]

Re: So At What Age Does A Parent Need To Give Their Kid A Cell Phone?

Ugh, my kids aren't getting phones until they drive or unless it's necessary (they have to walk home or something). They can survive without one, as I did for seventeen years. Even to this day I despise texting and only use it as a wakeup alarm and for phone calls. Anything else should be spent adapting to something else in future's society (unless that is our impending doom).

By the time you have kids communication chips will be implanted into their heads at birth.

Even if not, every kid will have a cellphone way before they start driving by the time you're having kids. Our parents survived without owning a computer for 30+ years, but it isn't really practical to take that approach today.