Cell Phones for kids

[cute_redrose]

I keep hearing this question, so I thought I would ask you. What is a good age to give your kids a cell phone?

[JasonST]

I dont think its a good idea to give kids cellphones. There is no point of giving them a cellphone at a younger age. But it also might depend on their needs.

[Valandil]

25.


And then they can get their own!

[Midge]

My parents thought when we started driving was good. Until then, if we needed one, my dad would just be like, "Call if you need anything" and lend us his.

These twelve-year-olds who have cell phones are just superfluous.

[Mari]

Here, depending on your school-home situation I'd say 12. My cousin had to cycle for 45 minutes to get to school when he went to secondary school, because his village didn't have one. Kids having to go through woods and fields on their own at various times of day...
I got one when I was 16 and had a job requiring me to cycle through the woods at 6.30 AM. Just in case you know? But I never really used it until I moved out to live on my own.

[Tessar]

I'm with Mari... I think it's situational. BUT I strongly feel that kids shouldn't have texting... it is way too much of a distraction, and it's too easy to do sneakily during class. I personally only text on occasion with a few of my good friends, but I see people texting non-stop all over the place, and some of my friends are truly addicted to it... those are the people who also have the worst attention span, and never really know what's going on around them. Sad.

[Earniel]

Around 16-18, I would say. Definitely not below 12 years old, on account of an article I read saying the radiation could impact a still developing mind of a child. Until then can use the land-line.

Although, in case they went out, and/or might need a ride later to get back home, I think having a cell phone around they can take along, could be a good idea.

[brownjenkins]

We've given them to our boys at sixth grade (11-12), though they haven't really used them much until high school. They can actually be a good tool to teach your children about the financial aspects of life. I've shown mine how to check usage to be sure that they don't go over limits we've set for them, and put in place consequences for when they do.

Like most things with children, it's not the tool, it's the supervision.

[EllethValatari]

Well, I guess I'm not really an authority on this topic, not being an adult yet, but I'll give my two cents. I think that kids should be given cell phones once they need them; as Tessar and Mari said, it's situational. I was given a cell phone when I started tennis and running because I need to have a phone when I'm alone in a park, and I need to be able to call my parents when I'm finished with tennis drills. I agree with no texting...even I am annoyed with my screen-struck friends.

Overall, just think about whether your kid needs a cell phone. If they don't need one, don't give them one. And even if they do need one, make sure they are mature enough to own something that expensive, not break it, and not spend all day playing games on it.

Hope this helps!

[Insidious Rex]

I dont necessarily have a problem with young kids (under 16) having cell phones but I think its a horrible idea to give them such a powerful and potentially dangerous tool with NO restrictions whatsoever which I see so many parents doing now. A 12 year old does NOT need the ability to constantly contact anyone in the world at any time they want. This whole iGeneration worries me... (and I have two step daughters under 15 who are full fledged cell phone addicts and have gotten themselves in trouble with poor choices involving their cell phones on more than one occasion...). They have unlimited texts and time so they have grown up thinking any restriction is a problem. I think the phone companies should make it easier for the parents to restrict use and even track texts and calls remotely. If they knew their parents were getting every text that they were sending and recieving they would sure have second thoughts about who they are talking to and what they are saying to them... And if they have to earn their own minutes they would hopefully be a lot more responsible about HOW they use the phone itself and not text non stop from 6 in the morning until you pry it out of their desperate little hands at bed time...

[Coffeehouse]

Originally Posted by cute_redrose

I keep hearing this question, so I thought I would ask you. What is a good age to give your kids a cell phone?

Originally Posted by Valandil

25.


And then they can get their own!

I still wouldn't have a cell phone then lmao

Originally Posted by Tessar

I'm with Mari... I think it's situational.

Originally Posted by Insidious Rex

I dont necessarily have a problem with young kids (under 16) having cell phones but I think its a horrible idea to give them such a powerful and potentially dangerous tool with NO restrictions whatsoever which I see so many parents doing now.

I think it's definitely situational, but I understand the pressures parents feel when 'every other kid' is walking around with one.

Personally we've never had that type of problem in our family, and that's why I think it comes down to what kind of 'buying culture' you have in your family.

If you have parents that emphasize the necessity-principle then you as kid will get more accustomed to getting things when you actually need it.

My youngest sister, who just turned 15, has had a mobile since she was 12, but she is living with my parents who are diplomats in Africa, where communication has a very different meaning than in the suburbs of Europe or the US.

I got my first mobile phone when I was 15, but then again I never really had this buy-buy urge to get the latest gadgets

Looks as this is generational though, and more and more kids are getting mobile phones at increasingly younger ages, which is worrying. I hereby pledge on the honor of the Entmoot Elections that I won't give my kids a mobile phone until they're at least 14 and the mobile subscription would be in my name (which is a good rule in the first few years I'd think)

[EllethValatari]

Originally Posted by Coffeehouse

Personally we've never had that type of problem in our family, and that's why I think it comes down to what kind of 'buying culture' you have in your family.

True...I never thought about that but it is interesting how your family's spending habits affect your own.

[brownjenkins]

No child ever *needs* a cell phone, any more than an adult needs one. It should always be seen as a luxury, like dessert or fancy clothes. I always stress the fact to my kinds that cell phones are privileges, like computer or tv time.

[HOBBIT]

Well that's not true. Students definitely need cell phones at some point and they definitely need computers. It's a necessity. Got a computer put in my room in the 7th grade because I needed one. College would have been 50X the hassle without my own laptop..... but back to cell phones.

A cellphone and unlimited texting are absolutely essential in college. I don't know about texting in high school...... What I do know is that no teenager or undergraduate (in 98% of cases) needs a BLACKBERRY. That is the latest craze - and they "BBM" each other instead of texting...

I recall that I got my first cell phone in the 10th grade while I was still 15...... that's when ben (bmilder) got his first one too. That's when I started to learn how to drive, so it would be a necessity to have in the car for emergencies. I also really needed one to call up my parents when I was done with practices and rehearsals and such. It was also so much easier to communicate with fellow students.

If not for Ben having a cell phone in school with me, I would have been given one sooner. The thinking for a while was why would I need one if he had one?

Hard question on how early is too early. Absolutely no one had cell phones in elementary school and very very few did in middle school (late 90s early 2000s). It wasn't until the end of HS that just about everyone had cell phones...... up until then people would ask to borrow my cell phone all the time.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally Posted by HOBBIT

A cellphone and unlimited texting are absolutely essential in college.

Cell phone, I can see the argument. I didn't have one for the first year, but it made my life so much simpler when I finally got one.

Unlimited texting, no way. No one needs that, whether or not they are in college. I only got it when I came to Canada, because my phone company was giving it away free. Even now that I have it, I don't text that much. It's ridiculous to claim that unlimited texting is "absolutely essential" at any point in any one's life.

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

Unlimited texting, no way. No one needs that, whether or not they are in college. I only got it when I came to Canada, because my phone company was giving it away free. Even now that I have it, I don't text that much. It's ridiculous to claim that unlimited texting is "absolutely essential" at any point in any one's life.

Hmmm, Gwai that might depend. For me texting is definitely a bonus. Sometimes someone will want/need to get in touch with me... if I'm in rehearsal there's no way I can whip my phone out and listen to a message, but no one minds if you discretely pull out your phone and check for a text.

But I think if I were not a musician with situations like that, it would not be as essential. No one minds if you slip out of class for a second to check a voice mail (you know, so long as you're not a butt doing it every class ).

It's also important in my case because our director likes to communicate via text. So if you need to be late for rehearsal he prefers a text message. I could also see how if you are in a major that requires constant team projects texting could be pretty essential if you are going to a large university.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I certainly don't doubt the value of being able to text; it's the "unlimited" I think no one needs.

Iif I recall, for most plans, texts are 20 cents or so per message, and adding unlimited texts to a plan would generally cost around 10 dollars a month or so, right? That would mean that there would need to be 50 times a month when such a situation would arise to render unlimited texting "necessary," and I just don't think there will be that many times a month when someone will A) need to get a hold of someone, and B) not be able to simply call them. I suppose your mileage may vary, though.

I might have the numbers wrong, though, as it's been a while.

[katya]

I kind of think that once they hit the age where most of their friends have one, they should be allowed to have one. I wouldn't want to them to be left out, and I would want their friends to be able to get ahold of them to hang out and such. It become more important the older (and more mobile) they are. 12 is probably fine. It's going to depend on a lot of things though, situational.

I got my first cell when I started college and moved to a place where we actually got reception.

Originally Posted by Tessar

I'm with Mari... I think it's situational. BUT I strongly feel that kids shouldn't have texting... it is way too much of a distraction, and it's too easy to do sneakily during class. I personally only text on occasion with a few of my good friends, but I see people texting non-stop all over the place, and some of my friends are truly addicted to it... those are the people who also have the worst attention span, and never really know what's going on around them. Sad.

I text sneakily during class (when I'm teaching, I mean). I don't text to chat though, only to relay important information.

[Insidious Rex]

If you have unlimited texting (and so many kids do) then at least 95% of your texts are non essential. And I dont for a second believe ANYONE who tells me they ONLY text when its absolutely necessary. If we are given the ability to text we will text for any reason at all. Human psychology is way to powerful to resist that slippery slope. If you give stuff to people eventually they will convince themselves they absolutely need it to function. We are all weak in that way *he said while playing on the internet*

[Gwaimir Windgem]

It's really true. To many people today in the Western world, things like running water, showers, laundry machines, etc. seem like the essentials of life, which we could not do without it. It's mind-boggling to think about what living without them would have been like.