What is a good age to start your child off with a cell phone?

Hi I think I allowed my daughter at 14 and this was because she had to go to school 4 towns away and by train which was quite often delayed on the way home. The station had no call box so I got her one to let me know what time the train would be in for me to be able to meet her at the station. It was a pay as you go with free texts so she used to text me the time and couldn't chat to her frineds allday as there was lmited credit available. She was very responsible with it and only did use for these calls and maybe the odd one to a frined to organise what time they would be meeting up. Your grandson at 12 if it is for this reason, as his mom says then I'm sure thats ok too, I don't think I would allow any younger than that though and I have Angel batteries so not affected biologically buy the radiation they give out. Ellie :D

It depeand on how much he need it and in the country he is in even if he don't need it sometimes he just ask for it because his freinds have one anyway i think the best age that my child have a cellphone is from 17 or when he is at high school because his needs will increase and so he will need it to use it

I'm not sure what a good age is. I think if they are old enough to know how to use one and you can afford it for them, then they need one these days. They need it for an emergency. My daughter has had one for a few years now and she is 16 now. Her grandma and grandpa bought it for her to use. She now has a new phone because the other one quit working and she bought it herself. She buys her own cell phone minutes each month also and sometimes her boyfriend buys them for her since they talk alot and he is miles away.

I am not a parent yet but I would most likely not let my child have a hand phone before he can earn money himself. I do not want him to always have to ask me to pay for his phone bills. Besides that, I do not want my children to have my sister's habit. My sister got her first phone at the age of 12 and since then she hasn't get rid of the habit of messaging all the time. She is always either sending SMS or chatting online and tends to stay up late because of that.

im 17, and i got a cellphone when i was in the 6th grade. i cant remember how old i was. but i was in clubs in school witch i had to stay after for and going places and my mom wanted me to have one so i can keep in touch with her. i dont think there should be a set age on when a child should get a cellphone. if the child is going to be out places without you then i think they should have one so they can reach you at all times. and if they are responsible enough to have one, but thats the parents call.

hello winterose, nice discussion here, i like to give some opinion. about age, i think the age that good for child witl cell phone is when that child start to request to get toys. Then buy a very cheap cellphone to them so that they can learn new technologies in this earth.

Actually I would base the age that I gave a child a cell phone by how mature that child was and responsible. One who knows that is is only for emergency and not showing off and talking to friends who are sometimes a few feet away. That they know it isn't a play toy or a show and tell so all your friends will bug you to use it to call so and so. I would say twelve is the right age I would test the child and if the child abused the rules I had for the phone he would lose it for 6 months, then I would try again if it happens again then I won't give it to the child till they are a few years older or grows up to understand it is not a toy or for blowing money on for texting and calling friends when they are local especially. I would have it so I could monitor it. Leap frog has one for children and it will only let the child call the number that you input into it and can only be changed I think with a code or something. So if someone was looking for one for their child that would be best one to get until they prove themselves worthy of a big kid one.

my kids can have one when they can pay for it. i have a cusion that got his 7 year old son one.CRAZY! now my 7 year old thinks he should have one. nope sorry. they don't need them i never had one up until a couple years ago and that is a prepaid one. my aunt did get her to boys one but it was a prepaid one and they got a 30 minute card each month. they were in all of sports and would be at the school and a couple times the school was closed and they couldn't get to the pay phone so thats what they go just enough time to call home and say mom i'm done and need a ride. i would do that but to get my kids a plan with a fancy phone is crazy. they wonder why kids are having a hard time in school now a days well gee lets stick a phone in there hand and see if they text all class or pay attion

I think it is a decision that must be made with the individual child and circumstances in mind. Some are more mature then others. xoxoxoxoxoxo

I see kids with cell phones at the mall and they seem way too young for them. I know that some parents give them because they feel their child will be safer, or they find comfort in knowing they can reach them no matter where they are. I personally won't let my daughter have one until she is old enough to pay for it herself. And then, she can only have a pre-paid phone. I think the pre-paids make kids more responsible with their minutes.

my daughter got her first mobile phone when she was about 12-13 years old. i had to get her one as she travells 1 and a half hours to school and the same back home.so i needed to be able to contact her in case the train was delayed or any problems to and from school.it was a case of necessity with her.i think it would have been different if she just attended the local school and was only five minutes from home.cheers sue

Well i got my first mobile when i stepped into my college Ist year... Well i also don't like much talking, as it just waste money and also time... instead of talking i prefer texting... And also cellphone is all for our security and you should give a cellphone to your kids ASAP...

I owned my cell phone untill last year when I was 18th and went to studied in the college.I think there's no need to have a cell phone too early.There is nothing good for them to have it so early.But we all know the technology is developing so quickly that I think they will get it earlier and earlir.

if he need cellphone i think it's ok ! it's not bigger deal!

Hi winterose, I like the first response to your question - about teaching kids early to be familiar with technology. I think that, although early introduction to the idea of cell phones might be a good idea, a child might respect the phone more if there is a solid reason for them to utilize such a device. In other words, I don't think it a good idea to just select an age for a child to receive their first cell phone. They might view it as a gadget, a toy. Depending on the responsibility level a child has shown, I think it would be appropriate for even 8-year olds to have a cell phone if, in their environment, they need one for safety reasons. Some children have to walk a long way to school and get home before the parents do, relying on a teenaged babysitter for watching over them until parents arrive home. A child in this situation might best have a cell phone in case the sitter is late, in case the walk is questionable (keads through a nasty terrain or area of town)

I have two teens and a younger child - none of them have needed to have a cell phone yet. I did purchase one when my son was hospitalized for an extended time in a city 3.5 hours from our house. Due to the other children I just could not be there all the time with him. I bought the cell phone so that he could use it to call me whenever he wanted. After he came home I did not continue with the cell phone. I purchased a trac phone summer before last as I was taking a long road trip with the kids and hubby stayed home (I was visiting my folks) and I wanted to have the security of the cell. I have kept up with the trac phone but really do not use it often. I just do not see the need. my boy will probably get a cell when he goes off to college.

I didn't get my first cell phone until I was 16. Children seem to be younger and younger when they are getting cell phones now, but when you think about it, with payphones decreasing, it's a lot harder to call home if you need to. I dont plan to let my kids have one until around 15. My 11 year nephew has gone through 4 cell phones already. He just keeps breaking and or losing them.

They can a cellphone the day they can pay for it. I feel kids with cellphones are spoiled. Why should any kid need a cellphone at a young age? They should always be with a responible adult or in an adult supervised place. No need for a cellphone.

I don't have kids, but when my eleven year old cousin got a cell phone for good grades, I thought that was really weird. I think when you can earn money to pay for the cell phone and part of the bill, you can get one. This is just spoiling kids, thinking they deserve a cell. I understand if people are worried for their kids, and if they do a lot of extra curricular activities, then maybe get them one. But if your kid just goes to school and then goes out with friends, I don't understand why they need the phone for protection. Keep your kids home or at least make sure they're somewhere safe. I think it's a little neglectful to have a cell phone be their only protection. I see a lot of kids walking around in groups, and that's a little irresponsible. In the very least, they should be 16 before they get phones. And I've heard of kids under ten with phones, just because the older siblings got phones and didn't want the kid left out or something. It's just spoiling kids.

Well, I also think it's too early for a 12 year-old-boy to have a cellphone. His mother is too excessively accommodating. I believe eenagers should only get a cellphone after 15 although having one under 14 is a quite common thing nowadays.