At what age did your child get a cell phone

[goofyernmost]

Don't know for sure, but, they were married so I'd say that it was in the last 15 years or so.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

an old phone of mine or a reconditioned one from a cheap source with no service except what they can pick up on wireless - about 10 or so.

A "real" cellphone with service? Christmas of 6th grade. And that is when my youngest will get his too - next Christmas. 6th grade is when they start Middle School here and because of our location in our neighborhood, they stop having bus service to/from elementary school that picks them up about 4 houses down at the corner, and they start walking the .6 of a mile (about 4 long blocks) to MS.

Not that my dingbat kids ever answer my calls anyway....for the money I pay for their service every month, they need to answer me every time! (But that's another discussion)

I really don't feel like the cell/no cell thing is really a moral issue anymore - phones and service are so common that it's really not a big deal when/how kids get one, other than the financial cost to parents. Even when my oldest was around 8-10 years old, it was still a "thing" to judge other parents for their choice. Now, it seems silly to even care. Times have evolved...

 

[RAD]

My son gave his daughter an old iPhone 4 when she reached 6th grade and had to start taking a bus to school and get home before mom did (she teaches in the school she used to go to).

 

[DawnM]

Around middle school I guess. My oldest didn't want one and I finally made him get a flip phone in 10th grade. I got him a smart phone last Christmas and by Feb. he loved it, but it took him a while.

Middle son, around 13 maybe.

Youngest, just shy of age 11 he got his first real phone on the plan. He had some cheep stuff before that, but not a "real" phone.

 

[tvguy]

16 for both my kids, when they got their driver's licenses. And it had to be kept in the car. They both went to Catholic High School that only allowed cell phones if they were kept in your locker or your car during school hours, so that wasn't a problem.

 

[Jaspers]

Does my answer count if I am the child? Well, I got my first phone when I started primary school. It was one of those sturdy Nokias.

 

[dadtoagirl03]

When she started middle school and was staying after school, and traveling with the sports team. She got the DW's old phone, but saved her money and bought herself a used Iphone earlier this year.

 

[CdnCarrie]

12 as he started taking public transit and coming home alone after school.

 

[Heidict]

My 10 year old got one this past spring. My DH and I upgraded, so she got her fathers old Iphone.

 

[lilia78]

My kids were 13, 13, 13 and 12.5 (following tonsil surgery to help her feel better). This was the age when they started activities where we needed to be able to be contacted for pick ups. They all have smart phones now, 3 iPhones and 1 blackberry (his choices, lol). And we pay the bill for all of them.

 

[Hrhpd]

I think they are considering it because she is in a competive sport both as an individual & team. Sometimes she travels with a coach or the team. I think it's a peace of mind thing. They wouldn't be paying for a phone I have an iPhone I am no longer using so I would give them that.

I am just glad my DS was born before I had to make these type of decisions. I just sit back, shut up & let them make these decisions.

That was the reason we got our youngest a phone at 8. He was playing competitive sports on fields where there was no pay phone for miles. I always hated when my oldest had their phones, a practice was canceled and the children whose parents swore their kids did not need phones were the first ones to always ask to borrow other player's phones. And this was back in the times when we still paid for minutes. So as soon as the youngest started getting dropped off for sports, I made sure he had a way to contact us in case a storm came up, he felt sick or he just wanted to go to a friend's house after practice. In today's world, there are no pay phones, so a cell phone is now akin to putting a quarter in your child's pocket.

We also had a couple of incidents where our daughter was at a party when young, did not feel comfortable and wanted to come home, yet the friend's parents told her to suck it up, she would be fine and because of their ego (not wanting me to think they weren't hospitable) pretty much refused to let her use their home phone. I wanted my children to be able to contact me for any reason if they were uncomfortable. It was my job to assess if they should suck it up, not someone else's. Also, most people don't have a land line anymore. I did not want my child to have to go find someone with their cell phone so they could call home.

We have a few friends who got this phone for their little ones. A great phone with easy options and safety features: https://www.greatcall.com/phones?gc...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJnunaW8v9ACFUOOaQodFwAMFA

 

[mi*vida*loca]

My kids have iPhones and I have their locations shared to me. That's the best investment.

 

[wishesuponastar]

I don't remember how old my oldest was when she got one but it was before 15.

We got my middle daughter a firefly, I think that's what it was called. The phone where you could program just a few numbers into it and that's all she was able to call. We had just moved into our first home and there were a lot of kids for her to play with so she was outside and going into people's homes so I wanted her to have something. She was only 7 at the time. Daughter lost that phone after awhile.

My youngest daughter got a dumb phone when she was about 9 or 10.

 

[CarolAnn856]

Both were 11. Our oldest had a flip phone first and then an iPhone at his 2-year upgrade. Our youngest got an iPhone from the get-go. (Sometimes being the youngest isn't so bad!)

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

My daughter was 12 when I got her a flip phone. At 14, after showing she could take care of the flip phone she got an iPhone. If she was involved with after school activities I probably would have got her one sooner.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I really don't know.

 

[wenrob]

That was the reason we got our youngest a phone at 8. He was playing competitive sports on fields where there was no pay phone for miles. I always hated when my oldest had their phones, a practice was canceled and the children whose parents swore their kids did not need phones were the first ones to always ask to borrow other player's phones. And this was back in the times when we still paid for minutes. So as soon as the youngest started getting dropped off for sports, I made sure he had a way to contact us in case a storm came up, he felt sick or he just wanted to go to a friend's house after practice. In today's world, there are no pay phones, so a cell phone is now akin to putting a quarter in your child's pocket.

We also had a couple of incidents where our daughter was at a party when young, did not feel comfortable and wanted to come home, yet the friend's parents told her to suck it up, she would be fine and because of their ego (not wanting me to think they weren't hospitable) pretty much refused to let her use their home phone. I wanted my children to be able to contact me for any reason if they were uncomfortable. It was my job to assess if they should suck it up, not someone else's. Also, most people don't have a land line anymore. I did not want my child to have to go find someone with their cell phone so they could call home.

We have a few friends who got this phone for their little ones. A great phone with easy options and safety features: https://www.greatcall.com/phones?gc...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJnunaW8v9ACFUOOaQodFwAMFA

To the bold. My Dad always says if they'd had cellphones when we were kids we would have had them. I was the team mom for my oldest DD's soccer team and I can't tell you how many times I stood around waiting for parents while their kids used up my minutes to try and reach them.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

13 for both kids - they didn't have many activities that I wasn't involved in as well until that age. Once they hit that age, there were lots of after school activities, and going to friends houses for sleepovers that it made sense.

 

[NHdisneylover]

3 and 5 (shared) and 6 and 8 when they each had their own phones:

We didn't have a landline when the kids were little and at the time it was not a given that babysitters would have cell phones---so we got one that was the "kids" phone for our kids. They both knew how to use it, and it was on the same plan as grandparents so they knew they could use it to call Gramma at any time; they did not have to hunt us down and ask first.
My oldest used to carry it in the bottom of her backpack---this is an anxious kid by nature who felt better knowing that it was possible to call home for help if needed.

I think they were 6 and 8 when sharing a phone no longer worked as well and we got them their own phones. Might have been a year earlier though.

They are going to be 18 and 20 next month. I don't think we ever had an issue with any sort of innapropriate use of phones with either of them through all those years.

 

[mamacatnv]

DS was 12, 6th grade. A few weeks after 9-11
DD 10.
Started with flip phones as smart phones were not the norm.