For - ONLY - checking in, what age for a cell phone....or is there some easier way?

[lillygator]

to communicate, bascially - yes, mom, I got here ok.

 

[NikiM20]

Dd got one at 6 for when she went to my moms. My mom does not answer her house or cell phones and I wanted to be able to get in touch with dd. We started with a prepaid cell that I gave to her when I wanted her to have it.

 

[DVCLiz]

to communicate, bascially - yes, mom, I got here ok.

If all you really want is for your child to have a cell phone to call and say, "I got here safely", I would recommend you add a second $9.99 line and a cheap phone - and keep it as a family phone. You can give it to your child as needed, but it won't be "his" or "hers."

I'm not a "they don't NEED it" kind of parent so I gave my daughters their first cell phones for their birthdays - 14th and 13th respectively. That was about mid-range for their time - they were in 9th and 8th grade respectively, and some kids had had them earlier while some got them later. If I were raising them now instead of back then I would say I would give my daughters cell phones in the 6th grade year for their birthdays.

Once they got "their" cell phone it was as much for social purposes as for communicating with me. I was fine with that - some parents aren't.

 

[lillygator]

I may seem overprotective, but, I don't care about that. She is only 6 (7 on Halloween) and I would NEVER have thought I would be getting her a phone....and I may be ok after a month or so of her going on the bus, with no communication.....but


DD is going into first grade. The previous year she was dropped off in the am, we signed her into before care and after school she went to after care ON the school campus (so no leaving school grounds). This coming year we are trying a different after care program and the ONLY concern I have is her getting on the right bus and making it there each day. The teachers aren't hand walking the 1st graders like the do for K to the correct bus.

I was thinking of a prepaid phone with only DH and my work/cell phone numbers in it, just to let us know she arrived at her destination ok.

I just don't want her getting on the wrong bus, ending up in a bad part of town and no one noticing or missing the bus and standing around school and the chance for something bad to happen.

and I may also be a bit paranoid....one day last school year we were running late....when I dropped her off she was in a class other than her reg classroom (library or art or something)....when I got to work, her teacher was calling me wanting to know where she was....of course I freaked, DH was able to speed and get there within minutes and all was ok, but I sure would have loved to have called and heard her voice to know she was ok.

 

[Aisling]

In my opinion, kids should be given cell phones as soon as they're old enough to understand how to use them and are responsible enough not to lose them. It doesn't have to be their own personal phone, but whenever they're away from you, they should have the phone. Being vocally accessable to each other (kid/parent) is a GOOD thing. Thank God for cell phone technology.

 

[DVCLiz]

I may seem overprotective, but, I don't care about that. She is only 6 (7 on Halloween) and I would NEVER have thought I would be getting her a phone....and I may be ok after a month or so of her going on the bus, with no communication.....but


DD is going into first grade. The previous year she was dropped off in the am, we signed her into before care and after school she went to after care ON the school campus (so no leaving school grounds). This coming year we are trying a different after care program and the ONLY concern I have is her getting on the right bus and making it there each day. The teachers aren't hand walking the 1st graders like the do for K to the correct bus.

I was thinking of a prepaid phone with only DH and my work/cell phone numbers in it, just to let us know she arrived at her destination ok.

I just don't want her getting on the wrong bus, ending up in a bad part of town and no one noticing or missing the bus and standing around school and the chance for something bad to happen.

and I may also be a bit paranoid....one day last school year we were running late....when I dropped her off she was in a class other than her reg classroom (library or art or something)....when I got to work, her teacher was calling me wanting to know where she was....of course I freaked, DH was able to speed and get there within minutes and all was ok, but I sure would have loved to have called and heard her voice to know she was ok.

A phone with preprogrammed numbers would be a great solution. You don't necessarily want her to be able to call others or text, but you want her to be able to give you a quick call to say she got on the right bus - I think that's perfectly fine. I would also maybe enable some texting because sometimes a text is easier than a phone call. Your choice.

 

[Aisling]

A phone with preprogrammed numbers would be a great solution. You don't necessarily want her to be able to call others or text, but you want her to be able to give you a quick call to say she got on the right bus - I think that's perfectly fine. I would also maybe enable some texting because sometimes a text is easier than a phone call. Your choice.

 

[NikiM20]

I may seem overprotective, but, I don't care about that. She is only 6 (7 on Halloween) and I would NEVER have thought I would be getting her a phone....and I may be ok after a month or so of her going on the bus, with no communication.....but


DD is going into first grade. The previous year she was dropped off in the am, we signed her into before care and after school she went to after care ON the school campus (so no leaving school grounds). This coming year we are trying a different after care program and the ONLY concern I have is her getting on the right bus and making it there each day. The teachers aren't hand walking the 1st graders like the do for K to the correct bus.

I was thinking of a prepaid phone with only DH and my work/cell phone numbers in it, just to let us know she arrived at her destination ok.

I just don't want her getting on the wrong bus, ending up in a bad part of town and no one noticing or missing the bus and standing around school and the chance for something bad to happen.

and I may also be a bit paranoid....one day last school year we were running late....when I dropped her off she was in a class other than her reg classroom (library or art or something)....when I got to work, her teacher was calling me wanting to know where she was....of course I freaked, DH was able to speed and get there within minutes and all was ok, but I sure would have loved to have called and heard her voice to know she was ok.

At that age DD's phone also had a feature where you could press a # for a certain person. We had taught her press 1 to call mom, 2 for dad, etc etc. I would definately get her a cell

 

[lillygator]

I think for 9.99 a month I am going to do it.

 

[DVCLiz]

I think for 9.99 a month I am going to do it.

Sounds like a good plan!!!

 

[LuvOrlando]

-

 

[powellrj]

I would get a cheap pre-paid like a tracfone. You can get them for really cheap and just add the min amount of minutes. That way if it gets lost or broken you aren't out much.

I think DS bought one at Big Lots for around $6 and then added minutes.

 

[Ohiodislover]

My daughter started w/ a firefly, at age 7. It had buttons for mom, dad, and a button on the side for 911. Also had room for 20 programmed in numbers to scroll through. No keypad. The only numbers that could call her were the numbers that she could call. Worked great. And to add her to my plan was only $10/month. She barely ever used it, but it was nice to have when she was out riding bikes with friends etc.

 

[beattyfamily]

In our house it was age 12/middle school.

To each their own.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If you feel that your child's safety is an issue then a cell phone is the way to go.

That is the reason my kids got cells in the first place.

 

[Acklander]

We got our son a cell when he was about 7 (he's 9 now). As we've upgraded our phones he usually gets someone's left over phone. He doesn't use it that much, just to check in with us if he's out and about, or if he's with the sitter he might call me at work now and then and occasionally calling a friend. We don't have a house phone though, which is why we went with his getting a phone at an earlier age.