Kids and Cell Phones

[NikiM20]

How old were your kids when you got them their cell phone? DD6 is always on the go with school, and cheering, and gymnastics. We were thinking about getting her the firefly.I know I would feel more comfortable if she had one but DH says shes too young.

 

[KathyFP]

My DD (7) has a verizon that is on a family share plan. She has had it since summer.

 

[minkydog]

Why does a 6yo need a cell phone?

 

[NikiM20]

Why does a 6yo need a cell phone?

Why do you need a cell phone? All I asked was what age people got their kids first cellphone....I didnt ask for rude comments

 

[dpayne1969]

my son was about 10 when i got him his and he has had it for 3 years now and is very responsible with it.He is on mine and hubbys family plan for 9.99 a month.He has never went over his minutes and has not lost it yet.(knock on wood)He had it last year during our vacation and i like him having 1.he plays football for the school and dont get back in town sometimes till 9pm and he calls me or hubby to come pick him up.i personally think it depends on the maturity level of the child.My DD9 wants 1 but i feel she is not responsible enough yet for 1.

 

[minkydog]

Why do you need a cell phone? All I asked was what age people got their kids first cellphone....I didnt ask for rude comments

I'm sorry, I wasn't being rude. I'm just trying to figure out why a 6yo would need a cell phone. Older, more independent kids(middle school, high school) I can see, but my younger kids were always with me or at a chaperoned event. I can't imagine why they would need a phone, but maybe yours does. I'm sorry you took offense. I wasn't questioning your parenting.

 

[Mom to Jordan]

DS was 12. That was the age when he started being in situations where there was not always adult supervision every minute. Things like ball games after school, friends I did not know quite as well, scout trips etc. We started him with a track phone and once we saw he would handle it well, we added him on to our plan.

Jordans' mom

 

[pweyl36]

i agree with minkydog,why would a 6yr need a cell phone.my 8yr old asked for
one,and i told her no,because she is ethier with us her parents or at a friends
house

 

[NotUrsula]

Let's turn the question around: *why* would you feel better if your 6 yo had one? What kind of situations do you envision her being in where she might need to call you, and in which she would be allowed to call you? These are the factors you need to think about before you decide.

DS would not have needed one at 6; the only time he did not have one of his parents or grandparents with him was when he was in school, and children are not allowed to make phone calls during school hours anyway -- if it is an emergency the office will call the parents. At that age, he did not play any sports or have any practices where he was dropped off; we took him and stayed until he was finished. There was no time when he could have called us on a phone that wasn't also a time when he could have just yelled and had us come running. That being so, a cell phone for him would have been pointless.

I think for most of us, the time when we might consider a kid needing a cell phone would be an age where they are customarily alone for some period of time, such as walking home alone from school or a friend's house, waiting alone for a bus in the morning, or waiting for a ride alone after an activity. In the elementary grades, most activities will require that the supervising adult stay until the child is signed out by a pre-arranged person; kids are not allowed to just walk out the door under their own steam. If that is the case, there really isn't a need for a cell phone, especially one that is locked down to only calling parents or 911.

BTW, at 6, my DS was not allowed to use a phone without supervision unless it was such a serious emergency that he would be dialing 911. He didn't know numbers well enough at that age to be trusted to be able to dial a full-length number correctly.

 

[DVCLiz]

My oldest DD was 14, I think, when I gave her a cell phone. It was the beginning of ninth grade for her. I wanted to be able to get in touch with her on weekends (she spends every other weekend with her dad) without having to call his house, get an answering machine, etc. She felt more comfortable having it in case she needed to call me when she wasn't with me. My younger DD will get a cell phone next year for her birthday or Christmas. She'll be 13 then. She's been able to use her sister's phone until now, but her sister will be away at college next year.

Many people on this board see a cell phone as a privilege of age or a "need" based item. You've already heard some of the opinions you are likely to get, and I think you'll hear more. I wouldn't let it color my feelings - if you and your husband agree, then that should decide the matter. If you don't, then it should be a matter for the two or you to negotiate.

 

[we3disneygo]

my dd has had a trac phone since 5th grade when she started going to things after school and with friends and their familes places. at age 6 she would have not had the need for one.

 

[NikiM20]

For the record DD has been using our homephone for years now....She calls her grandparents everynight....she is more advanced than most kids her age....not only has she skipped a grade but she is in an advanced class. I like knowing that if she goes somewhere with friends or rides somewhere with someone besides us she can get in touch with us. and I can program up to 20 #s in there for her to call. she goes to a private school where they ARE allowed to bring their phones. I do drop her off at gymnastics it gives me time to run to the store. Sorry all of you think im such a horrible mother

 

[msmayor]

I don't think you're a horrible mother.

I think, though, that giving a cell phone to a 6 year old is more 'want' than 'need', for many of the reasons other posters have already stated. I simply can't imagine a time when, if you're being a responsible parent, that a 6 year old would be without sufficient adult supervision (and an adult who has access to either a land line or cell phone) to require his/her own phone.

I personally feel that many parents (and I'm generalizing here, so please don't take offense) indulge their children with multiple electronic 'toys' (and yes, I feel a cell phone at 6 is a 'toy'). TV's and DVD players in their bedrooms, iPods, phones, multiple computer game platforms...its all ridiculous excess.

My daughter is 14, and got her cell phone when she joined the field hockey team and her return home from away games was not at a set time. This allows her to call me as the bus pulls back into school so I can pick her up.

The phone is a prepaid type, for basic calls. No credit card is attached to the phone so when the money runs out, it runs out and the phone dies. I check her account on line every week, and any phone calls she makes that are not to our house or my cell phone come out of her allowance. (one week she ended up turning her entire allowance over for phone calls...she learned how expensive a cell phone can be if she's careless, and its never happened again). We warned her not to give her number out to her friends, but of course she did and now finds herself telling her friends NOT to call her...because it costs HER money.

Now my son, 11, keeps saying he wants one. We told him he'd get one only when he needs it, just like his sister.

 

[anabelle]

My DS12 is asking for one. I am torn. He got back from a game at 11PM the other night. The bus was stuck in traffic. My DH waited and waited for him. We wish he would have had a phone that night. I am just afraid that he will lose it or it will get stolen at school. They seem so expensive. Is a Trac phone a pay as you go phone?

 

[MinnieGirl33]

DS11 & DS8 got theirs last summer (they share one).

They have a Boost Mobile which is pay-as-you-go & can "chirp" (walkie-talkie) into my & DH's Nextel phones if needed.

If it will make you more comfortable & your feel your daughter is responsible enough to use & care for the phone I would absolutely get one.

 

[MrsPete]

We gave our daughter a cell phone for her 11th birthday /completion of elementary school. We bought it because when she started middle school, she was the last to leave the house (stayed alone 30 minutes each morning, locked the door herself, and walked to the bus stop on the corner). We thought there was potential for trouble: locking herself out of the house, missing the bus, etc. We also chose to give it to her because she was going to away to an academic camp, and we wanted her to be able to call during that time. She's been very responsible with it.

I personally wouldn't have given it to her any younger. I don't think a younger child would be up to keeping it charged, taking care of it, etc. If I was going to get one, I don't think I'd go with the Firefly because it's more expensive than other cell phones. I added my daughter to our existing cell phone plan for only $10/month.

The current trend towards every kid having a cell phone concerns me for different reason: As a high school teacher, I'd estimate that 90% of my kids have cell phones. Yes, literally. My students are seniors, they're old enough to drive and work, and it's a rare kid who doesn't have a cell phone of his own. I really think parents are supervising their children LESS because they feel "safer" knowing that the kid can call if he's in trouble. I think teens are being allowed to run around more, stay out later, and hang around with kids the parents don't know BECAUSE of cell phone. Of course, it doesn't have to be like this, but it's something I'm seeing constantly.

What does that have to do with the original poster? Nothing, I guess. Just an observation.

NikMom: Sorry you think people have the idea you're a horrible parent, but you asked a question and people responded with their opinion. This is a controversial topic, and a variety of opinions is to be expected.

 

[minkydog]

For the record DD has been using our homephone for years now....She calls her grandparents everynight....she is more advanced than most kids her age....not only has she skipped a grade but she is in an advanced class. I like knowing that if she goes somewhere with friends or rides somewhere with someone besides us she can get in touch with us. and I can program up to 20 #s in there for her to call. she goes to a private school where they ARE allowed to bring their phones. I do drop her off at gymnastics it gives me time to run to the store. Sorry all of you think im such a horrible mother

I don't think anyone here thinks you are a horrible mother I'm glad your child is advanced for her age. If you want to buy her a cell phone, that is your right & privilege. Certainly you are a better judge of what she needs than we are.

 

[NotUrsula]

I don't see that anyone anywhere said that they think you are a horrible mother; opinions about you never came up at all. What most of us have said is that we essentially agree with your DH re: 6 probably being too young to have a personal cell phone.

You said that your DH thinks she is too young, so I, (and probably many other people), read your post as "is she too young, and if she isn't, what can I use to convince DH that this is a good idea?" There is an implied internal debate about the decision in the way that the post was worded, and since you told us what her age was, I looked at the decision in those terms.

My response was meant purely as a decision-making exercise: "ask yourself in what situations she would need such a thing." Logically, if you can come up with some that are actually likely to happen *to her* at this age, then getting a phone for the child makes sense, but if you can't, then getting it does not make sense, and if so, perhaps your DH is right about it being too soon.

I personally would not invest that much money on a pure "want" for a 6 yo; it would have to be a "need" for me to justify the expenditure. Your mileage may differ, and that's OK; you're not me. However, since you want an age number for my child, I'll give you one: 9 (next school year, 4th grade). It will be a loaner for one week (my old phone, temporarily reactivated) while he is away at overnight scout camp. I doubt I will give him one full-time before he is 12, and perhaps not even then -- it will depend on what is going on in his life at the time. At the moment, the only interest he has in cell phones is the same one he has in any electronic device, "What games can I play on it?"

I should perhaps point out that no one in this family is a social phone-chatter; we use our phones only when we need to, and we keep calls short. I've made about 60 calls on my cell phone this year, and all but 4 of those calls lasted less than two minutes. *I* barely need to have a cell phone, and I'm 43.

 

[Meezers]

Now granted...I am 43...but 4 years ago I moved back to the Atlanta area. From a remote desert part of Arizona where there was no cell service.

I didn't think I needed or wanted a cell phone...then...out doing errands...wanted to call DM to see if she needed/wanted some milk. Could NOT find a payphone...when I did...it cost 50 cents?! Store would not let me use their phone.

I have met some 6 year olds who would be responsible for a cell phone...I have also met some who shouldn't be allowed in public.

Get her a pink one...okay?

 

[bride03]

For the record DD has been using our homephone for years now....She calls her grandparents everynight....she is more advanced than most kids her age....not only has she skipped a grade but she is in an advanced class. I like knowing that if she goes somewhere with friends or rides somewhere with someone besides us she can get in touch with us. and I can program up to 20 #s in there for her to call. she goes to a private school where they ARE allowed to bring their phones. I do drop her off at gymnastics it gives me time to run to the store. Sorry all of you think im such a horrible mother

I LOVE that firefly phone. I think that is a great idea. My younger brother will be six in July 06 and I think he would know his way around that firefly just like his own house!! I think that a child having a FIREFLY is great, a phone...not so great. Fireflies are programmed and you have such a great control over it. If it makes you feel safer...do it. Teaches responsiblility early too.