OT - cellphone at what age??

[snickerboo]

I used to think "they don't need a cell at 11 or 12" but now that dd is 10 1/2, I'm re-thinking that. 11/12 is where they start to want their freedom a little but they still don't have the best judgement. A friend of mine gives her ds her cell when he goes to the park on his own so that she can call him from it and check in or he can call her if there's an emergency. For me, the cell phone has absolutely nothing to do with letting dd be cool or constantly keep in touch with her friends, and everything to do with safety. We're thinking a pay-as-you-go cell as soon as she's old enough that we start letting her do things without us. There are a lot of weird people in the world and I do think having a cell, with only limited minutes that you check daily, may be a prudent thing. Not to mention, pay phones are beocming more and more rare now that so many peopel ahve cell phones so it's not as easy for a tween or teen to call home if necessary if they don't have their own phone.

 

[Mickey1Fan]

I think 16 is a reasonable age for a cellular phone. When my son was able to be out driving on his own was when he got his.

OP - What is your daughter interested in - reading, scrapbooking, cooking, writing, photography, coin collecting, stamp collecting...this could be a good year to start a hobby that could last a life time.

 

[Ericadawn]

I think a reasonable age is when you think your child will be responsible with it along with when they start having school activities and things where they need to call you to pick them up.

 

[TashaRVT]

Thanks so much for your input, everyone.

DH and I came to the conclusion (okay, so more like I kind of steamrolled him, haha) that she is in indeed too young for a cellphone. She has a DS and an ipod, and has lost both of them on several occasions; that, to me, says that she's really not responsible enough for a cellphone.

Instead, we've decided to get her a pre-loaded iTunes giftcard so she can download to her heart's content!