I teach classes to 8 thru 10th graders. Every single one of them has a cell phone. In our area- most kids age 12 and up have cells- I would say 90%. Even at the 10-11 age, I would bet it's around 60%.
You will find parents on both sides of the fence on this one. Ask yourself some questions:
1. What will it be used for?
2. What do YOU want it to be used for? (are the answers to 1 and 2 the same?)
3. Can your child handle not losing the phone?
4. Can they handle having a certain # of minutes? (if not, what phones will allow you to monitor this/get a handle on this issue)
In the end, the choice is yours. We can add 3 more lines to our plan for 10.00 each per month. My feeling is that once kids are away from you/family for any length of time- a cell phone is not a bad idea. Maybe that's overprotective, but at 5th grade, I remember going to sleepovers, heading to the mall and to the movies alone.
I remember once, my girlfriend and I were dropped off at the mall, no phones at the time (in the early 90s)....her mother went running around the mall for 40 minutes attempting to find us. My friends grandmother had died. Had we had phones, this would have not been an issue.
When I was a kid, payphones were EVERYWHERE. Our mall currently has no payphones...most places in our area don't have payphones- can't even remember the last time I've seen one. I view the cell as replacing the payphone. If you feel the need to only give the cell to your child as you deem necessary- that's your choice, your rules, your house
I know families that hold the phones until their child heads to the mall, movies, sleepover, camp etc etc.