Kids and Cell Phones - Kennesaw,GA

I like how a friend of mine works it. She has her own cell phone, and for $10 extra a month she added ONE line to her plan. (She has 4 kids) If her kids are going somewhere they might need a phone, (club activites, out with a friend, etc.) then they get to take the extra. It has minimal minutes, and no texting. If more than one kid needs it, then she gives it to the one who would need it more. That way she can contact them, or vice-versa. She could afford a phone for each kid... but she doesn't feel like they need their own. Her plan is that when they get their driver's license, and a job, she will pay 1/2 of their phone plan.

My son isn't going to have a cell phone until he can afford to pay the bill. Until then, we'll give him quarters for the pay phone. Not every kid needs a cell phone. Latchkey kids? I get it. But for many of us, this just seems like a very expensive toy.

You are not alone. Money IS a very real consideration. You are not old fashioned. (We drive a '92 Honda, by the way, with better gas mileage than a Prius, so it's not about the age of the car.:) )

Way too young!!! My oldest is almost 6 and I would never even consider it! Kids need cell phones when they're not constantly with an adult. Kids ages 6-10 should constantly be with an adult. Rich or poor, kids this young generally have no need for a cell phone.

I bought my son a pre-pay cell phone when he was 8... right after his school bus was in an accident and I didn't get a call to come pick him up from the hospital until several hours later, tyvm.
We shut it off after we began homeschooling.

Now we're looking into getting one for the kids to share, as we have several involved in outside activities that overlap. We want whomever is not with a parent to have a phone.

We would not buy kids cell phones as "toys". They're tools.

My daughter got a cell phone when she was just shy of 18, had her own job and could pay for it herself.
Now, I had tried to get her a cell phone for her birthday and she told me she didn't like it because it wasn't the kind her friends had. It returned it, got my money back, and never offered another one.
She lived.

Being a single working mom, I bought my son a tracfone (pay as you go) for emergencies. It was no frills. No photos, no internet, no texting. He will be 16 next month and still has no photo, internet or texting on his phone. It's not necessary in my opinion. He has a digital camera and a computer at home with e-mail. The bases are covered. Oh, he has plenty of friends with phones who do all of that and I can't tell you how many of them have lost their phones, had them stolen, accidentally dropped them and broke them.
They get new phones like they get new shoes and to me, it's a bit much.
That's just my opinion.
Even young kids can be responsible with cell phones. And I do think there are situations where they are needed for communication with their parents in some circumstances.
I may be old fashioned too. Sometimes I think we give our kids things too young and it just opens the door for wanting the next version or keeping up with what their friends have.
Again, just my opinion.

It matters, many new cell phones have a GPS tracker so you can see everywhere the cell goes (some parents are too lazy to keep track of their kids and use this, others use it because the child has proven untrustworthy and they need it), you can call if you need help or 911 easily.

I have a 5, 3 and 1 year old and we have our next door neighbor that got her 5 year old son a Moto Droid. I think it is insane but then again her child is kinda latch key, takes the bus, is home with an adult but that adult is practically bed ridden so the kid is on his own a lot (and over at my house as I know I can at least be a stable influence on his life). Mom and dad both work crazy hours and grandma stays home and keeps the kid. They can't afford to do it otherwise so I can see how a phone would be a boon.

On the other hand I would not let my kids have one until much older. I am home and I am involved in their life so my kids don't need it.

We can afford cell phones for all the kids. Only the one in high school gets one because she is after school every day The other two, 13 and 10 will get one when they need it. I don't see that in their near future either.

There have been many post on this subject. Personally, I don't believe any child under age 9 needs a cell phone. My girls got theirs it was because they were walking home from school by themselves, were frequently staying after school for events, they would take overnight filed trips out of state, I wanted to be able to have contact with them.

You should trust your gut feeling and do what's best for your family.

I'm a very old fashioned type mom in many respects. My kids tend to always be the very last ones to get the "new craze". Many times it's a financial reason but others we just don't feel the need. The VERY last reason to do something is b/c their friends are doing it. I don't need to show my kids that even I give into that kind of peer pressure.

I have a 12 yo boy and 10 yo girl. We have always told them that there is no need for them to carry a cell phone b/c we will never have them anywhere when they are not with an adult who carries one, i.e. school, scouts, sports, sleepovers, etc.. However, my husband recently got a job where he carries a work cell phone. That left us with an extra one. We told the kids it will be for them with our approval - it will be plugged in until an adult unplugs it, they are not to call friends, we will check for msgs and sent calls. In essence, it is for our peace of mind, not to increase their social standing. It has come in handy when my 12 yo walks the dog in the neighborhood by himself or when I have to drop him off at one sport practice while I take my dtr to hers. So far it has not been misused.

My sons asks every once in a while, "How old will I have to be to have my own cell phone?" My standard reply is, "Having your own cell phone shows that you can be responsible for what it's used for. That responsibility comes with maturity. When you are mature enough to brush you teeth 2x/day without being reminding my be for a whole week, we will consider it." I figure we've got until he goes off to college. LOL.

I think if you don't have a land line in your home (a lot of people don't) and your child is a latch key kiddo then a cell phone is appropriate because they need to be able to call you otherwise I don't think a child needs one until they start driving. I know the only time I use mine is when I need AAA to come tow me.

If a kid is mature enough, does not treat it like a toy, and does not treat it as a social event, and does not go around giving out their phone number to whomever... and understands it is just for calling mommy/daddy/for emergencies etc., then per a reasonable age, they can use a cell-phone.
Parents give their kids cell phones (at least my friends do), for EMERGENCY use and because their kids are perhaps in after school programs and are not picked up until they get off work, often after 5:00pm.
AND, they give their kids, cell phones which has NO TEXTING on it. AND, the kids are given strict instructions... that their phone-number is NOT to be given, out to whomever. Because, Mommy & Daddy pay for it. It is not for socializing.
IF a child can understand those parameters, then it is NOT an 'entertainment' toy. It is a cell-phone. NOT a toy. NOT a 'thing' to have just because all the other kids have one.
It is a way to communicate with Mommy & Daddy. And for emergencies.
ONLY while at school. If not at school & they are with Mommy & Daddy.... their kids are NOT allowed to just have it 24 hours a day, nor go to bed with it. They are not allowed to have it all the time. It is still the Mom & Dad's phone. But it is for their child to 'use'... when needed and per circumstance. So, thus, their kids don't have the cell-phone with them all the time. When not needed/not in use, the Parent.... hangs onto it.
Then it is given to their child, when it is needed.
These are the RULES, my friends have with their kids, per cell phones. Ya know?
Common sense.

My Daughter is 8. She does not need one. Nor does she have one. But she is mature. I would trust her. But she has no 'need' for one. I am home with her, I am a SAHM, she is not anywhere just by herself etc. nor does she walk home by herself etc., and she would not need one. And I am with her at her lessons too.

To me, a 6,7 year old, is not responsible enough. They would at the least, loose it somewhere. For example.
For older kids, Latchkey kids, kids home alone or on their own or what not, a cell phone is practical. Not a 'toy'. But again, a child has to be able.... to use it, as per the RULES of the parent. If not, it gets taken away.
A cell phone, per young kids, is NOT an 'entertainment' center. It is not, for that reason. Taking and sending pics to each other on phones... yah, kids even send naked pic of themselves/others that way too.
Some kids, just cannot... handle the responsibility of a phone. Nor the use of it. NO matter what age.

One Grandparent for example, told me of a bunch of Teens eating at a fast food restaurant. They were all giggling. This was a bunch of boys and girls. One of the girls, was, with her CELL phone, taking photos of herself.... under her skirt... and sending it to her guy friends, at the table.
The Grandparent that told me this, said it was disgusting.
But well... that is one of the things, that kids can do with cell phones... which has photo and texting capability on it.
So, no wonder there are all kinds of problems... with kids sending each other lewd photos of each other and Bullying by texting on phones.

It is not a toy.
It is a phone.
Still.

There is a difference between a BASIC phone and a phone that has all the bells and whistles on it.
A kid, does not need all that.

I say no because of the harmful radiation from the radio signals! They still have developing brains and should not be holding a cellphone up to their ear!

As long as I can hold off.......my kids will not have cell phones. it is a way for them the check out. there is a lot of parents that have a need for them if they are in sports or need a ride when something is done or going away for a weekend and things like that.........but for my family we are not at a place where I will give my child one just because. She is 11 and many of our 5th graders have cell phones. I think it is a distraction, a toy too them at this age. Fun little device to hear music, play with, take pics....
Thankfully my child has not asked me for one and have not said she wants one.

I think you are right. I don't think it's a matter of being old fashioned but in giving kids too much too soon.
Having said that if your kid walks home I say a pre-paid phone is okay.
If you can put it off (barring safety for your child) then I say do so.

I agree - Middle School is early enough. My daughter has a Trac Phone which is a pay as you go thing. I add minutes to it every few months as needed. She uses the phone to keep in contact with me when she's not with me. It has come in handy many times. I feel it's a good safety measure if she ever needs to communicate something to me when I'm not with her. She does not spend countless hours texting friends (that usually leads to drama at this age anyway). She does text my sister (her favorite aunt) and keeps in touch with her older cousins which everyone in the family appreciates.

IMO no way! there is no need for a kid who isnt a freshman in high school to have a cell phone. even a kid in middle school who is only 12-13 should have an adult around most of the time (which would mean they dont need their own phone)

It's a personal thing / aka there is no one right answer. Sometimes phones are an absolute necessity, sometimes they're a luxury.

My 8yo has had a cell of his own for 3 years now. He pays the monthly bill ($10) out of his allowance. If he doesn't have enough $ come bill time, then the service gets suspended for a month (has happened a couple times). We bought his newest phone as a present (iPhone 3gs... fifty bucks through apple), but typically if he wants to replace his phone he saves up the money and pays for it himself.

In our family, it's an absolute necessity as well as VERY useful just in everyday life. There is a whole HOST of reasons it's necessary, but the simplest of them is this: we have no house line. It's about 4 times as expensive for us to have 1 house line than 3 cell phones.

I WILL say that a very handy "side effect" of getting him a cell quite young is that he's learned the "rules" for them right along with other "basic" rules. And since he's so young; my word is law. Just like not peeing on the living room floor, or going for a walk at midnight. He's not a teen pushing boundaries, or "OMG OMG OMG I have a phooooooone!!!!!!!" It's just plain, old, boring, NORMAL to him.

My eight year old kept begging for a phone. I finally told her that she could have a pre-paid phone and that she would need to pay for the minutes using her birthday, Christmas, report card money. We bought the $10 phone and about three months worth of minutes. She finally let the minutes expire and never bought any more because she said that her friends never called her on it. That was two years ago and she hasn't mentioned it anymore.

I like the idea of a "pay as you go/pay upfront" cell phone with no frills. I think 10 yr or so, if they are in activities or take a bus...so that they can call 1) mom and dad 2) emergency contact 3) 911
That would be the extent of it unless there was permission granted to do otherwise.
When I was in grad school, one of the girls in the class ahead of me was doing a rotation at a hospital and as she left, was abducted and locked in a trunk. She saw the plate number and called 911 from the trunk and was rescued. That visual is always in my head...
I also like the idea of just paying for an extra phone and "lending it out" to the kids...say if the 9 year old wants to ride bikes down by the pier, you bet your butt I'd want them to take a cell phone in case of emergencies.

my almost 14 year old recently got his first cell phone. it's my old pay as you go phone. it comes in handy when he's with his friends in the neighborhood and i need him home quickly. but i don't much for it, nor would i give my 7 year old the same phone. nor would i buy an iphone or a similar phone for him. when he can pay the bill, he can upgrade the phone!

My youngest is 12 and will NOT have his own phone for at least 3-4 more years. My oldest son got his as a sophomore because of band trips. We will loan my husbands phone to him when he needs a phone-IF he needs. None of us have an expensive phone nor internet service via the phones. They are phones for calling or texting only.
BTW, I was surprised your example of friends having phones spoke of it being at a Scout event! I was shocked as all the Scout events we've been at, phones among the kids are not allowed. After meetings or before is ok but not during.
Good luck on making your phone decision.

There is NO reason for anyone to have a cell phone that young! I got one once I started driving. Before that, why would I possibly need one? I think that is ridiculous for a 6 year old to have a phone.

I think it depends on the child, the situation, your finances and your rules.

We got my SD one when she was 7 because there was a lot of turmoil going on at her mom's house and we wanted her to feel secure that she could call us at ANY time if she felt unsafe. She had a 4-button phone and it could only call the pre-programmed numbers in the phone.

We made the mistake of upgrading her to a regular phone at age 9 because she wanted the ability to talk to more family members. She was not mature enough to handle it and prank called relatives and such. She didn't know that we could see EVERYTHING that she did and that her phone number showed up on other people's phones when she called them!

Now she had a texting phone and we have restrictions on it. I love our cell phone service, we can put any kind of restriction on it that we want. She can only use the phone to text or call between the hours of 1pm and 9pm (after school). But the "safe" numbers she can call/text any time, her mom, my husband and me.

She's 10 and so far a lot of her friends have cell phones. They call and text each other and I think it's cute. I keep good tabs on what she's doing and so far no problems. I'm proud at the maturity she's shown with it. Plus, we do like knowing we can get ahold of her at her mom's and I think her mom likes knowing she can talk directly to her daughter at any time.

It all depends on your situation. You're the mom, you get to choose anything that you want and don't let anyone tell you you're wrong!

I agree with you and I don't think you are old fashioned. At least wait until middle school. My sister in law told her middle schoolers that they could have a phone when they could afford to pay for them themselves. I am so impressed that her two children are paying for their own phones. I am not sure what they pay -- I think she added them onto her plan and pay for their use. What a great way to teach responsibility! Both parents and children are satisfied with this outcome.

I think they should be able to have i guess maybe a payphone. payphones are simple or you can call them gophones!

My dd has my old phone, she is 8 in July. It is only used when she goes out to play with friends in the street (either directly across the street or a few houses down) I watch her walk to there houses then after that I know I can get in contact with her quickly. The only numbers on it are mine, my parents and my sister. She doesn't use it or take it anywhere else. She is too young to be texting and chatting to friends on the phone. :-)

My kids do not have cell phones and neither do any of their friends, they are 6 and 9 , we are thinking that next year when my daughter goes to 4th grade she will get one for emergencies. She will start walking to and from school .

Also do you know these phones really are theirs? They might have been their parents phones

My children are never in a position where they aren't with an adult that they know with a cell phone. They're still always supervised and aren't allowed to go out with friends to the movies or mall or anywhere without a chaperone. My eldest is 10 years old. They're not a toy and they're not a necessity.

Until they actually need a cell phone, they won't get one. There will have to be a need proven before we'll allow any of the girls to get one. And it won't have internet access, it won't have texting, it won't even have a camera or games on it. It will have a GPS locator and only a few specific allowed outgoing phone numbers and that's it until they're old enough to pay for their own lines.

My son will be 10 years old this summer. What we're doing currently is that we have an old cell phone with a pay-as-you-go plan on it, which we hand him only when the situation demands it -- if he's walking to his friend's house, or going somewhere with a friend and we want to be able to get in touch with him, etc. I suspect that we'll be getting him a cell phone within the next few years. He spends half his time with us and half his time at his dad's, and at some point it will become important for his friends to be able to reach him at a consistent number -- when that happens, I guess it will be time for him to have a cell phone.

my son was given his own cell phone when he began attending afterschool clubs/activities .....& then walked home alone.

He now wants a data plan & we told him NO...not until he's working & paying for his own!