How young is to young to have a cell phone?

janie1234

janie1234

Cathlete
Hello everyone! My kids are 7 and 9 a few months shy of 8 and 10. I live in a small and I mean small town in Napa County California, . . less than 3,000 people. I've been allowing them a little more freedom to walk to a small park less which is less than 1 and 1/2 blocks away from our house to play with other kids. I know everyone says this but my kids are really good. I've been strapping my cell phone to my daughters waist (with a spri-no bounce fanny pack) and telling them that when the phone rings it is time to come home. It has worked great and of course I sneak over and spy on them to make sure everything is okay. I never thought I would ever in my life get my kids a cell phone but my cell phone is far to expensive for me to allow them to use. I wanted to get them a really cheap phone as an add on to my plan. Do you think 7 and 9 is to young to own a phone? It would only be used for me calling them and not friends.
 
There are companies out there that offer phones/plans made just for kids with controls on them so that you have total control over what they use it for. Look into it. I think that if they are allowed to go out and play w/o you watching over them then it's probably worth it for piece of mind AND to save your cell phone from eventual and sure destruction. ;)
 
We got the kids a phone (ONE phone for the two of them) to use when they are at activities when it would be useful for them to have a phone. My DS was taking skiing lessons and I was sort of freaking out about the thought of him on the slopes by himself - what if the chaperons miscount, and he's left there???? Or he gets in early/late to the pick-up location? They are very good with it and we only give it to them when it is necessary for them to have it (or convenient for us for them to have a phone). They are 10 and 7, btw.

Sounds like you have a great reason for getting one for them - go for it.
 
A few times my kids have been caught on chair lifts during mechanical breakdowns and cell phones have been a god send for those occasions. My youngest was allowed a cellphone when he was at sporting events and other activities since the age of 10. Great for reminding them to come home, don't forget their backpacks etc.

Now they are older, the kids text when they are on their way home from work or school and ask if they need to pick anything up. My youngest is 3000 miles away at Grandma's house right now, he calls in the morning and texts me in the evening. It doesn't run up Grandma's phone bill.

I vote yes for 8 and 10 year olds.
 
I would get them phones. I like the idea of them being able to call if they're in trouble or need help, etc...
I think there are phones that you can control what they're doing with. Or phones that only call 3 pre-programed #s...things like that.
 
janie1234 said:
Hello everyone! My kids are 7 and 9 a few months shy of 8 and 10. I live in a small and I mean small town in Napa County California, . . less than 3,000 people.
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First of all, I just wanted to say how super jealous I am of where you live! My dh and I visited the Napa Valley about nine years ago and love love loved it!! Sooooo pretty!!! Lucky you!!

Secondly, I think that it's really your own decision to make. I'm not going to let my kids have a cell phone until they go to college. Well, at least that's the plan for now (they currently are 8, 5 and 20 months, so we've got awhile to go!). But the 8 year old already has been asking for one. He just wants to call his friends and show it off. And I have a problem with that. I may be very archaic in my thinking but I never had one until college, and I did just fine. :) I also won't let him get a DS or a Kindle or any other unnecessary electronic device that seems to be an elementary school status symbol these days.
 
I gave my girls (9 and 10) my old cheap cell phone, it is now called the "family" phone. They know it is just to call me or DH, not to text, call friends, etc.

My 10-yr old has diabetes and I can't always depend on adults she is with to check in with me. Or if they are riding bikes, etc. around the neighborhood, it's nice to be able to give them a shout for dinner.

We ended up getting a Family Map feature on the phone that can track down where your kids are if "something" happens. Thought that was kinda cool.
 
Like Stephanie said, this IS an individual decision.

My kids will be 13 and 10 in October, and I have absolutely NO intention of getting EITHER of them a phone. None. They've stopped asking. They simply do not need it. In our case, I am home when they walk out the door to walk to school. I am home when they walk IN the door from school. During the school day, I work IN our school district so all their teachers know how to contact me immediately. I drop them at all of their activities (or they get a ride with a friend) where there is ALWAYS an adult in charge (sport practice, school activity, etc). 90% of the kids around my boys all have phones so they could very easily use theirs to call me if need be. They go to a friend's house.....there is always an adult there too.

Yes, there have been a few situations where it WOULD have been beneficial for my older son to have had a phone. But a handful of situations doesn't justify the cost of it, FOR ME.

Call me cold, but I feel no guilt that my kids are among the last to get a phone. It's simply about need vs want for us.
 
I got my DD a cell for Christmas in 6th grade (11), she's now going to be a freshman. She's always been in LOT'S of after school activities, and it was needed...She'd been asking for one forever (it seemed like), and we started with a pre-paid plan...Well, for a social phone for a tween, it is NOT the way to go. Within 2 months I had her switched to Sprint on my plan. These are the rules:

-It is plugged in and unlocked by 10pm (9pm on school nights).
-She has unlimited texts, picture mail and talk...
-I look at ALL picture mails online (no deleting from there!).
-She will hang up with a friend when I call (emergancy), since we usually text.
-Her phone is not a "right", but a privelage. Took her a bit to figure that out! She's had it taken away once for grades (had a C+)...I don't think that will be an issue again since I've said no sports without a 3.0...

MJ in MN
 
Thanks everyone. I also believe that phones are a privilage not a right.

I'm actually pretty strict in comparrison to other parents around here. I know this may sound awful but my kids luckily have the fear that "I'm watching them all the time." When they do something wrong I make them responsible. For example if they get a check by their name in school for talking when they shouldn't I make them go up to the teacher after school to apologize. They are both so scared to death to do it but I make them, . . the fear of having to do that makes them follow directions in school.

If they get in trouble for something else at home and I mean for doing something really bad I take a toy that they really like and make them donate it to the local homeless shelter. It has taught them to be grateful and respectful for all that they are lucky to have.

Don't get me wrong ladies, . .I love my kids and reward them plenty but to many times have I heard kids in the neighborhood calling their parents "stupid" or "idiots" or lie without any hessitation at all, . . in my house that is unaceptable.

If I got them a family share phone it deffinitely would not be for social reasons. When I've given them the phone to go and play it is secure in a very slim fanny pack which is not to be taken out and shown off to others. It is simply my way of "beeping" them to come home. Why did beepers ever go out of style?

I just don't want them staying indoors all summer. I want them to ride their bikes, play, . . and climb trees, . . .explore, . .. but I also realize that there are some creepy people out there that do bad things and I want to be able to know I can have my kids come home when I want them to.
 
I didn't read all posts but call me REALLY old-fashioned...what about a watch? Tell they need to come home at such and such time and stick to it.
 
As others have said, I think this is a very individual decision...as are most things when it comes to parenting. My DD is 12 and has had a phone since she was 11 (it was her birthday present). She started with one of my old phones. I have the phone locked so that she can only text or call (send AND receive) from people in her contacts. I have to unlock it for her to add people to contacts.

DD now rides the bus home and that was the primary reason we got her the phone. She knows she has to call me as soon as she steps off the bus and stay on the phone with me until she is in the house. DS, on the other hand, is 10 (and a half) and couldn't care less about getting a phone. I am sure that will change though!

Carrie
 
Whatever works best for you and your family is the best decision. It's your call and I'm sure you'll make the right one. :)

There are too many variables these days to say what's the absolute right thing to do in every circumstance re: kids & cell phones. Kids are different. Neighborhoods are different. Schedules are different. Parents are different. Do whatever fits your needs.
 
my kids are 22 and 17. They got cell phones when them not having them was inconvenient to
me. After sitting in the high school parking lot waiting for the sports or band bus to get back, and not knowing when it would get back, I found them having one to call me for a ride home was better than sitting for hours.
 
dorothyrd said:
my kids are 22 and 17. They got cell phones when them not having them was inconvenient to
me. After sitting in the high school parking lot waiting for the sports or band bus to get back, and not knowing when it would get back, I found them having one to call me for a ride home was better than sitting for hours.
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That's why I got them for my kids also.
 
I was reading an article in Men's Health magazine (my son's) that the kid's who get a phone before they are 20 have a 5 time more chance for a brain tumor than those that don't use a cell phone.

All of the experiments saying cell phones in the US are safe are done by the phone companys. The article said that testing done in Europe say that there is a risk of brain tumors from cell phone use for every age.

In the past I would have ignored this info but out of the 400 tax returns I do I had 3 clients last year with brain tumors. That seems a very high number.

Joan
 
dorothyrd said:
That would be if they sat and talked on them. Kids don't talk on cell phones much, they text.
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Me too. I hate talking on the phone. Most of the communication I use my phone for is via text as well. The only person I talk on the phone to w/any regularity and for more then 5 mins at a time is my mom. She's old fashioned that way. :p
 
I'm telephone incompetent. I can use a computer like the best of them but with cell phones, . . .I'm like a deer stuck in the head lights. I just learned how to text a few months ago and find it. :eek: At first I didn't understand why anyone would text at all, . . wouldn't it be easier just to call and leave a message? Then I figured it out, . . you can communicate without having to communicate.
 
You can communicate quietly. I think that is the charm of it. I work in a cubicle with others just a few feet away. My phone is on vibrate, and if the kids want to say something to me, they text and it is far less obtrusive then the guy whose wife calls him 10 times a day and he has to rush out of the room with his phone to answer her.
 
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