Poll: At what age do you think it's appropriate for kids to get a cell phone and why?

Though other members of my extended family had provided phones at the age of 11 and 12, I did not. My daughter received hers on her sixteenth year. She had to show responsibility and exceptional grades in school. I am glad she did. Got her a LG Smartphone. She will be eligible for iPhone if she graduates HS with honors. Do fall for peer pressure. Kids are amazing and will understand if you work with them fairly.

Through 8th grade, our kids attended the school where their mom taught. I dropped them off in the morning and my wife brought them home when she left for the evening. When they went to high school and rode buses or needed to be picked up when their after-school activities finished, we decided that they should have a phone. The family account did not have data or TXTing (at first). After a while, we were going over our minutes every month and decided that it would be less expensive (and more useful to them) to add TXT than to add minutes. Our oldest just added data to her line when her first professional job required it and they were paying for it.

Dear Parents
Think it like this
Look at the many children was abducted by child molester, or kidnapped
If an children had a basic cell phone where they can push 911, they can call for help
You might save a lot of children lives
When the baby is born, walking, toddler, teen should have their fingerprints in with thier police department
Have a DNA sample of your children in your freezer to identify your child or children
Have a recent x ray of your children dental records
One tattoo will identify your child if they get limbs cut off by a child molest
This is an idea
Please think and pass on

My daughter was able to swim at the town pool by herself when she was 8 years old. My husband would leave his cell phone with her so that she could call to be picked up. As she got older, she became even more responsible and independent. At the age of 13, all of my children were walking to friends' houses after school, going out to practice sports, going into our town center with friends. That's when I got each one a cell phone; the phones were really for me, so that I could know if my children were OK. This year, my daughter sprained her ankle practicing lacrosse with friends. She had biked, and needed me to pick her up. I'm glad she has the phone. She also calls on her way to the library after school, or when she's planning to delay coming home. All of my kids are very independent. They may also use their phones to text their friends (all have data blocked, even my 20 year old, until they can pay for it themselves). Phones are not toys; they should be given to children who are responsible enough to care for them and use them responsibly. That age varies.

We live in a suburb, where there are no pay phones and you can not walk to town. Once my boys started sports and had shown that they were responsible, we gave them phones. If practice ended early, or if there was a problem, they needed to call us. I know that others had phones, coaches, etc. but having had a child stranded and unable to call me convinced me that being able to contact me was way more important than the cost.

The one reason my now 10 year old has had a cell phone for the last two years was an incident with the school bus line that caused some unsettling moments for my wife. While I was not really worried, she became petrified when my two girls were not home as expected and she had trouble locating them.

With the phone they have now, even if she doesn't answer it, I can track its whereabouts. She has it in her mind to make sure the phone is charging the night before so it will last all day.

She also knows it is a privilege to have the phone and it is a smartphone so it can also help her with her homework "when appropriate". Because it is a privilege, it can also be shut down with the exception of calling home. I do have a way to do this on the phone. I try to emphasize that I do not want to do this because it is a pain for me to do, but I will shut the phones options down so she can only call out and receive calls.

Eventually, my youngest one may get a phone since she will have to ride the bus solo next year because her older sister will be going to middle school.

It's strictly for safety , not entertainment. Just a phone, not a game or email or perpetual texting machine. When I was a kid, there were public phones everywhere, but now they're hard to find in Taiwan except in train and bus stations and airports. I want to be able to contact my kid at any time, and I want my kid to be able to contact me. One morning when he was 12 or 13, he was on his way to school and had a bicycle crash that required surgery. His cellphone allowed him to call me. I drove over to the crash site and took him to the hospital.

As a borderline Luddite, a retired 71 year old mechanical engineer who hates Silicon Valley, and thinks Apple is the ultimate Yuppie status symbol, I voted for the youngest group.

I think that given the current society we live in, that children should be taught to use a phone, if for no other reason than to be able to call for help, or to communicate with their parents, police, fire, and even friends. Cell phones are not going to disappear.

I don't think they should have all the whistles and bells, but a basic phone with a camera, which their parents teach them to use, and start at an early age to set the guidelines and to tell them what it is for. It is not a toy or a Gameboy, but a way to communicate. If the children's parents have any responsibility to their kids or to society, they will give their children a sense that they use the phone as it is intended, and that it isn't a status symbol.

Kids are kids, and they will have fun, and they will make mistakes; this is a given. But as an old guy, I have also watched my kids, and know that they have a lot more insight and native intelligence than what most people give them credit for. If they are taught as you would wish to be taught, they will get it.

If my kids had been born in the time of all this over the top communications devices (and other totally unnecessary electronic status symbols), I would have done the same thing.

This is a really good question. I voted in the lower end on the central range of votes, the 11-13 range. Having the conditional questions were also good too. The responses indicate that 12-15 year old range is the most popular result, and that parents understand that children should earn the privilege, and also need a phone if they start driving. I think as soon as a child is old enough be home alone, 12 by legal status, a phone can be practical. Especially if they are watching younger siblings and need to supervise them at a public park, or school yard when there is no teacher supervision. I think phones designed specially for the 12-16 year age groups, with limited capacities re: internet and open call reception from other phone lines not specified by parents. The best way to do this would to have an answering prompt that demands an access code to put the call through automatically and that these phones would have special, added security and microwave antenna shielding mandated by the government/CRTC for example; this king of built in precaution could reduce a LOT of harm, especially if it prevented children 12-16 from taking random pictures and uploading them onto the net instantly, instead they would be stored and only removable by the parents, with an access code. If the industry provided this kind of built in liability control right into a phone, parents might actually BUY IT, if it was easy and almost 'hand-off' to setup and manage! P.S. somebody tell Blackberry, and save the jobs of the people working there...that'd be nice actually!

My 3 grand children (2 girls and one boy) have cell phones. At least 3 times a year the girls over run their account to at least the tune of $20 and as much as $270 in a month. The concept of our grandchildren having Cell Phones in the first place was for their "security"... Rubbish! They no longer visit us since I forbid them texting non-stop when they visited and taking their phones off them at the table.

Some of us seem to believe we actually own our children but if we're lucky we'll get to enjoy their company until they move away and watch their own children do what they did as they grow up to eventually inherit what we leave behind... At the rate that family is spending money, there won't be much to leave!

My childhood was spent listening to the Lone Ranger on a crystal radio set I made. All one way communication until I made a walkie talkie affair and began chatting to my school mates when I could afford batteries. The only difference between then and now is time and money.

Today trying to influence my grandchildren to become interested in a hobby is a total waste of time. Their life is happening so fast, with so many varied interests, they don't have time for anything other than texting their friends.

I recall when cell phones arrived. A TV show demonstrated them. One presenter said he couldn't see much use for them by anyone except a doctor or perhaps Lawyers and at the cost, they were the only people who could afford them! How times have changed. Here we are discussing if our children should be allowed to have one of these electronic toys. It would be nice if before children got a cell... Their parents schooled them in the value of money and how to save it... Maybe then the bill over runs wouldn't happen.

What a meaningless poll!

You ask when a child should be allowed to get a cell phone without stating what privileges the child would be allowed.

Any child should be allowed to carry a where-am-I device with which the guardians could track down a missing child. Similarly, any child who is capable of doing so should be allowed to carry a device with which they can 1) call emergency services and 2) call home.

Beyond that, the decision about allowing the child should still center on privileges (e-mail, texting, web connection, games) related to the child's ability to handle these innocent-looking temptations.

But, additionally, I agree with the article we were directed to: a cell phone should not be a crutch for a child incapable of entertaining him- or herself. Every human being needs to learn how to use alone time without becoming dependent on access to another person: read, write, listen, play, walk, look, see, think, contemplate, study, understand, grow. There is nothing so sad as a child for whom "there is nothing to do!"

For kids 10 years and below I don't believe they should have a cell phone. However for kids 11 years and above I am in favor of them having a cell phone with limited access numbers, i.e. they can ONLY call a select list of numbers. This is a good safety feature for them since there may be situations when they need to call home to let parents know they will be late due to traffic, bus no show, or that they will work late on a group assignment, etc. This added safety will take a lot of stress away from the parents.
Part of my reasoning is that kids from the age of 11 are usually expected to make their way to and from school by themselves and this may sometimes catch them in delays. Even in an emergency if the kid dials the home number but then doesn't speak due to incapacitation etc. the phones location can be traced (even without GPS) via radio triangulation.

My 11 and 14 yr old gkids have very basic cell phones that can only be used for emergency calling. They are not allowed to use these phones for social stuff. I have to say, I had my doubts in the beginning but they have been very responsible and have not abused the priviledge. Of course, the plans used are as basic as you can get and with limited call time available. It is nice for me to know that they can call me in an emergency or to tell me when they leave school. If they had smart phones with all the bells and whistles I would be very unhappy.

...There are basic phones, (they are probably hard to come by these days), phones that will do a limited amount a basic texting, and the more advanced smart-phone or even a cell phone with unlimited texting.

I don't see the advantage of allowing a kid to have 24/7 access to the Internet and social media just because "that's what my friends have". When they are younger, they just don't need it and when they get old enough to drive, it can be a horrible distraction.

A simple phone with limited basic texting can do what is necessary and it doesn't even have to have GPS enabled. Just ask the NSA. They can track a simple cell phone without the phone even making and emergency call. The phone only needs to be turned on as it will "check-in" periodically with all the cell towers it can reach.

A simple phone will provide the necessary ability for any child to contact authorities or parents whenever the need arises. And limited texting will teach a child to be responsible for each text they make.

Grandson is 9 and had a cel for about a year with limited minutes and text messages, for a 9 year old he is pretty responsible kid he uses his phone to talk to his mom and for emergencies (mainly to call mom( he uses text to talk to other family members and his friends , mostly family. He has used when he has had sever asthma attacks to get a hold of mom for example.. he has one of the older style flip phones . i have other grand kids that are not nearly as responsible and so i would say age is dependant pm each kid and the circumstances.

I went into a Souvlaki Hut for a dinner item. there were two servers one had a cell phone in her hands along with the food serving plastic gloves on. so where ever that phone has been is now on the gloves and she continues to prepare the food with the same gloves on. the management needs to get a stricter policy on food preparation.

When my children started participating in sports and other afterschool activities, it became apparent that they needed a basic cell phone to let me know when they needed to be picked up. There are no pay phones in the school, the main office closes around 4 (and they don't want the students coming in to use the phone), and the end time of their activities wasn't predictable enough that I could just go get them at pre-arranged time.

If they hadn't been in these activities, I probably would have waited until they were in high school.

You didn't give me enough options to vote on. I would have voted "When they are ready to move out of my house". I don't carry a cell phone myself and am not going to encourage the incessant idiocy of cell phone use by family members. I'll look forward to polling on banning use by most of the "adults" we see becoming increasingly addicted to electonica. Thanks for lettiing me rant.

Yes! 11-13 and for many of the reasons given. Their ride didn't show up. They got hurt in school sports (you don't have to wait for someone else to notify you). So many reasons for school, being out on their bicycles, etc. Concerning abductions, yes, a kidnapper would probably search for a phone and break or toss it, but what if it wasn't your kid that was abducted? What if they witnessed it? Ask the police how many times kids see another kid abducted or nearly abducted. I'd be glad the witnessing kid had a cell phone and used it.

Now for this, do they need a smart phone, with texting and www? Certainly not. Peer pressure sucks, but as mentioned, life is full of disappointments. In THAT case, when they're responsible enough and can pay their share of the bill, they can have that! But there are signs... texting during conversations and not paying attention (and getting irritated when you disturb them). Texting at the dinner table, at any other time when their concentration should be on the matter at hand or even required for safety. If a parent sees that, it's time to be wary of what they're doing when they're driving. Texting and www can be turned off for a phone by certain providers.

A final note: Sadly, my grandson is a digital vegetable. He's playing games on the computer, on the X-Box or the phone his mother got him. He's 12. I think I'd take it off the phone at least. Where did the bike riding, sports and other physical activities go? Ok, that's "old" side of me talking. That's my piece!

To all the people stating they want their kids to have phones for safety I say that it is at least 10x as likely your kid will meet a predator using that cellphone inappropriately than that they will be miraculously saved by it when their abductor fails to ditch the phone. I know what I and my friends were doing with unrestrained internet access at 11 years old, porn, guns, drugs, and hooking up with strangers. The friends who had the access were the "most responsible" ones, and also the ones who ended up in the most trouble during their late teens after their parents "trusted" them.

As long as they are responsible and have earned it, I don't see an age restriction. Mind you, most kids under 13 aren't responsible (nor it is greatly expected...they are still kids who will make mistakes and do kid things). However, there are some 10-11 year olds I know that are very mature and responsible for their age. Which is a rare thing. Rule of thumb, if they are responsible enough, and have earned the privilege to go for their driver's learners permit, having a cellphone is a possibility. My kid is only 7, but he has (my) iPad, and his own iTouch. He doesn't need a phone to call home. lol But as he gets older, and more independent, where he can go to his friends, school, or playground on his own or with friends, the need to be able to contact us in emergencies will become more prevalent. As a kid (starting at age 7), I was already pretty independent. As most kids my age during those times. We always had change for the pay phone in case we needed to call our parents or adults we knew. But in comparison, at that age, we were more prepared and street educated than teens of this era. We were taught properly, and matured faster than most kids these days older than us. It all boils down to a state of mind and maturity.

All school personnel should have them too. Columbine, Newtown, and universities too numerous to mention.

That's when they start joining clubs and things and it is useful for a parent to know where thei precious darling is at all times. But not an expensive phone, only a cheap £10 one that is pay and go

A Child has no business adding to the family's expenses unless he can contribute. That's what I was Taught as a youngster and the way I taught my children!

I think my kid can get his own cell phone when he is 18. And then he will have to pay for it.

I will probably put a basic flip phone (non smartphone) in the car, which will just be used for emergencies only (I'll make sure to monitor to be sure non-emergency calls are not being made (especially while driving)).

I don't see any reason why younger kids need cell phones.

5 to 7 years, but after he/she learn the safe and dangerous situation Cellphone might cause.

I think the best age for children to have a cell phone is between 17 to 19 because it is the time when they are a bit "matured". You do not want to hand a cell phone to a baby because I don't think it is a good thing for kids.

I think the best age for children to have a cell phone is between 17 to 19 because it is the time when they are a bit "matured". You do not want to hand a cell phone to a baby because I don't think it is a good thing for kids.