best ages to get a cellphone? (babysitting, baby, parents, chores)

[RIVERSMVP14]

My 10 and 8 yr old nieces both want one.

[flyonpa]

13.

Would be ok to have a 'Spare" for them to use when they are at some activity, but not for general carry around.


If you get them one, Expect to replace it every 6 month (or more often) when it get lost.

[BirdieBelle]

My kids barely knew where their shoes were at age 8. There was no way I was providing them with a phone.

Middle school, age 12 or 13.

Tell your nieces that some things you have to wait for.

[BuckeyeAtHeart]

We told our kids that the earliest age would be 14 but that they would have to pay the monthly cost to add this new phone to our cell phone plan (about $10 per month). They quickly realized that they would need to have regular babysitting jobs or something that would bring in this amount of money. It was also a great motivating factor in getting them to do specific chores which would allow them to earn money from me. I realize the times have changed and many parents want their children to have easy access (phone/text) to the parents. Before adding the phones, we would allow our oldest to borrow one of our cell phones when attending an event where she would need to be picked up later. Otherwise there was just no need.

[RIVERSMVP14]

I think I'll buy them those FRS radios instead.

[parentologist]

I consider a cell phone to be a leash. I allow my children much more freedom to roam than most kids have nowadays. They walk home from school. They can ride their bikes all over the neighborhood. They can go home from school to play at a friend's house - all without asking specific permission. So the cell phone is my way of keeping in touch with them. For that reason, they got cell phones at around 8 yrs old, about two years before any of their classmates. I explained to them that the cell phone was for me to be able to contact them, that they had to take it with them and leave it on, with the ringer turned up, so that I could reach them. Sure they lost them sometimes, and we got them back, or we got a cheap replacement from craigslist or off of a recycling site. But it gave me great peace of mind to know that I could reach them, and that they could reach me.

[golfgal]

Best age..when their parents want to get them one..why does anyone care otherwise?

[RIVERSMVP14]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Best age..when their parents want to get them one..why does anyone care otherwise?

cuz I was curious about what peope think since the nieces asked.Cant afford them anyways.

[CSD610]

I told my children they could get a pager (which was popular when they were younger) when they could pay for it themselves.

[Dale Cooper]

Originally Posted by RIVERSMVP14

My 10 and 8 yr old nieces both want one.

Other than one of those types that ONLY calls Mom or Dad, they can get their own when they can pay for their own. Kids to NOT need phones, for Pete's Sake!