Age for a kid to have cell phone

bearpanther
Sat, 14 May 2016 17:37:32 +0000

Mine (now 20, 15, and 13) all got very simple hand-me-down flip phones or candy bar phones around 7th grade when they started staying after school for sports practices. They only used the phone to call if practice ended early or something.

The 20 yo and 15 yo both got smartphones for their birthdays right before 9th grade started. Both seemed ambivalent at the time (had expressed a desire to have one but were not begging or nagging us about it) but now use the phones for almost everything–texting, internet, reading books, taking pictures/video, etc.

The 13 yo is currently finishing 7th grade. He has been bugging us for a while now for a smart phone. We gave him a flip phone but he never brings it and ends up borrowing a friend’s phone if he needs to call. He is quite mature and I’m sure can handle the responsibility of a smart phone, but his life needs are no different from his brothers’ at that age and so I can’t see changing the existing situation.