While out to dinner last night, my husband and I noticed a father and his two sons, all 3 on their cell phones. All were absorbed in messaging or playing games; the boys were about 5 and 9 years old. This isn’t a debate on how they should have been interacting with each other; I am just curious about what age children are receiving cell phones in your area. I do not know if the boys were on iPhones or iPods, but it looked like they were planing a game as the oldest would at times help the youngest.
I mentioned to a friend later in the evening that I was glad we did not have to deal with the issues that come with smart phones and constant internet usage by the kids. You hear so much of kids sexting, among other problems, I am just glad I didn’t have to monitor them for that. My kids got cell phones at 16 when they started driving for calls; I don’t even remember when texting came about! My niece has a rising 7th and 9th grader; the younger one is very innocent and young, so she is not a worry, right now, the older one is on her phone all the time. This is the one I worry about as I see her being sneaky. When I spoke to my niece, she was not worried because she felt she can see anything her daughter posted. I tried to tell her while she thinks she sees all, I am sure her daughter has accounts she has no idea about, and/or deletes what she doesn’t want mom to see. I was one of those sneaky kids and a good liar, so I know what I am talking about!
Once, after 9/11, I observed a mother at the cell phone store purchasing a phone for her 6 year old. Her rational was that if there was every another emergency, she wanted her son to be able to get in touch with her. She wanted him to keep the phone in his lunch box; all I could think of is how he would be able to get to the phone in that emergency!
So back to my question, the kids I see seem to have a smart phone by middle school, which is 6th grade here. I am sure plenty have them earlier, but think most own a phone by this time.
My kids got prepaid cell phones in 7th and 9th grade. It was $100/phone/yr for 1000 minutes/texts. After that, it was $10/yr to top off the minutes so unused minutes would roll over.
When S started college we got a family plan for S, D and me. H couldn’t bring his phone to work so left it in his car and used it to tell us when he was running late to get home from work.
They got text plans when they were SRs in college and data plans after graduating from college. Their college had free wifi throughout campus.
It worked for us at the time. No idea what I’d do if I had young kids now.
When my college age kids were growing up the answer was the start of middle school. Now the usual age is 3 rd grade. Upper middle class suburb. The kid usually inherits a parents iPhone. Then it common to get a new one after 5 th grade.
It’s generally middle school here. It’s a whole different world now. When activities are cancelled at the last minute, middle school kids need a phone to call for a ride. It happens fairly often.
My kids and I have a lot of fun texting each other.
You might be mistaken assuming that the kids’ cell phones were active phones. A cell phone without a sim chip can still be used for games & for wifi connections. So when parents get new phones, they may keep the old ones precisely for use as gaming devices for the kids, in situations when they want to keep the kids occupied and quiet.
It really doesn’t make sense for a parent to discard an old phone when they upgrade – as long as the phone will take a charge, just about every function other than calling is fully operational. Camera & calculator in addition to games. Seem to me that the most natural thing to do with an old phone is pass it on to the kids.
My kids got theirs when they started middle school. At that point, there was no longer one adult keeping an eye on them all day long. They were more likely to decide to take the late bus, after extra help or extra curricular activities. They went to the mall or out for ice cream.
So there was a need to keep in touch and let me know of their plans, a need that didn’t exist in elementary school.
My daughter (now 23) got her first phone in 6th grade when she needed to call for a ride home when doing any after school activity (it was a dumb pay as you go phone). She got her first smart phone (iphone) when she headed off to college.
My kids got them in middle school (6th grade) as well. It was for a practical reason – the school had taken out the pay phones and when they stayed late for an activity or to see a teacher they needed a way to call when they were ready to get picked up to go home. Theoretically the main office had a phone they could use, but it was out of the way and I felt they were ready for a cellphone by that time anyway.
We have always had a strict no cellphones at mealtime rule in our house which still stands even though my “kids” are now adults.
Middle school here and smart phone by middle of high school. I have tons of very young great nieces and nephews and they all can use their parents phones by the time they are about 2 1/2. My 3 1/2 year old great nephew knows how to FaceTime my mom, call his dad, plus play games on it. I’m sure they will likely get their own phones by the time the enter elementary school. Times change and what was once thought to be a luxury or extravagance aren’t anymore.
My sister was quite pissed off when she went off to college and my parents gave me my own phone line. Not only did I have a phone in my bedroom but one downstairs in the den, so I wouldn’t have to run upstairs to answer my phone.
