Kid and cell phones

[mjkacmom]

My oldest got them at 10 and 12 (flip phones, they are now 20 and 22). Back then it was $9.99 a line a month. The youngest my kids have had smartphones was 12, 6th grade, they are now 15. Dd17 had a flip phone at 9 I think, she spent 10 hours a week at the dance studio, there was no landline there.

 

[Skippy918]

I have a 10yo too. Right now he doesn’t need one. Next year he likely will for middle school. I want to be able to text him regarding pick up or make sure he gets home if he bikes or walks. I was thinking about those watches that have gps for tracking and enables you to text a few people.

 

[tzolkin]

I teach middle class 10 & 11 year-olds. Some of them have phones: about half of them. No social difference (in terms of popularity or wealth) between the phone haves & have nots- it's just a parenting decision, whether or not to provide them. They do not all have them, though.

Here it seems to be more than half of kids that age. Virtually all by the time they hit middle school.

My kids do not yet have cell phones (7th and 9th grade), but we are definitely getting to the point where it would be convenient for me if the 9th grader had one. (Dropped her off at her first football game last night and it was extremely stressful trying to figure out when/where to find her.) I know they would like if they received one, but neither of them has really asked. The do have other electronics at home that they have started using in the past year or so.

My older DD (now 19) got a phone when she was a senior, had a job, and paid for it herself. She was definitely in the minority. Some of the HS teachers have a spot for the kids to put their phones during class and that's how they take attendance (empty slots). When we first moved here, DD's teachers didn't believe that she didn't have a phone. They thought she was just being defiant and not putting it up during class.

 

[kimblebee]

I believe my daughter was 12 when she got her first phone. We didn’t (and don’t) have a landline and I wanted her to have a phone in case she was home alone. Also, I wanted to be able to reach her if needed.

She’s going to be 18 next month and for her present, we’ll commit to paying her phone bill for another year. She’s moving away and it will be one less expense for her.

 

[wenrob]

I have a 10yo too. Right now he doesn’t need one. Next year he likely will for middle school. I want to be able to text him regarding pick up or make sure he gets home if he bikes or walks. I was thinking about those watches that have gps for tracking and enables you to text a few people.

When I looked into them they were as much or more for a plan as a cellphone. It’s one of the things that pushed me towards phones.

Teachers in my kids middle school will have them use their phones to look things up or even do lessons if the computer lab is busy. I had to let some restrictions up on my kids so that they could use them for class.

 

[la79al]

ODD is 10 and in 5th grade. She desperately wanted a phone for Christmas last year. DH said yes, I said no. I was actually on the fence until I went into her class last year and was talking to a bunch of the other kids. They all told me not to get her a phone, that everyone just has Ipods. I did some research and she ended up getting an Ipod in February. She uses it to text and facetime a very small handful of friends, uses the internet while she is at home and listens to audiobooks on the bus. We put an app on there that allows her and I to text back and forth (I have an Android phone) but we rarely do that. At this point I don't have a plan to move her to a phone (DH still tries to persuade me) and she hasn't asked for one.

 

[runwad]

I'm going to chime back in here as I have more time.

My kids always used their ipods as cell phones, until they actually got their smart phones in high school. No way would they want their friends to know they used a tracfone, and I don't think any of the kids ever knew.

They had texting apps and could even make phone calls on them, speaker of course, if they needed through an app, didn't do that often. They could only use on wi-fi but everywhere they went had wi fi so it was hardly ever an issue. For things like football games, I bought a portable hot spot that looked like a credit card that they put in their pocket and wa-la wi-fi.

I never wanted to pay a cell phone bill. Even today they all still use tracfone service. You can have any types of phones now, they have Samsung Galaxy's. I'm so glad I stuck to my guns and didn't cave and get on a plan, saved me a lot of $$ over the years. I could never pay some of the bills others do.

 

[tvguy]

16 after they got their driver's license. And the phone had to stay in the car, and they could not give out the number to friends.

 

[descovy]

My youngest (now 14) got hers as she entered middle school in 6th grade. They start using them in class more and more at that age, plus being dropped off at activities.

Yes, her older sisters got theirs later. But lets be honest, times have changed in the past few years. Now homework is on the internet, and posters in school have QR codes to scan for more information. Teachers encourage students to take pictures of the board, etc...

My kids get my hand me downs. Are you interested in an upgrade soon?

 

[ShayBells]

My kids get my hand me downs. Are you interested in an upgrade soon?

I just got the iPhone X last year after having the 5c for I don’t know how long so no upgrade for me for a very long time. I think about the prices and how crazy they are. If I were to cave he’d definitely get an old model and nothing anywhere new.

He does have an iPad. I could possibly get data on that for cheap but he doesn’t take this everywhere. I have a hard and fast rule about not taking it outside to play.

I like the idea of waiting until middle school which is next year. Seems like a good compromise.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I think DS was in 4th grade?? (His first one wasn't a smart phone, though.) He and the neighbor kids were allowed to go walking in the woods near our house, and I wanted them to be able to call for help if there was ever an emergency.

 

[fab1976]

My son is turning 11 in November, just entered grade 6. He has started walking home and today was the first day I felt the need for a phone for him. He got abandoned by his usual walking home crew who decided to ride bikes instead without telling him, so he was left on his own. It’s a bit of a walk, and I would prefer knowing if he was alone. Going to look into a low monthly cost phone or pay as you go.

 

[sam_gordon]

All got them at 11 as they got involved in middle school activities. Oldest DD got a flip phone for a year, the other two had ipods previously (I wanted to see they could keep up with them before getting them a smart phone).

 

[Sabeking]

My girls got them in middle school. They stayed on our dresser at night when they went to bed. We basically told them they were on loan till high school then they could have them all the time. Keeping them in our room sure helped with the after hours drama! Lol!

 

[NHdisneylover]

My kids are older, 19 and 21:

They had a shared phone they took on outings with others (in case they got lost, etc) and that we could leave for babysitters (no land line) at 3 and 5.

Got their own phones at about 5 and 7, might have been 6 and 8.

DS got a smart phone around 13-14. Oldest kid has no interest in one and did not get one until college.


ETA: DS's teachers used whatsApp groups to communicate with the class from grade 8 on So a smart phone was really needed.

 

[superme80]

We live in the boonies, so far no need. We homeschool and I have to be on campus during co-op. He doesn't have a lot of friends he is really wanting to hang out with outside of activities. That will probably change in the next couple of years, so my guess is around 6th grade for my oldest.

 

[mnrose]

Mine will turn 19 in November. They got cell phones for their birthday when they turned 13. They had no "need" of one before then. It's a want. Personally, "wants" fall into the category of earn it. Once they were 13, I saw the value in them having a phone for ME.

 

[missbrooke06]

Our rule is that they get a phone when they are being dropped for activities st places where he can’t call us and we can’t get ahold of him.

Good idea. I was dropped off places where I needed to call for a ride when I was 11, which is a little younger than I want to give my son one. But when I was a kid, pay phones were easy to come by and now not so much.

 

[wenrob]

My youngest (now 14) got hers as she entered middle school in 6th grade. They start using them in class more and more at that age, plus being dropped off at activities.

Yes, her older sisters got theirs later. But lets be honest, times have changed in the past few years. Now homework is on the internet, and posters in school have QR codes to scan for more information. Teachers encourage students to take pictures of the board, etc...

My kids get my hand me downs. Are you interested in an upgrade soon?

Yep, everything is online now. I don’t even get flyers or newsletters anymore.

We also do hand me downs. You don’t get the latest and greatest until you can pay for it yourself. With older DD that was around 16.

OP there might be people in your circle selling or getting rid of older models since it’s “upgrade season.” With an iPhone you wouldn’t need to activate it just yet. He could use iMessage and FaceTime audio for phone calls with WiFi. Might actually be cheaper than an iPod depending on model.

My girls got them in middle school. They stayed on our dresser at night when they went to bed. We basically told them they were on loan till high school then they could have them all the time. Keeping them in our room sure helped with the after hours drama! Lol!

We have a drawer with a USB hub in our entertainment center where the kids “plug in” every night before bed. As of now they do not text much and generally don’t use their phones much once they get home from school. I’m hoping to keep the “no electronics” in the bedroom rule going as long as I can.

 

[aprilgail]

5th grade- when she started going to friends house and hanging out at the local park on their own- I liked to be able to get a hold of her and it was easy for her to text me saying "we are leaving the park and going to the deli" "we are leaving Emilys and going to Suzys"