Will you / did you get your school age kids a cell phone?

How old were they when you got them their first cell phone?

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Mom to dd (age 9) and ds (age 11)

My 10 y/o dd wants one right now just to look cool, but she doesn't need one. We'll probably get her one somewhere in her teens, but I don't know exactly when.

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"Ala-Freakin'-Bama, Roll Tide Roll!" ~ Trace Adkins

Well...for us, we always had an extra cell phone or two hanging around...so when the kids were younger, and were doing something, where I wanted to be able to call them, I would give them one of the phones. We called them the 'floater' phones. LOL

When my older son got into middle school, he got his own permanent cell phone (12ish). So we not only use it for him to contact us and us to contact him, but also he uses it to talk to his friends. My younger son will be in middle school next year. He already has a phone that we set up for him, but he really has no use for it, in terms of communicating with friends. He just uses the house phone for that. He only uses his cell when we need to reach him for some reason when he's at a sporting activity or whatever.

My older son has his phone with him all day. It's in his locker during school hours, as per the school rules on cell phones. He has no issues with that at all. After school he will sometimes call or text me if he's going to use the library, stay after and talk to a teacher, let me know if I need to pick him up or if he's getting a ride with a friend etc

Every family is different. I've seen on these boards and in other places where folks say "My kid will never have a cell phone!". And hey, if that works for you and your family...great! I wanted our kids to have cell phones for safety reasons, above all things. There are no public telephones at either of their schools. I'm not talking about during school hours, but for after school activities when the office is closed, I wanted them to be able to call us no matter what.

Another part of it, and maybe some folks don't agree...but a big part of how kids communicate these days is through texting. So I may not agree with it or even LIKE it, but I acknowledge it and I want my kids to be able to take part with their friends. Back in my day we talked on the house phone for hours at a time, nowandays, they text. It's just the way it is. JMO

My older kids got their first cell phones when they started middle school and had to stay after school for sports and other things.

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DS-17
DD-14
DD-6
DS-4

My oldest daughter got her 1st cell phone in 7th grade(she is 15 now) and my 9 yr. old just got her 1st cell phone this Christmas. We don't live near any family, so I like the added security when they are at soccer/swim practice,home alone, or even at a friends house.They fly together and alone to visit grandparents, so we felt the cell phones were a neccesity.

Neither of my children got them until they NEEDED them. They were both in HS and playing sports that got out at varying times and so they had to call us to let us know when to pick them up. Plus they started going places without us and we wanted them to be able to get a hold of us no matter where they were.

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We added M'ija to our plan whenm she was 15. We made her sign an agreement with us first:
She would have x number of the shared minutes on the plan as hers, and if she went over her allotment, she would have to pay for the excess minutes, even if it didn't caus an overage for the total number of minutes in the plan. We tracked her usage online, and she took an old notebook, and used it to keep track of her time as well. We had free nights and weekends, so she would call her friends when it was free. If they called her before free hours, she would talk for a few minutes, then tell them to call back after 7. Each month, we would compare her notebook with the online record, and she never went over her allotment.
She was not allowed to take the phone to school. If she took the phone to school, we would remove her from the plan.

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My oldest has had a cell phone since about 8th grade. She was on my plan until she bought her own iphone this yr. - and shes on her own.
My middle ds - got the extra phone on my plan when he was in 3rd grade.
Younger dd has a cute little pay as you go nokia pink phone . I got her that for her 8th birthday.
For my kids its mainly a way of communicating with them , whether we get seperated someplace , or for them to call me if they need to after a practice or if they are out playing in the neighborhood, - whatever reason , we need.
They don't carry them 24/7 - My son and I have 700 mins a month , and we use under 100 combined My younger dd has about 20 mins. left from the original 60 that came with the phone back in december 2007
No big deal , but I think they are nice to have for all ages. I don't see them as much different than the regular phone. Just for making necessary calls , and an occasional call for socialization. I think all my sons friends now have a cell phone- they are in 5th grade.

I think it depends on what they have going on after school. My 7th grader does not have one yet but about half of the kids in his school do. I will probably not get him one until high school.

In a few years I will be buying our oldest a cell phone.. When she is more active in after school activites and going to friends houses I will get her one so I can reach her when I need to and so she can call me in case of emergencies.

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