What is a good age to give kids a cell phone?

I personally think the appropriate age would be around 16.

13.

i think kids should get one when they learn how to dial 911. what if they kidnapped? what if there school goes under attack? what if they get lost and no one is around? bet you’ll be wishing u gave them a cellphone then

not to early, perhaps start them off with the fly phone. Perhaps in the mid teens would be the best.

Blah, I mean start them off withthe fly phone at whatever age so they learn responsability, etc. Then later on, perhaps mid teens, get them a cell phone.

never

When they can help with the cost of their monthly bill.

i think the perfect age to give cell phones to kids is between 13-16…and this totally depends upon ur kid ,if he/she is too mischievous ,get them after 16 otherwise in the age group provided above if they are responsible..hope u got it….cheers! :)

i would say maybe when they first start high school

11 or 12 I got my first phone when I was 10 tho

I agree with Nikki, as soon as they can dial 911. The first phone I got was for emergency use only, and my parents paid for that cuz I guess they didn’t want me to get r@ped lol.

13+

I think individuals under 18 don’t need cellphones. Sure, people say “for emergencies”, but texting and calling your friends and partners will leave that battery drained so your chances of calling help is nonexistant in this case.

With that said, there are scenarios when a phone is needed at a young age, such as when they’re out alone or more than 30 miles away from your reach without friends. I am almost 18 years old, and have NEVER owned a cellphone of my own. My ma’s response to me is “You have no friends, you don’t need it.”. I’ve been in situations where I’m in a whole different state by myself without a phone and I never needed a phone.

Paents who give their kids phones are somewhat spoiling their children as well. Give a kid who’s like 8 or 9, and he’ll break it faster than me breaking my computer. Also, with cellphones, children tend to abuse the idea of emergency and will ask for other things like fancy phones and whatever. Why do you need a fncy hi-tech phone if it’s just for 911? To show the police your awesome iPhone? Psh.

This can be said the same about cars. I personally think that people who know how to operate vehicles don’t necessarily need a license. Most teens I see and some adults obviously forget how to drive when they’re practically ramming my car into the freakin’ rails on the highway and other streets.

I agree that 9 year old with iPhones are spoiled, but like for emergencies if you just get a cheap pay as you go phone with like 20 minutes put on it or something incase there’s an emergency, I find that reasonable.

i got my first one when i turned 13. i think it was a good age. shrug

Prob 13+

11-12 is when p[arents shpould get their kids one because a few days ago the bus was an hour late. i dont have a cell so that is when i need a cell…..

when their in high school.. id say 15

btwww even if they dotn have one doestn make em losers.

lol yeup:D

Thats why i keep begging my parents but they say no!!!

yea i agree

Umm i have the iphone…and ive had cellphones since i was 12… that doesnt make someone spoiled. or having an ipod

I have an iPhone too and I think it really depends if it makes you spoiled or not. Like I pay for my own plan, so I don’t consider myself spoiled. But if a 9 year old has an iPhone and their parents are paying for it, I consider that spoiled.

well whatever i dont pay for my own cellphones cuz my dad gets payed a lot so my parents never forced me to pay for anything. i think it puts too much pressure on a kid to have to earn their own money when their 12 13 14. thats the parents job and if they dont have a half decent job than theyre on their own with that one

I think it’s spoiled because why does someone need an iPhone or other fancy phone just to call people? If you want to text, get a laptop or computer. If you want to watch TV, get a TV. A phone is not for fancy music and pictures. It’s for calling people, preferably ones not beside you. I think it puts the right amount of pressure on someone that young because it teaches them the value of money. Little kids tend to ask for lots of things, as if money grows on a tree in the backyard. Maybe it’s just me though, because I grew up without money, so the value of goods meant a lot to me. I buy on ocassion my own computer parts, but they last me 4-6 years, whereas a child with a phone has it for roughly 6 months before smashing it. I’ve seen it happen many times where children, even teens in school smash their phone into the wall or drop it into the toilet. Like, do they not realize that their parents just paid over $100 for that? It’s not cheap to get another one, even if it’s ‘free’ because the company charges you for it.

well i grew up differently than you, and you have one time to be a kid before you have to go out there and get a job and pay bills, so having something like a cellphoen and being able to take pictures and to text is something that many teens enjoy. i dont think u fully understand that kids out there are loosing what defines them, because people judge them as being stupid, or not responsible. and i think if a teenager owns a cellphone its the only time when they have control, when they can do what they want. and taking freedom and happiness away from a child is cruel, and telling a kid they cant have a cellphone til they are 18 is down right wrong. you dont realize how socially brutal it gets out there, and how hard it is to maintain a reputation, which is also one of the only things kids have control over.

I think 15+. I didn’t get a cellphone until just recently and I’m almost 16. I was able to survive until now without one, and my parents aren’t exactly made of money so I didn’t rush it. I look back, and I was perfectly fine without one anyways. While it’d be nice to have a cell phone for emergencies, most of the time the phone’s probably going to be used to talk to friends. And I remember losing a lot of things when I was younger due to my lack of responsibility, I definitely would’ve lost a phone. I wouldn’t rush it.

Adults use phones. Look at Czarina, a grown adult, and she texts all the time. Lol. A phone or car is not a teen’s freedom, it’s a privilege. When my parents were kids, they were lucky enough to even have education, so a cellphone is not freedom. Sure, you get to take pictures and whatnot with it, but anyone can do that. I don’t need a phone for that. I do actually know how socially brutal the world is. I came to America as a kid, and didn’t fit in because I didn’t speak English. I don’t have a reputation, and if I did, I wouldn’t be able to control it. Controlling a reputation is like controlling the weather. You can’t just make people like you, or make people fear you. How are teens losing their expressions? I see lots of kids at school who draw, or write, or play music, and they’re not being taken away from. I can see you grew up differently than me. I grew up with nothing but the clothes on my back and parents who never see me during the week, and some grow up with high incomes and golden turds fed to their mouths with a diamond spoon. (Not trying to belittle you.)

“telling a kid they can’t have a phone until they are 18 is down right wrong” Really Nikki? You know people did fine without cell phones before they because popular. I haven’t hear much about cell phones making a huge difference in crime either. A lot of the time if you’re getting attacked you won’t have time to grab your phone. I didn’t have one until I was 17, and the only reason I actually ended up getting one was because my parents forced it on me after I had a severe accident and no way to call anyone to come help me. Phones are not necessary anymore than a facebook is.They aren’t really necessary at all, just a convenience. I also don’t like how you’ve been throwing around the “My daddy has money so I don’t know better” excuse for the past while. Just because your father has money doesn’t mean you should be missing out on life lessons.

You dont get it at all. i dont where u grew up at, but it sounds like freaking afganistan or africa or something. you already grew up, and in the wrong place in my opinion. my parents work hard every day so that we can have lots of money and the freedom to buy whatever we want, the money just doesnt come falling from the sky, and thats how ur making it sound. my dad has to do go work for the government for Gods sake, do u know how hard and dangerous and ridiculous that is? we earned everything we have, so dont make us sound like a different species. and secondly, where i live, because i did in fact grow up in america, a cellphone is needed. plain and simply a fact that u obviously dont understand. if my kid asked for a cellphone at 9, i would give him one. u wanna know why? because im not about to have to my kid die because he couldnt call 911 or text 911 . i guess ud rather have ur own child die because you wouldnt want him to be spoiled. just to let you know, i was very offended by what u said towards the end and thats why im so mad

because alek brought up the subject of money and some people on here are saying they have to pay for their own phones when their like 15, which i think is ridiculous if ur own parent cant even pay for something. and my honest opinion is that kids need a cellphone, thats my honest opinion. and secondly, i dont use my dads job as an excuse for anything cassie. i just like telling people straight out that chances are i wont be able to understand their lectures about money. u quoted me wrongly, btw

Where is your kid going when they are nine that they’re going to need to call 911? Seriously. If I had a nine year old kid I wouldn’t be putting them in any kind of danger. I don’t see how where I grew up is any different than where you grew up. I never said your money just comes falling from the sky, I never said your parents didn’t work hard, I said you have to learn things for yourself. Relying on a cell phone doesn’t seem like the safest method either, I already said why. I see nothing wrong with having the child have to pay for their own phone, it teaches them responsibility, which is one of those things that people need to learn, the earlier the better. And I’m pretty sure I quoted you word for word.

no u didnt actually. and i wasnt even talking to you, i was talking to alek. u just came springing into the convo out of nowhere. and lots of things could happen to a nine year old. during school, something could happen like a lockdown or a shooting and i would want my child to notify the police and than call me to let me know that they are okay. tons of little tiny kids get kidnapped every day, and its not because their parents let it happen.

I pay for my own phone because it’s good practice for when I’m older and my parents aren’t around to pay for my things anymore = \ My parents can afford to pay for my phone and they would too, but I want to do it myself. Your parents get payed a lot, Nikki, so do many people’s on here, but I don’t really think that’s a good reason for you to totally block out other people when they talk about money : …Money doesn’t grow on trees, y’know…

“telling a kid they cant have a cellphone til they are 18 is down right wrong.” That is exactly what you said! I just copied and pasted it. I posted because I had input, that’s what this site is for and that’s what I do. If a kid is getting kidnapped, chances are the kidnapper isn’t going to let them keep their phone, or just pull it out and start dialing away to turn them in. If you were kidnapping someone do you think you’d let them keep all their belongings? Not likely. That’s why I don’t see how it can really be that useful. If the school is in a lockdown, it’s not up to your kid to notify the police and parents, that’s what the teachers and principals do, not the students.

My parents work from 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. I only get to say “Good night” and “Take care” all week. My parents work for a medical company, and my ma has come home with cuts and bruises from her job plenty of times. She’s not around to make food, so I cook myself food. For your information, I was born in Moldova, a country so poor, that having a house was luxury. Many of us lived in apartment buildings no bigger than a one-bedroom hotel with up to 7 members of the family inside. My dad was born in Uzbekistan (next to Afghanistan) and he had to walk miles just to get to school, a school that he was lucky to even attend. So, at a young age, I had to learn many life lessons that most people don’t learn until they’ve hit their 20’s. Of course, money does not come from the sky, it never will. Cassie is also correct in saying that a phone won’t help much. Shock kicks in when someone is scared, so dialing won’t help unless you are prepared for it. About the children dying thing, it’s not true with people without cellphones. Though, my parents don’t want to get me a cellphone, my dad taught me martial arts, and they paid so that I could learn Krav Maga to protect myself. In my opinion, children who know how to defend themselves is more important than having a phone to call someone for help. Also, having a child pay for things teaches them the value of hard-earned money and also basic economics lessons. I buy my own computer parts when I need them, and this is because there are alot of tech things out there, but we can’t always buy what we want. That’s what separates a person who values money, over a person who makes lots of money. Combined, my parents make only $65,000/year just to give you a glimpse at why I value money the way I do. I wasn’t being offensive either. It’s the truth, some are selfish with greed, and some aren’t.

Thats what i said, connor, well actually i said money doesnt fall from the sky, but its the same concept. i just dont want people wasting their own time trying to talk about money to me when i dont understand their view on it. just a warning, because many people spend time on replies. and its not like i want to rub it in and say im better than all of you, i just dont want anybody writing on this huge reply about money to me. cassie is making me sound snobby, which im not. she has this deluted version of the world and that a kid will never need to call 911.

I agree. I got my phone for emergency’s like if I was getting kidnapped or something, but it does sort of seem illogical now that you put it that way lol. Now my phone is mostly just for fun ^.^

*To Cassie, lol.

Im sorry to hear about all of that, alek. and secondly, i disagree with all of you when it comes to the cellphone thing. a kid could very well have time to call 911. u cant possibly know that for every person

Well Nikki…my parents make a lot of money, they work like friggin 12 hour days and we’re definitely not lacking in money…but I still listen to people’s points of view on money, I don’t just block them out and say I won’t understand…I’m not trying to criticise you, I’m just wondering why you don’t think you’ll be able to understand? And I sort of agree with Cassie, a 9 year old shouldn’t BE in a situation where they need to call 911, and if I had a child, they never would be.

*that was to your reply before your most recent, btw (to Nikki)

Well yeah, you can ramble on about how a phone is going to be used for all these safety reason etc… But the second you get one it’s just like, “OH I’M TEXTING MY FRIENDS LALALALALALALALA” People don’t even use their bloody phones to call people anymore. A few people I know do, but most don’t. If you want to make some freaking plans just call me, don’t send four different texts. And Aleksander makes a very good point which I was thinking of and never got time to write down XD Learning a method of self defense is 10,000x more useful than a phone will be in most situations in which you are threatened.

Agreed. lol I haven’t made a phone call in like 3 months…and in August I sent a total of 3 000 texts O_O

You make a good point about the texting part, cassie. i get nervous around kids, even when taking care of my own sister. what if something horrible happens and they have no way of calling anyone and no one is around and theyre lost because lets say we were walking together in a parking lot and there was a huge crowd and the crowd pushed u guys apart. and connor, ive heard enough about money. i honestly can say i dont get what u guys talk about when u bring up the sallaries and all that. all of u are older than me so how am i supposed to know what all of u make as a sallary and how hard u work? thats why i say i couldnt understand.

And i call people all the time. id rather call than text…jeeze now i feel like an outsider in the digital world :(

Sorry? I don’t need any apologies. Growing up the way I did helped me see lots of life lessons and the value of things. It taught me responsibility. I learned how to cook because without that skill, I’d be starving to death waiting for my parents to come home. A cellphone could be used in emergencies. But as a fact, when someone is frightened, they have a small shock that temporarily paralyzes them for a few seconds before processing what to do. Just so you’re informed. :)

Gods above… This argument is getting stale. Getting separated in a crowd generally isn’t the end of the world, parents usually keep a close enough eye on their kids in a situation like that, and people will help them find each other if they get separated. If that is your best argument for a small child to have a cell phone it’s fairly weak.

the last sentence wasnt needed. i know okay its not like i live in a bubble. once i got lost in home depot and i wasnt soo scared u have no idea and i didnt have a phone. thats my agruement here for the ppl who are just saying kids shouldnt get phones period.

my last reply was to alek, btw. and its not weak, cassie. u dont get it….:( i just think that kids should always have that option.

In case they get lost in a Home Depot? I think a kid old enough to know how to call their parents on their phone is old enough to walk over to one of the people in the orange aprons and tell them they’ve lost their parents.

I got lost in a different state, on a mountain in Georgia at 3 a.m., while my parents were sleeping in Indiana at the time. I didn’t have a phone. Not for one second, did I even consider calling the police to come for me. Instead, my only thoughts were “Find the way back down, and get back to safety. I doubt having a phone would have helped me any other than for light in the dark (I fell down a 4-foot cliff, lol) and calling for help would mean sending people in to get me. Like they or I even know where the hell I am in the dark on a mountain. Lol. Being young doesn’t mean you don’t know the value of money or any other lesson.

umm i was like 5, thank u very much cassie. i didnt even know what home depot was, but my parents had taught me how to dial 911 and the entire time i was looking for a phone, not a worker. i also got lost in disney land one time but thank gawd i did have a phone… and i know about the value of money for Gods sake okay alek? what im getting at is i wont be able to understand u when u say how hard it is u work for the money. cuz obv i dont work.

How can you not understand that? You said you Dad works hard for his money, so you do experience it, everybody does at some level. And you must have plans to get a job in like two or three years at least so the concept is there.

Yeah i know that because he tells me he works hard. hes not allowed to talk to me about what he does, he just says its hard. thats all i get. and actually, i plan to be a writer, does that count as a job?

I suppose so, but I mean a part time job as a student or something, Are you planning on going to University? Then you’ll have to pay for it somehow. And not to burst your bubble, but you can’t really just start off as a successful author, pretty most of them had other jobs before they caught on and became more known, and most probably don’t make it at all, so a back up plan is necessary.

Yeah i know. i plan to go to a university, most likely to an out of state college cuz i hate ca. and of course i know most likely im not gonna be super famous in the beginning, which is why im going for a degree in psychology. so i can be a psychologist, hopefully i spelled that right

Doesn’t being a Psychologist mean you have to understand empathy of others? How will that be possible? Lol.

Hahaha.

thats just mean, first of all, alek. how about this “alek, i dont believe ul ever get anywhere in life because one, u grew up in a poor country, and two, im pretty sure u have mental issues.” does that sound nice to you? i was thinking maybe working with teens who have gone thru abuse, but i guess now i cant do that cuz u have to be such an @ss to me and tell me i cant do it

I kind of agree, that was uncalled for : \

=..(

Wow Nikki. He made it pretty clear he said it in a joking/teasing kind of way. I personally think growing up the way Aleksander did is going to make him stronger in a lot of areas that you’re going to lack in. Calm down.

Really? it didnt sound jokingly to me. and u know u dont have to shoot me down here, okay? u both are just mean, and even tho every time we fight i always try and be nice afterwards and forgive and forget, even tho u say really cruel things to me. thanks connor, for presenting ur opinions and critizing me nicely and not totally going after me

I’m not totally going after you. I enjoy debate and you generally seem more than happy to present one on a subject we have differing opinions on. Besides agreeing with Alksanders statement, which I assumed was a joke, I was never trying to be “just mean” to you.

Um, I’ve been told that by my own parents and many others, Nikki. You know the number of people who tell me that I’ll die in the military? Lol, Just because I asked how it was possible, doesn’t mean I was being mean. You said it yourself, you can’t understand the values Cassie and I are trying to say, so how can you understand another person’s feelings? Working with abused kids is difficult, they don’t open up easily and especially don’t want others to know about it. Telling you that you can’t do it, is a good thing. It teaches a person to strive harder in achieving that goal because they want to prove the person wrong. Even though people tell me I’m stupid and a ter*orist and that I’ll die in the military, I still try to prove them wrong. Them saying it, just make sit that much more worthwhile proving them wrong. Also, you’re 14, you’re at the age where people should be putting you down in a positive way because it makes you realize that it takes effort to get what you want. I can tell you that people like Bill Gates, or Obama were put down multiple times in their lives and look how hard they worked to prove people wrong. Gate’s father told him not being a doctor was worthless, and now Gates owns Microsoft, one of the biggest computer companies ever. Obama, I’m sure gets put down a lot for being Kenyan, but he’s a freaking president now. Learn to chill and receive criticism once in a while. The world isn’t so peachy keen.

yeah but then u always have to make it seem like im stupid or something and always come after me for whatever i say, and i dont see u do that to anyone else on here… and thats the vibe i get whenever u respond to my replies or questions. maybe its just me, but thats how i feel

Oh you’re not the only one who feels that way… I’m not saying you’re stupid, but I will say that you’re ignorant about some things. Hey, I was when I was fourteen too. I can only recall two debated with you, other than that I’m pretty sure any responses I’ve given to you are pretty neutral.

ha ur going in the military?? i bet u wont make it. u see that? thats mean of me to say that huh?? and i dont care, bcuz my goal is to help abused kids and kids who are suffering and u cant tell me otherwise

Well im overly senstive and usually take things too far. so im sorry. but it just seemed like that to me. and alek, i really dont need you to tell me to take criticism. i took connors advice cuz he was nice about it. and u guys werent. and btw, i think its great that u wanna join the military but fair warning a big part of my family was in the military. my dad was in the marines and doesnt like to talk about. theyll push u untill u cry, until u beg for mercy. but guess what…mercy does not exist over there. i have an uncle who was in the military i forgot where but now hes really wacked out….maybe its because of his experience there or because hes just weird…. just thought id warn, i usually give everyone this same speech so they know exactly what they are getting into.

It’s not mean to me. I know I might die, it’s one of the many things you have to consider when signing up. Also, knowing you can fail at anything makes it less painful when you do fail. Knowing the chances of failure can also increase the effort you put into the work in order to not fail. Where I grew up, military service is required, and my dad and his father and his father’s father was in the Russian/Uzbek(All one army under Communism) military. I feel like it’s my duty in order to become independent from family and make my own path to life. I’ve studied military subjects since I was a kid, and I’m ready for anything. I don’t look to fight by the way. I only make statements based on opinion blended with facts. It’s not my choice if someone wants to take it or not. Just don’t try to shut people out when they want to tel you their opinion because we all listened to yours and other’s opinions. Just some food for thought.

I wasnt going to shut u out, i was really considering what u were saying. until u made that “joke” which wasnt a joke to me. and if ur not looking to fight when u join the military than ur really gonna be suffering. its like a whole different world over there, and i hope u know that what they say goes. you get no say, and have to do what ur told, and u cant argue or even state the smallest of ur opinion or theyll take u down and make u suffer….i am not joking here. studying it is not the same as going through it….

benittus ,I feel like 16 is a good age to give a cell phone

I think about 13+ when they start getting more involved in sports and activities. Also when they start getting more involved with friends and going to outings and such:D you need a cellphone to contact your parents to come and pick you up or to tell them where you’re at. Also the texting’s nice:))

oh. btw, my friend katie has had 5 different iphones (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) she has broken every single one except the most recent one/her current one. her little brother bo has had 3 different ones and maggie their little sister has had 2. maggie is 9 bo is 11 and katie is 14. omg. that is crazy.talk about spoiling their kids.

It all depends on the individual’s situation. Can the family or child financially support having a cell phone? Are there times when the child is away from their caretakers? Does the child need to walk home from places without supervision? You can’t judge a person for having a phone in 7th grade or never having a phone until reaching adulthood; everyone’s situation is different, and times are also changing.

12-13

12-13

15. Earlier than that they will find it a game.