At What Age Should Kids Be Given Cell Phones?
What age is an appropriate age for a child to have a cell phone? In the old days (about 10 years ago) parents never had to bother with this question. Now however, it seems most kids want cell phones and it is certainly not for safety reasons that they desire them. Just because one of their friends got one, kids come home everyday from school wanting a cell phone.
Some people think that kids should be kids and there is really no reason for them to have cell phones. Video games take up enough of their time and having a cell phone is just one more thing they really don’t need. The other way o f thinking is that a child with a cell phone is safer than a child without one. We all want our kids to be safe and if they have a way to always contact their parents, a cell phone does seem to make them safer.
It probably is true that a cell adds a safety factor but then the question is at what age is one needed? Is first grade the right time for a child to get their first phone? How about the second grade or the 5th grade? There is no right and wrong answer to this question as every child is different and every parent must make the decision on their own. There is one thing that is for sure though and that is that no matter what age a parent thinks is appropriate, the child will undoubtedly want one much sooner.
If you have a young child that wants a cell phone, you have several decisions to make. The first is whether the child is old enough and if so, what kind of cell phone to get. The best cell phones for kids might be ones that use a prepaid plan or ones that you can include in your family plan. There is really no right answer and it is one of personal preference. If you fear your kid is going to use up the minutes with reckless abandon, a pay as you go plan might be in order.
Parents who trust their child to use constraint might add their child on their own family plan as that is usually quite reasonable. This would probably work best for teens who know how to use a phone responsibly. Whatever choice you make, it does seem that the most important decision is really the age that you decide to let your child have the cell phone. Once you give them a phone there will be no taking it back! It’s a tough one but one that all parents have to struggle with.