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At the subway station the other day, I saw a girl, who was probably about nine or 10 years old, with a cell phone clipped to her belt. Just like her dad. I wasn’t too shocked. Many people i know, including Christina, buy phones for their kids as a safety precaution.
According to Crave at CNET.co.uk, the average age at which children get their own phones was eight-years-old last year and is expected to drop to five-years-old this year.
Here are some concerns Crave reviewer Andrew Lim raises with my comments in italics:
- Children badgering their parents for phones because they look like toys – Nothing new.
- Mobile phone radiation – Unproven
- Privacy – In the Internet age, privacy is an illusion.
- Bad mobile habits like spelling – I’m sure kids are smart enough to know when “gr8″ is or is not acceptable usage.
- Repetitive stress injuries or text thumb disease (oyayubibyou or oyayubi sadai in Japanese).
- “Freaking out” when there’s no phone signal – Kids freak out over anything and everything anyway. ;)
Have you or would you get a cell phone for your kids? At what age? Please take the new poll to your right in the sidebar!
Update: Results of the poll.
how much does it cost
awesome phone my son wants one so bad whats it called and how much does it cost??
We have been debating when would be the right time for our kids to get cell phones. Now that my oldest daughter is in middle school in the 6th grade, I have found situations where it would be handy for she and I to reach each other. For example, she sometimes needs to stay after school to go to a tutorial, and she says that not all teachers will let her use their class phone. So now, I’m trying to decide if it’s best to add her to our Family Plan (my husband and I already share minutes) or to get prepaid or a kid phone contract. However, I think the Firefly, although cute, might be too basic for her since she’s 11 1/2, and I know she’d prefer to text rather than to talk. We are on AT&T….any suggestions on a good durable tween-friendly phone?
ilove that cute phone :)
Hazel,
Try Firefly. It is designed for children so that they can only call the numbers that are programmed into the phone.
http://www.fireflymobile.com/
ok :)
i have a 6 year old turning 7 in july and i am starting to let him go out by himself with friends but not to far. i am thinking about getting him a phone as well and dont know what i should do? hes still a little young at heart but talks very grown up a little to smart i think sometimes for his age. so im not sure. just want to be safe. you never know with crazy people today. kids need to know that they can call for help if they need it or just anything. i make sure if he is moving that he run back home to tell me where he is going. if i had the phone i could call him to make where he is and when he needed to be home.
I have 2 kids and they both have cell phones I think its a smart idea because if they get lost of seporated they could call me and they are both 13 (twins)
I am 11 and I reallly want a cell phone. I get straight A’s, haven’t missed an honor roll yet. I am very involved in school and extra currics. and groups. I will be 12 in less than 2 weeks. I love hanging out with my friends and I am going to start going over more people’s houses as I get older. I have been in a couple of situations where I’ve needed to call my mother but I couldn’t because I had no way to contact her. Luckily, I found a person who let me see their cell phone but next time, I might not get so lucky. I am almost in high school because I only have my 8th grade year to go. I know I deserve a phone. Do you think that I should get one?
I think it is too soon to predetermine an age when I will get my kids a cell phone. It is just something that will happen when the time is right. I don’t know if that will be 8 years old or 16 years old. There are a lot of factors that will be taken into consideration. Hopefully, I will teach my kids to be frugal and not go crazy with their minutes and downloading games and all that stuff. (One of our youth from church just got her cell phone taken away. Her mom had a $500 phone bill!!!! Eeek!)
i think all kids should have a cell phone for a lot of resens
2013 days ago
[...] If ICUE succeeds in encouraging children and adults to read, I’m all for it. It’ll be just one more reason to buy a cell phone for my preschooler when he’s ready. [...]
Mike: I liked your post about treating cell phones as we would any other everyday appliance and equipment. Cell phones are definitely nothing to marvel at anymore.
Kailani: Awww. You’re so sweet! :)
I think I’d get Girlie Girl one when she’s in middle school but not any younger. I do like the ones that have pre-programed numbers. Thanks for joining the Carnival of Family Life again. It’s always great seeing you there!
2089 days ago
[...] Play Library disagrees with pretty much every comment in the C|Net article. As an added bonus, they agree with me that kids will learn the difference between phone typing and real writing. [...]
I want my kids to have a phone pretty much as soon as I let them start wandering around the neighborhood on their own. They are 3 now, so I have a little time.
I can’t imagine how bad I would feel if they couldn’t call me sometime where they needed real help.
I like the thought of those cell phones that can only call a couple numbers that you preprogram into them. That way you can keep some control over how the phone is used but still provide a way for them to get help when they need it.
I’m glad you got your son a phone too!! I don’t think there’s any problem with giving kids cell phones as long as parents monitor their usage. Pretty soon cell phones will be just like a notebook – no big deal. :)
Last year we spent the summer in DC with my soon-to-be-retired husband. My son was turning 13. He wanted a cell & Dad (who didn’t have one for himself until i forced him) agreed! No way. Then I thought about all the panicked moments on the metro, downtown, strange places, even out of sight bike rides at home. I’m glad I caved. Walking home from school that fall some guys in a van approached him, he was able to use his phone to call for help. The Sheriff said it was good that he had the phone. Now my soon to be 11 year old wants a Migo phone. He doesn’t really go that far. But I think that a van could pull up when he goes around the block. We live in what is one of the better neighborhoods in Indianapolis now. So I guess bad things happen everywhere. We had a boy get hit by a car crossing the street on his bike. How would they be able to reach the parents right away? Maybe having a phone in your pocket is a good thing, with boundaries.
Christina: You don’t have to defend yourself!! I think you made a good choice and at the right time for your family. Kids go all sorts of places with all sorts of people nowadays that a cell phone is a great idea.
Let me defend my choice here – I was totally opposed to getting my daughter a phone (she just turned 12), when her best friend showed up with one. I gave her parents down the road about it and said my daughter will NOT have a phone until she is driving. My best girlfriend then proceeded to give ME down the road – telling me that my daughter doesn’t have to be right in there with all the trends, but since all of her friends have them (and they do), that this is one fairly inexpensive thing that we should do for her. After all, I am the biggest geek on the planet – how do I expect to raise her as a good geek without the latest techno gear?? Well, I ignored all of that – but, recently she was with new friends, 2 different friends on 2 different occasions, and their parents did not bring her home anywhere near close to the time I thought she should be home and I couldn’t reach them on the phone. That was making me think how handy it would be for her to have a phone, and then when her father (my ex) started going bipolar the week that the kids were going up there a couple of weeks ago, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I see this phone as much more for me than for her. I AM waiting til my 8 yr old is 12 before he gets one. And that will only be because I will have to give him one then. ;) Sorry I am such a windbag. :) LOL