What age would you consider getting a cell phone for your child? I don't remember if we've discussed this before, but it's something we all will eventually think about and possibly consider. I would get a phone for my 15 yr old, but he's not interested (yet ), but my 12 yr old wants one. It doesn't help that a lot, but not all, of the kids he knows have one. There are definite pros to having one, even at this age. Did you know they now have phones with a GPS tracking system in them and you can locate your child's whereabouts via the internet? My son really wants one, but I am holding out. I may reconsider when he officially becomes a teenager.

By Kaye on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 09:20 am:

I already have a high enough bill, so I will hold out as long as I can. My oldest is 10. She has friends with phones, I see them call home when they walk out of school, I guess reporting to mom they are on their way (maybe calling mom at work??) I think what I plan to do is, if my daughter is somewhere without I will let her carry my phone, to use if she needs me or I need to get in touch with her. I think as for having her own phone, when she has a job and can pay for it, then she can have one. I also think I will opt for a prepaid type phone, just because it gets crazy expensive when you go over the minutes.

By Kernkate on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 09:46 am:

My DS who is 18 got a cell phone for Christmas...his dad got it for him and dad pays the bill for it. The reason his dad wanted to get him on his plan was for when he goes to college. Which I thought was a good idea.
I myself don't think I would get one for them until they are at least 16. But thats just my opinion.

By Mcrosby57 on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 10:02 am:

I gave my sons cell phones when they were Jr. or Sr. in high school. I wanted to be able to contact them and wanted them to contact me when they needed rides or there was going to be a change in their schedules I wanted to know about. That being said, I found the cheapest way to control their phone use was to pre-pay with a program that turns off the phone once the monthly allotment was used up. My oldest is in college, now and my youngest is a senior this year. Both either school have rules about turning off the phones during class. The high school has a rule that the phones must to turned off during normal school hours. I have no problem with that. I don't expect to have my sons call me in the middle of their class. I can call, leave a message, and they can call when school is out. If it's that much of an emergency, I can call the school office to contact them. I will not pay for a cell phone for their social use. If they want more than what I provide, they have to pay for it with their own money. In two years, I haven't had any complaints. I don't buy into the "cell phone" craze just because everyone else has one. My sons wanted one long before I'd buy. I bought when I saw a need. I provided only enough minutes to make phone calls to me.

I guess I run a tight ship.

Mary

By Janet on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 10:12 am:

Oh boy, this is a hot topic at our house! My 14 yr old dd wants one in the worst way, and of course "everyone has one." Her argument is so she'll be able to call me when games are over to come pick her up. I tell her there's a pay phone in the school gym. She thinks next year, when she's in high school, she should get one. At the rate I see these things get lost or stolen, and the way I see kids use them (very indiscriminately), I'm going to need a lot better reason to get her one. Right now, and even next year, there's no way.

By Mommyathome on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 10:40 am:

I think I will consider it in Jr. High. By that time my DK's will be doing a lot more on their own. By then cell phones will probably be so dang cheap that it won't even be an issue. Look how the prices have gone down now. When we got our first cell phone many years ago we paid a LOT more than we do now. We could barely afford it. Now we have 2 phones and pay less than $50 a month total.

And, I like that tracking feature that someone above mentioned. That would give me piece of mind.

By Cybermommyx4 on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 11:21 am:

We will be giving oldest DS (16) one as soon as he finishes driver's ed...he has his own car, and will pay the bills himself. But even if I had to pay it, I would, because I strongly feel that we need a cell phone in every vehicle (especially here in Northern NH - some areas are very rural, and if the car should break down or something, you could wait a LONG time before someone drives by)...I will feel much safer knowing I can contact him to make sure he is OK ;)

By Karen~moderator on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 11:32 am:

Both my kids have them, but they pay for them. Before that, they had beepers, which they paid for out of their allowance *most* of the time. I was against that in the beginning, but I quickly learned it was a good way to keep tabs on them, since I have caller ID on my phone, I could see where they were really calling from.

My personal opinion these days is that if they are driving, they need a way to get in touch in an emergency. I realize that many, many years have passed where this wasn't an option or an issue, but things are different now, and I personally feel better about the fact that *if* something happens, they have a way to call for help.

By Texannie on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 12:08 pm:

My son is 14 now and he is rarely any place that I can't reach him..he needs someone to drive! LOL
I will get them for my kids when they start to drive.

By Happynerdmom on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 01:59 pm:

We got our 13-yr-old dd one for Christmas. I think 13 is a good age. That was holding out for us! She's been asking for one forever. She thought she was the *last 13-yr-old on Earth* not to have a cell phone! It really does come in handy. And, look for good plans...we got her phone free when we signed up, and she and I actually share minutes. It's 5000 a month, plus free evenings and weekends. We don't use near that many! (And she uses more than me.) We actually don't pay any more with her having a phone! I have friends who got their kids the pre-pay phones, but warned me against it...you usually pay a lot more in the long run, and since one of my main reasons for her to have it was for emergencies, keeping in touch, etc., I didn't want it to turn off.

By Kay on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 02:16 pm:

My older 2 got their phones when they started driving. My 13 yr old dd has been bugging us for a year for a phone. Our answer - no. Most of her friends use it simply for text-messaging each other, or chatting with each other from their own homes with the home phone in full view.

As for my 13 yr old, if I don't know exactly where she is all the time, then that's a problem. A cell phone sure won't cure it - it just makes things easier for them....not a good enough excuse for me.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 02:22 pm:

We switched cellphone companies and were slow to cancel the old one. We got used to having two phones, so now we have Sharetalk with US Cellular. DH has one phone and DD and I sort of share one. It isn't completely hers and isn't completely mine. She uses it to call me when she is done with events at school and it's nice. I don't know if anyone uses the pay phones at the school. If she doesn't have a phone, someone else probably does. It is something that she only carries when she is at an event after school. She is a freshman in high school.

Also, DH almost always has the cellphone on him. So, if I'm driving to Milwaukee or some other place far away, it is nice to have two cellphones for each of us to have one.

We got cellphones in the first place to cut our long distance costs and it has worked. With 700 anytime minutes and 3000 night and weekend minutes, we aren't going to overdo the minutes even between both cellphones. DH and I are the ones who call and talk a long time. DD14 only wants it to tell us she needs a ride home. She still doesn't talk on the phone very much.

By Texannie on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 03:17 pm:

Kay..."As for my 13 yr old, if I don't know exactly where she is all the time, then that's a problem. A cell phone sure won't cure it - it just makes things easier for them....not a good enough excuse for me."

My feelings exactly!

By Mommyathome on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 04:38 pm:

OK, I just re-read my post way up there and noticed something that is REALLY bugging me LOL.

I put "piece of mind"
I meant "peace of mind"
I really do know the difference!

By Melissa on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 04:45 pm:

I've always said never. Because I work at a Family Planning clinic and it makes it very easy for your kid to have a whole life you know nothing about. From a work perspective, for me it's great b/c it is easier than ever to get in touch with teens about their test results. My thought has been if Lexi plans to have a whole life I don't know about, then she's going to work really hard to do it. I am softening a bit b/c I see the safety thing and how being able to get in touch with them would be good, I think if I got one it would be an extra and I would give it to her to use when I wanted her to have it not for it to be hers.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 09:29 pm:

Melissa, that is how it is in our family. It is an extra phone and she only has it when she's at school for band or something like that.

By Dana on Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 09:35 pm:

I don't even have one. Niether does DH. I don't care for them! I don't like them in children's hands and I don't like listening to adults carry on conversations around me either. I don't like seeing them in use on the road. And I certainly don't think a child should have 24/7 access to whomever they wish to share their phone number with.

I do see the safety side of it...but my goodness, we've lived this long without cell phones, why do we need them now? Payphones are just fine with me. But I do wonder if they will even exist much longer.

My husband and I are both HAM radio operators and we have a radio in our car. So we do have a form of contact in case of emergancy. I can also make phone calls from the radio. There are small hand helds that are available as well. So we can even walk around and still be in contact. Both DH and I intend on DD getting certified so that she has access to that. It will work the safety issue, but also all her conversations can be heard by anyone listening, so no undercover meetings w/ those not approved planned.

By Babysitbarb on Friday, March 5, 2004 - 10:00 am:

Iv been asking myself this same question because our DD (15) has saved money from christmas and her birthday and now wants to buy herself one of those trac phones that you buy the prepaid card with minutes on it from like walmart. She doesn't really go many places that she's not with one of us or with another adult who has a phone already but, she's going to Florida with the local campus life group for a week and my DB is the cordinator of it and will be there with his phone and my DSIL will also be there.She's really pushing now to get one before the trip but, Im just not sure this is the way to go but, I guess at her age and not having a job and we refuse to buy her one then this would be the route to go and when her minutes are used she's done until she can buy her own minutes again.