People with Kids 12 and under: Does your kid have a cell phone? (1 Viewer)

[Long Ball Larry]

Curious about this, as my daughter is ending 5th grade and a lot of her friends have phones, but she does not.

 

[xulf]

Kids are 4 and 2.  No phones.

 

[avoiding injuries]

6 and 1. No phone, but the 6yo got walkie talkies with a girl across the street. 

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

My 12 and 10 year olds both have dumb phones.

 

[MindCrime]

Curious about this, as my daughter is ending 5th grade and a lot of her friends have phones, but she does not.

My oldest is 12. Got him cell service on an old hand-me-down iPhone 4s last fall when he started middle school. Mainly because he has activities 5 nights per week (between baseball and chorus, his schedule is crazier than mine). I bought him a new iPhone SE this spring, after 3 marking periods of straight A's, and because it was gonna run me a $100 to replace the battery in the old phone since it had a lifespan of about 30 minutes. We have an unlimited family plan, so he's on that, although I do look over his usage with him on the bill each month.

(Insert "bad parent, you're spoiling your kid" comment here)

 

[glvsav37]

10yr old girl...yes.

wasn't something we planned on, but when wife and I recently upgraded phones, they offered a BOGO phone with a small connection fee. So we said, it was prob gonna happen in the next 2 years anyway, why not?

She already had an iPod and took care of it/never lost it. The phone however is not allowed in school, and we monitor what she does on it .

 

[matuski]

9 and 7.. not yet.

eta - about a third of the 9 year old's class has phones.

 

[dutch]

Son is 14 now but we gave him his first phone when he was 12 and finishing up 5th grade.  Around here, they encourage the use of electronic devices(ie smart phones, tablets, ipod touches)in school.   They use them during class to look up information pertaining to the lessons.  

The times they are a changin'.

 

[Courtjester]

Both my daughters got Iphones when they turned 11-unlimited family plan. Like the above poster, my kids are straight "A", involved in everything type kids and we needed some way to keep in touch with them. We always got them the older models initially.

 

[Mister CIA]

kids are grown now, but I could not imagine young kids not having a phone. Sure there are cons, but instant contact between parents and children is something you will quickly appreciate.

 

[FUBAR]

Four kids. The 13yo has a smart phone we pay for but in exchange he babysits his brothers for free.  Totally worth it.  

Our 11, 8, and 5 year olds do not have a phone. 

 

[East Coast Bias]

My son is 8.  Doesn't have one now but likely will by the time he's 10.

 

[FUBAR]

kids are grown now, but I could not imagine young kids not having a phone. Sure there are cons, but instant contact between parents and children is something you will quickly appreciate.

I'll mostly agree but there's no way in trusting my 8yo or 5yo with a smart phone.  Eventually all 4 will have phones but we're not rushing to that point. 

 

[Sinn Fein]

12-yo - phone - old iphone

10-yo - no phone - but has wifi ipad with iMessage, probably will not get a phone until middle school - a year away.

 

[MindCrime]

Son is 14 now but we gave him his first phone when he was 12 and finishing up 5th grade.  Around here, they encourage the use of electronic devices(ie smart phones, tablets, ipod touches)in school.   They use them during class to look up information pertaining to the lessons.  

The times they are a changin'.

Yeah, was shocked to learn this too. 3 of my kid's 6th grade teachers use an online polling site, tell the kids to answer a question via a site from their phones.

 

[=Smackdown=]

3 kids - 13, 10 and 7

Oldest got his cell phone when he graduated 5th grade - seems to be the norm around here. At that age he travels on around town on bike with his friends.

 

[Galileo]

12 and 13 yr old...both have had a phone for about a year now. It became very helpful in middle school as their activities and after school commitments became more numerous.  They also go off into the neighborhood on their own much more frequently and it allows us to easily stay in touch, if needed.  Also, as dutch mentioned earlier, they have become useful as a tool in, and for, school as well.  Their phone/plan is effectively their "allowance" in exchange for all the chores they are responsible for doing.  It is clear, however, that the phones belong to me and the Mrs.  They must be surrendered to us at any time on demand.  

 

[Andrew74]

Oldest is 11 and doesn't have a phone. Most of her classmates do; many of them are smart phones. I'm holding out until it becomes useful due to after school activities. 

 

[Courtjester]

And the find my Iphone feature is nice because you know where they are at all times. That little baby has caught my daughter in lies several times over the years. The downside is, until recently, she wondered why I never took her phone. Now she is 16 and has a different apple id I can't track her anymore. :(

 

[msommer]

My kids got phones when they were about 10. Cheap smartphones IIRC

 

[belljr]

10 no.

but I set up her tablet to text friends 

 

[NutterButter]

I can't imagine why I'd need instant contact with my 9 year old to justify a cell phone. 

 

[Cjw_55106]

Neither the 12 or 10 year olds have phones. They both have iPods to do all of their social media crap, but no phones. 

 

[Dan Lambskin]

7 year old has an old i4 but only works on wifi and really more of just a mini tablet for him to play games on at home or out at restaraunts and whatnot

he can also text his buddy down the street

 

[AcerFC]

My daughter is 9. She will not get one until middle school

I use them in my class, but students who dont have a phone just use the computers. 

8th grade teacher

 

[snellman]

13 year old, has a tablet for skype, facebook, etc, but no phone.  My 3 older children (now 21, 20, 20) didn't have phones until they had jobs to pay for their own phones and neither will this child.

 

[rabidfireweasel]

Kids 12 and almost 9:

no and no.

i know lots of folks talk about needing the kids to be able to contact them after school, but I don't get it. My kids practices end at a specific time. If the coach/ teacher wants to end it early they can contact me.