Cell phone for kids

[Vinny Cap]

Wanted to see when some of you got your kids a cell phone.

My son is going to be 12 soon and we are talking about a phone.  I think he is about the right age now and is pretty responsible for a kid.

He has had some classmates with cells as early as 3rd grade.  I thought that was way too young and he did agree.

Edited December 1, 2016 by Vinny Cap

[carpediem4300]

I dont think the age matters so long as you have parental control over it like social media and internet browsing etc

[iacas]

My daughter got hers at about 9. It wasn't 8, but it may have been 10. I think maybe it was just a month or two before she turned 10… that sounds right.

Anyway, yeah, it more depends on what kind of kid you have. How responsible they are, etc.

I've heard decent things about https://meetcircle.com.

[Vinny Cap]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

My daughter got hers at about 9. It wasn't 8, but it may have been 10. I think maybe it was just a month or two before she turned 10… that sounds right.

Anyway, yeah, it more depends on what kind of kid you have. How responsible they are, etc.

I've heard decent things about https://meetcircle.com.

Thanks for the idea.  Will check it out.  Do you use it?

[djfajt71]

I voted for 10.  When my ex and I split up, we agreed to get my son a phone so he could get in touch with us, when he was with the other parent.   

[newtogolf]

At 12 we bought our kids a disposable phone, nothing fancy, but there in case they needed to reach us in an emergency. The deal was if at 13 they acted responsibly and didn't lose the phone we'd buy them a smart phone.  We also placed restrictions, no phones at the table and no phones during family time and events.  We required passwords to all of their social media accounts and had a long sit down discussion about how doing stupid things in social media can impact them later in life, like getting into college and a job.  

At 17 and 20 all restrictions have been lifted for a few years and to my knowledge they haven't done anything stupid within social media that would reflect poorly on them today.  

[boogielicious]

We bought our son his first phone in 6th grade (12) because he was walking home from school everyday and we weren't home. That was actually the last phone we every bought for him as he saved his money to upgrade since then. He is still on my plan, but pays into it now. He's 22.

[mcanadiens]

Not that I have kids, but if I did it would be strictly for my convenience. If they do extracurricular stuff at school for instance, I might get them a Trac phone (or something like it) just to call me and let my know their schedule. They'd have to buy their own smart phone.

The age of the kid would obviously coincide with whenever they are old enough to do such things. I'd guess 12-13.

[Patch]

Our daughters recieved their phones once they started going out of town with their respective school sports teams. Probably 13, or 14. I remember they were the combo phone, 2 way radio gadgets. At one time all 4 of us had these radio/phones. Keeping in close touch was so easy. Just a push button a way. 

Now days we use text messaging more than the actual phone conversation. 

On a funny note. Our 6th grade Grand Daughter has a school lap top for classes. Her teachers assign work via these lap tops, and their students do the work on the computer. The teachers can see all their students work on their computers. Well apparently the youngsters have learned how to communicate with their friends too. Both during, and after school hours on their lap top, which also have microphones. I let my Grand Daughter use my phone a few times, and she downloaded the app for her schools lap top computer system. She said she wanted to be able to contact me sometimes. All of a sudden my phone became a part of her class rooms, and circle of friends. School officials, and some parents were caught off guard with this. It was not supposed to be able to be done. Our Grand Daughter, and some of her friends with the help of an adult expert are now in the process curing the problem. 

[Vinny Cap]

2 hours ago, newtogolf said:

At 12 we bought our kids a disposable phone, nothing fancy, but there in case they needed to reach us in an emergency. The deal was if at 13 they acted responsibly and didn't lose the phone we'd buy them a smart phone.  We also placed restrictions, no phones at the table and no phones during family time and events.  We required passwords to all of their social media accounts and had a long sit down discussion about how doing stupid things in social media can impact them later in life, like getting into college and a job.  

At 17 and 20 all restrictions have been lifted for a few years and to my knowledge they haven't done anything stupid within social media that would reflect poorly on them today.  

Totally on par with you.  This is my view and best part is I already went over the social media crap with him and he totally understands as he wants to be an inventor or maybe the President some day.  Funny when he tells his friends this stuff as they have no idea and don't understand the future impact.

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

We bought our son his first phone in 6th grade (12) because he was walking home from school everyday and we weren't home. That was actually the last phone we every bought for him as he saved his money to upgrade since then. He is still on my plan, but pays into it now. He's 22.

That's a good son you have there!  Nice to see someone save to get his own like we were taught when we were kids!

1 hour ago, Patch said:

Our daughters recieved their phones once they started going out of town with their respective school sports teams. Probably 13, or 14. I remember they were the combo phone, 2 way radio gadgets. At one time all 4 of us had these radio/phones. Keeping in close touch was so easy. Just a push button a way. 

Now days we use text messaging more than the actual phone conversation. 

On a funny note. Our 6th grade Grand Daughter has a school lap top for classes. Her teachers assign work via these lap tops, and their students do the work on the computer. The teachers can see all their students work on their computers. Well apparently the youngsters have learned how to communicate with their friends too. Both during, and after school hours on their lap top, which also have microphones. I let my Grand Daughter use my phone a few times, and she downloaded the app for her schools lap top computer system. She said she wanted to be able to contact me sometimes. All of a sudden my phone became a part of her class rooms, and circle of friends. School officials, and some parents were caught off guard with this. It was not supposed to be able to be done. Our Grand Daughter, and some of her friends with the help of an adult expert are now in the process curing the problem. 

That's crazy!  Funny how some of these kids are smarter than their teachers or parents.  Good story, thanks for sharing.

I guess my thinking was good as my boy is a good kid, smart and has some of my old school values.

Now the hard part... Android or Iphone?????!!!!!????  I will leave it up to him.

[Patch]

29 minutes ago, Vinny Cap said:

Totally on par with you.  This is my view and best part is I already went over the social media crap with him and he totally understands as he wants to be an inventor or maybe the President some day.  Funny when he tells his friends this stuff as they have no idea and don't understand the future impact.

That's a good son you have there!  Nice to see someone save to get his own like we were taught when we were kids!

That's crazy!  Funny how some of these kids are smarter than their teachers or parents.  Good story, thanks for sharing.

I guess my thinking was good as my boy is a good kid, smart and has some of my old school values.

Now the hard part... Android or Iphone?????!!!!!????  I will leave it up to him.

I think the "plan" is as important as the type of phone. I have an Android, with an "unlimited eveything" plan that also included 10 gigs of wifi hot spot. I pay $60 a month for it. Another $7 for replacement insurance.  I don't use it as a phone that much. I use it mostly for streaming stuff, internet, and text messaging. 

Check around for a good plan too. 

[14ledo81]

My oldest is 14 and we have not purchased a phone for him.

I view the phone as more of a luxury than necessity (at least at this point).  We also have multiple other kids in the house and I feel the money is better spent elsewhere.

[Vinny Cap]

8 minutes ago, Patch said:

I think the "plan" is as important as the type of phone. I have an Android, with an "unlimited eveything" plan that also included 10 gigs of wifi hot spot. I pay $60 a month for it. Another $7 for replacement insurance.  I don't use it as a phone that much. I use it mostly for streaming stuff, internet, and text messaging. 

Check around for a good plan too. 

I have been looking at the plans and unless you have to be online all day, most average ones are pretty good. Something around 10 gigs.  Almost everywhere you go has some kind of WiFi hotspot so as long as you are not streaming on the go from your data plan you should be ok.

I think he will go Android as he has a tablet and likes all he can do on it.  I let him play with my Iphone and showed him all the Apple tie downs, proprietary app and so on... biggest one to me is no SD card.  I like moving my pics and music around and I def don't like Itunes.  Over the years, I have had to redo so many computers due to Itunes wadding the PC.

8 minutes ago, 14ledo81 said:

My oldest is 14 and we have not purchased a phone for him.

I view the phone as more of a luxury than necessity (at least at this point).  We also have multiple other kids in the house and I feel the money is better spent elsewhere.

I will agree about it being a Luxury in most cases.  With divorced parents sharing custody, I can see it being needed a bit more.  If your kid walks to and from school, it can give you added piece of mind.  If your kid plays sports for school or in general it can be helpful if you cant stay there for all the practices and games.

Has your oldest asked about getting one?  It can get expensive and with other kids in the house once you get one kid the phone then they all want one.  Then the bill goes up and up!!!

 

[14ledo81]

1 hour ago, Vinny Cap said:

I have been looking at the plans and unless you have to be online all day, most average ones are pretty good. Something around 10 gigs.  Almost everywhere you go has some kind of WiFi hotspot so as long as you are not streaming on the go from your data plan you should be ok.

I think he will go Android as he has a tablet and likes all he can do on it.  I let him play with my Iphone and showed him all the Apple tie downs, proprietary app and so on... biggest one to me is no SD card.  I like moving my pics and music around and I def don't like Itunes.  Over the years, I have had to redo so many computers due to Itunes wadding the PC.

I will agree about it being a Luxury in most cases.  With divorced parents sharing custody, I can see it being needed a bit more.  If your kid walks to and from school, it can give you added piece of mind.  If your kid plays sports for school or in general it can be helpful if you cant stay there for all the practices and games.

Has your oldest asked about getting one?  It can get expensive and with other kids in the house once you get one kid the phone then they all want one.  Then the bill goes up and up!!!

 

I am sure he wants one and would gladly take one if we got it.  I also think he knows better than to ask.  And I don't mean that in a domineering way.  I believe he also realizes that we don't have funds to provide our children with phones.

The older ones do have their own tablets and use the wifi we have at home.

[Vinny Cap]

14 hours ago, 14ledo81 said:

I am sure he wants one and would gladly take one if we got it.  I also think he knows better than to ask.  And I don't mean that in a domineering way.  I believe he also realizes that we don't have funds to provide our children with phones.

The older ones do have their own tablets and use the wifi we have at home.

Some family plans can cost about the same as a car payment so I hear ya!  I only have one kid so I take care of him but dont spoil him.  He has had his tablet for 4 years and takes care of it like it was his baby.  They do give you just about all you need when at home.  Heck, half the kids dont use the phone anyways... they text, use text apps and go on web pages so a tablet on WiFi is a good option for the house with no monthly payments.