Should children be allowed to own a cellphone?

I think children should be allowed to own a cellphone but the phone must be kept by the class teacher. Or the school must put it in a special place where a guard is hired to watch it. It is important to have a cell phone, even for children. In cases of emergency, we wouldn't know what will happen to us and the child, don't we?

I think it is not good for children to use a cellphone. I am 18 now and I don't have a cellphone. I have seen many of my friends using their mobile to simply chat with girls and waste their meaningful time. I spend my leisure time in mylot which I feel quite good and happy. Cellphone is an invention of this era which is misused by many..Secondly it is not good for health. What can a child do with a cellphone. It ends up in a waste investment of money.

If some adults are not allowed to own cellphones, why should that privilege be extended to children? If the parents own cellphone and have a cellphone plan, they may allowed their children to have a cellphone, but in reality it is the parents who own the cellphones. And this would mean that when the child is at school, the teacher or principal should be in charge of the cellphone unless the child needed it for an emergency. An older child can be given his own cellphone or buy one, but that applies to a teenager who needs it to get in touch, not for gabbing with his friends. Once the teenager reaches the age where he can enter into a legal contract, then he can own his own cellphone.

To me it is okay for the child to have a cellphone. Just so that they can call home. That they would not be tieing up the house phone. So that they can have their own privacy. But the cons, can be that if they dont mind that the phone get taking away. Because if they go over there minute or if their grade fail or if they are not at the place that they are saying that they are going.

Certainly if my child were going to public school I would get her a dedicated cell phone that would only dial my number and 911 in cases of emergencies. I think Disney offers one of those. I would not want her to get stranded somewhere without a ride or taken away and not able to call home. It would be totally worth it to me. But, I might ask her to pay for her own calls if she were a teen and wanted to chat with friends. Or, at least ask her to do chores around the house to earn the privelege. That might make it worth it!