At What Age is a Cellphone appropriate for kids?

I think the age the it is appropriate for a child to get a cell phone varies depending on how sensible and mature he or she is. Some teenagers lose things rather easily so it wouldn't be a great idea to give such a child a cell phone. Some teens would spend hours a day talking to friends so that wouldn't be great for the person paying the phone bill. I have a pay and go cell phone for myself and that is better than a pay per month contract. I believe for the average teenager age 14 would be the right time to get a cell phone. In some cases it would be age 16 years and for others it would be as early as 12 years old. When giving a child a cell phone I think there have to be some rules about how much chatting on the phone to friends that they can do.

Well there is not any legal guideline or restrictions for this, it depends upon need, my granddaughter goes to school with her sister, they are 12 and 7 in age, becoz the school is far, we feel insecured if they don't return home in time; we have given them cell phones.. Thanks for sharing. Welcome always. Cheers. Professor

As much as possible I don’t want kids lower than 17 to have a cellphone. They become addicted to it and their juvenile mind can be affected by texting some friends or strangers. This is the age where a child can be influenced by anyone because they easy to believe and get afraid. They can be brainwash too and some because of fear started to lie. Although some kids are not like that and they follow what their parent’s advice, it is much safer for me if they have no cellphone at that age.

i think any kid, as long as they know how to use the phone and read the messages are entitled to have one. so, that means the simplest phones and cheapest ones we could find so as to disappoint potential robbers would be alright. we need to have constant communication with our kids even at school. i was a teacher and as much as we have had control over our no. of pupils it still isn't enough once the school bell rings. fancy phones are those for kids who are old enough and had saved enough money to buy it themselves. cell phones are a necessity and not a luxury. let's give our kids what they need in a perfectly right way. peace

i got my first cell phone when i'm 12..at that time,most of my friends already got one..but i rarely use it because i update with my friends in school..but now i'm 18,it is necessary because i used it a lot..i really against giving kids phone at a young age..because some will be addicted to it and it is not a good thing..kids need to live their lives as a kid...before they started to use such thing..but i do think 14 is quite ok to use cell phone..

in your case i think you should buy her a cellphone as she is a good girl plus you trust her very much.then i think its fine for her to have one.but for me,it is just okay if they are having it for something being away from home or something like that as it make us easy to contact them.but it is not okay if the cellphone with them all the time.my sister had give her daughter a cellphone and at the end she ended up by finishing the credit in just a week.i have told my nephew many times before not to misused it but she keep doing it until at last my sister need to keep the cellphone away from my her.they need to be remind about it all the time.now no cellphone for her and my sister will only allowed her to bring it when she has an outdoor activities.:)

My daughter will be 14 next month and I still take her places. When she used to babysit, I do believe that she needed her own cell phone. Since she quit though, she doesn't need a cell phone anymore. I do think kids needs a cell phone if they are going to be away from home all the time. You never know when something might happen. I don't think having a cell phone should be determined by age. It should be determined on how active the child is. Especially with the summer coming and hanging out with friends. That way they have their own cell phone to call to check in and such. There are so many new phones out there, especially the ones the parents can keep a track on their child's were abouts at all times. That will be a phone, I will be looking into when my daughter gets hers.

I had my first cellphone when i was 15, im 25 now. I think the age of 12 onwards is ok for kids to be using cellphones already, since that is the age where kids start having groups of friends, and for sure they will be hanging out alot at various places, so them having a cellphone makes it easier for the parents to communicate and check up on their kids.

We got our boys cell phones when they were ages 14 and 10. We live in a big city and felt safer knowing they were able to contact us any time they needed us. We got them little cases and they basically kept their cellphones in their backpacks to be used only in an emergency or if they were doing after school functions. It worked out well. I just had to make sure their cellphones were charged regularly. They are now 19 and 14 and they handle their cellphones very well. We never have any problems and it is great to be able to contact them whenever we need to.

As you already said she is a good kid and now onwards she will be out from home for some time when you are not with her, so there is no harm to get a cell for her. It would be good to be updated about her activities.

I would prefer 16 when they graduate high school ....when they are college we tend to send them to good universities or college and often far from our area....we have to have a means of communication and thru cellphone we can contact them whatever,whenever we wanted to, plus for elementary and secondary level cellphones are not that important. =)

My 14 year old daughter has a mobile (cell) phone and it is useful if she needs to ring and let me know she's staying behind at school for some reason or going to a friend's house, that kind of thing. Similarly, we can use it to ring and check where she is or remind her what time she has to be in. I guess she got her first cell phone at 12 or 13, I think. I certainly don't think primary school children (under-11s) need one, but most kids at secondary school (11-16 year olds) seem to have them these days. We are in the UK.

from my based opinion i recommend your child to have a phone. why 1. it is for your family security reason , you can check your son with cellphone every hour every minute and evey second. now days so much happened in the world . criminal rate is high , get your son a phone so you can monitor him. 2. it is for social improvement. who knows your son get more education friend . in other word your son can increase his social friends numbers 3. he can be a gadget fans :)

I think it's time for your allowance to give your daugther right to use cellphone, ,because she has been 14years old, don't worry about her too much, but you must monitor her activity and check her cellphone sometimes, for there are some bad information which maybe hurt her mind be careful

I think so much depends on the kid. My daughter got her first cell phone at age 10 and it wasn't long before it was taken away. She was about 13 when she got another one. She was into sports and it was a good thing for her to have to call me for rides and to keep me updated on her plans etc. I am not a phone person at all. I invested in a trac phone so she can keep in touch with me and reach me if I'm not at home. I don't think young kids need these phones which are costly, just to talk with their friends. But that's just my personal opinion. Only my daughters, brothers and my best friend have my trac phone # and they all know it isn't for chatting. It costs me about 20.00 every 3 months.

I think you can just give her one. When I was in high school, I bought it myself. because my mon against me for having one. Maybe you can't see the reason, but kids do need cellphones.

I am very conservative. My personal belief regarding children having too much stuff to get into trouble with in the digital age. I don't think a kid should have one until they are old enough to get a job and be responsible, but I know many people feel differently. What I would do is collect the cell numbers of the friends she is with so I can call and check up on her. Also, it is a good way to keep track of who she is hanging out with. If she really needed her own on certain occasions, I would loan out my phone to her. There are sooo many ways to communicate these days, having one's own phone (for a child anyway) is not very necessary. Someone always has one on them, and whatever place she is at will have a phone. My concern with her having her own phone is the trouble she can get into, whether it is intentional or not. Even if she is a good kid, there could be things sent to her phone that are quite inappropriate for her age. Heck, inappropriate for any age.

i think cell phone should be given to kids when they had finished their school...because i'd seen kids having cell phone at early age and all day long they are busy in talking and messaging...these things effect their studies...you can buy one cell phone and give it to her only everytime she goes out of the house ...

I will buy him a cell phone in the condition that he can use it if I have a kid.However,if the phone has a bad influence on him,I will withdraw it.

I suggest children can have mobile phones when they know how to handle them.They should be told that mobile phone is mainly used for communicating with other people, rather than a tool for playing with. So age should not be a problem as long as a child is not addicted to playing games on the mobile phone.