I have a boy who is about to turn 10. No WAY is he mature enough to keep track of a $200 cell phone.
What say the FR masses? What is a good age to consider a cell phone for the kiddies?
16 at the earliest.
my daughter had one at age 9. not a $200 one, but a virgin mobile pay as you go one. i have three kids in 3 different schools and if i am caught in traffic getting from one to the other, she needs to know i am on my way. she doesn't use it for talking to friends, it is a link to mom and dad.
VRWCboy will be 14 this month and he just started his freshman year in high school. Because of his marching band activities, we have to cart him around quite a bit and sometimes practices end early or late and he needs to call us to let us know. We got him a cell phone this month for that reason. Up until then, there was no good reason that he would need one. We also gave him strict restrictions on what he could use the phone for -- no text messaging or IM crap, and it is not for him to chat with his friends. It is strictly for him to be able to get in touch with us and for us to be able to get in touch with him. If he abuses it, he will lose the phone until he can use it responsibly and within the (tyrannically unreasonable) restrictions that we have established.
Depends on the child - we got our granddaughter a cell phone after 9/11 - when she was still in elementary school. We've never had a problem with her using too many minutes or losing the phone - she was always responsible. Once she dropped the phone in her cereal - shorted it out - but the phone was insured and replaced free. Newer phones for children restrict the people they can call - so if they lose the phone, the next person can only call "Mom and Dad," "grandma and grampa", Aunt Suzy, and 911. You and your child will feel more comfortable...
As soon as the kid can afford it.
When he can pay for it himself.
Good age? When they can pay for it themselves.
The older one has type 1 diabetes. The phone was more to make sure he was doing glucose tests at the right time or could get a hold of us if there was a problem. We needed the phone because we were letting the 10 year old do more than the 12 year old.
We got our granddaughter one when she was 11, and yes, she has lost a phone, but so has her mom. She lucked out and got great-grandma's old phone and some strict instructions. She's very responsible for a kid and she still lost it. I don't care though, because it has come in handy quite a few times, not just for her but for her friends too. Kids miss busses and wires get crossed and she can always call.
Why in the world would you consider buying a $200 cell phone for a kid. The ones that are free or maybe $20 will do everything your kid needs.