Community weekly poll: At what age should kids get their first cell phone?

Maturity, not age

In reply to: At what age should kids get their first cell phone? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

I am 16 and will be 17 in about 2 weeks and I just got my first cell phone less than a week ago. It was partly a birthday gift, and partly because I now go out with my friends more than I did before. My parents want to make sure I am ok and that they can get ahold of me/vice versa when they need to. My dad does pay for the phone but he says once I get a job, will have to pay for my share of minutes (we have family share, but I'm not a big phone person so I won't incur a huge bill).

Personally, I think the cell phone decision should be based on a few things: maturity, responsibility, and the need. At 16 years old, teens tend to go out more to the mall, movies, on dates, etc with friends. I think it is good for them to carry their phones with them when they are out in case they get into a sticky situatioe like parties, where someone sober may not be present to drive them home or if they get lost while driving, etc. While my first example doesn't show mature and responsible behavior, calling for a ride is better than risking one's life with a drunk driver. And not to mention if they are stranded with car problems, then mom and dad are just a phone call away (not to mention, AAA).

However, giving them free range with a phone can also do more harm than good. One way to prevent them from running up an excess bill is to keep the cell phone with you until they are going out somewhere. That way, they will not waste minutes while just hanging out at home. Most teens don't need cell phones at school (many don't allow phones or have a policy where you must turn off phones during school hours) and if they needed to call home, the school office has phones for emergencies or there are usually pay phones somewhere in the school (50 cents takes up less space than a phone would in a pocket/purse/back pack). Some kids are mature enough to listen to a parent's wish of not using the cell phone unless they need to (or during free nights/weekends).

Another option of limiting phone usage is to go prepaid. There is the risk of running out of minutes when they are most needed, though. My friend's parents made a deal with her: she gets a certain amount of prepaid minutes from her parents per month, and once they run out she has to pay for extra until the next month. That seems reasonable enough to me.

There are many reasons for having a phone, but above all, teenagers need to be reminded that it is a responsibility. Losing the phone, damaging it, and going over their minutes are all irresponsible (even though accidents happen). I think that parents should look at their kid's over all behavior and decide from there. They can start with prepaid, to show their child responsiblity, and then add their children to a family share plan if their child shows responsible use.

One last comment (as if this isn't long enough already): children under 15 probably don't need phones. If they go out, I believe parents should chaperone them or be close by in case of an emergency. There are phones made for kids that have a mom and dad button on them (I think Verizon has one called the migo?) that they can use in case of emergencies. I think their use is either prepaid or goes by the minutes used up each month. These might be reasonable alternatives, but in response to the poll, I cannot find a suitable reason for 5-7 year olds to have cell phones.