What age should kids get a phone(POLL)

[Eduard the weeb]

1 hour ago, BuckGup said:

14 but it can't be a smart phone. Smartphone is 16+

Guess I am returning my phone

[Eduard the weeb]

I go to high school ( currently 14 ) and everyone has cell phones and smartphones at that And I think not having a phone now doesn't make sense because we do stuff in are free time like hang out with friends and My friends parents aren't there all the time we aren't babies hell I walk home everyday and sometimes stay after school till 1am for helping set up, livestream, and clean up the equipment. or if I am editing a project in premiere pro so I think Having a phone when our 13-14 makes alot more sense then not.

[linkboy]

My ex and I have agreed that our son won't get a phone until he starts walking home from school by himself. He's going to be 7 in a few weeks, so he doesn't need one right now.

 

I'm thinking around when he turns 11 or 12.

[handymanshandle]

3 hours ago, TetraSky said:

Whenever they start leaving home alone to go on errands or school.
But I wouldn't get a kid an iPhoneX or some other ridiculously expensive phone like that. Max $75 CAD for the phone(used or new phone) and the cheapest phone plan, without texting or any data.

Some people would pay $50+ for their kids phone plan, I sure as hell wouldn't.

I've seen how many kids use their phone, they are always on the damn thing, texting each other at every hours of the day and the night, instead of studying for school.

A phone for a kid should be a device that lets them reach you in the case of an emergency(and vice versa), it's not something for them to "have fun" or "talk" with their friends.(text, because we all know nobody call anyone these days..)

Well I'd say a prepaid service like here in the states at least, like TracFone with like the $20 or $30 card unless you can see them using more than 60 or 120 minutes for text and calls or if they're stupid enough to use web on a cheapo flip phone

[handymanshandle]

7 minutes ago, Eduard the weeb said:

I go to high school ( currently 14 ) and everyone has cell phones and smartphones at that And I think not having a phone now doesn't make sense because we do stuff in are free time like hang out with friends and My friends parents aren't there all the time we aren't babies hell I walk home everyday and sometimes stay after school till 1am for helping set up, livestream, and clean up the equipment. or if I am editing a project in premiere pro so I think Having a phone when our 13-14 makes alot more sense then not.

well that age it makes a little more sense, although 10-13 year olds probably shouldn't have a smartphone. 14+ sure, they can have a smartphone just hope the parents make their kids know that they aren't owed that smartphone.

[Cyberspirit]

If we are talking about a Smartphone then 13-14 but if it's just a burner phone I'd say 9-10 is fine just in case there's an emergency.

[Eduard the weeb]

Just now, wcreek said:

well that age it makes a little more sense, although 10-13 year olds probably shouldn't have a smartphone. 14+ sure, they can have a smartphone just hope the parents make their kids know that they aren't owed that smartphone.

yeah I have to pay for my own phone but my parents currently pay for service because they said they wanted to for a family plan deal or something.

[Wano97]

ITT: People claiming children need to be mature before they are allowed to use a phone, and pretending to be oh so mature themselves.

 

If it's up to me when my kid will get his first phone, It'll probably be around the age of 11-12. That's when they go to middle school, that's when they'll start "needing" it.

[mitchpman13]

I wouldn't mind my children to have something cheap when they're younger, so if lost or broken it's not a huge value waste, but still provides communication if needed. As they get older, switch to something a little nicer, or have them save up any money they get to buy the phone or pay the monthly bill to pay it off.

[handymanshandle]

2 minutes ago, Eduard the weeb said:

yeah I have to pay for my own phone but my parents currently pay for service because they said they wanted to for a family plan deal or something.

Truth be told, my mom pays for my phone both service and the phone. 

I mean I did pay the last $90 on my old phone (Galaxy S6) and my new phone (Galaxy S8+) I had the intent of paying for but it's a little cheaper a month than my S6 was. Actually her new phone an iPhone 8 is more than my phone. Although I got mine in a sale Best Buy was doing where they took $300 off. So my S8+ is only going to cost $516. But I've also had to pay almost $500 on a phone bill once to get service restored because money was tight for a bit. So. eh I make it up and then some, although I'm hoping to get that and some back through a couple PC parts. 

 

I'm 17, well 18 in about a month and 9 days. My first smartphone was an iPhone 3GS back in like 2011/2012 but that didn't last long because we couldn't really afford AT&T.

Now my first smartphone that I actually kept for a significant amount of time was my Moto G2 had it for about a year, was a decent phone. Then I got my Galaxy S6 and now I've got a Galaxy S8+

[captain_to_fire]

Aside from being unnecessary and expensive, I find it questionable if some parents are good parents for buying expensive smartphones like iPhone X for kids aged below 14. I don’t think these parents are teaching their kids to be responsible and be smart about expenditures and these are the kids who will blow up allowances and salaries in the future. 

[Okjoek]

Graduation from HS for me (18) 

 

(Thanks a lot /s to all the posts above who would've made me wait until I was employed.)

 

Communication is important I think. so IF I had a kid I would get one of the cheapest value ones for a kid ~middle school age.

[Curufinwe_wins]

Phone=/=expensive smart phone.

 

Assuming you, like basically everyone these days, don't have a land line... then children absolutely should have a phone by the time they are old enough to be left alone at home for numerous hours at a time. For my sister and I, this was somewhere around 5/6 (now yes obviously we used landlines at that time, but still).

 

Smartphone... Idk... whenever you feel like they should have their own computer more or less. 

[Mira Yurizaki]

Whatever age you think is appropriate.

 

But if you ask me, I'd probably start around 9-10 but only with a basic phone and only if it's pre-paid. I figure by that point the kid already has some form of their own electronics. The prepaid part is just to make sure they don't overrun anything usage wise (i.e., it's like an allowance).

[cluelessgenius]

i get the idea of you want your kid to be able to call if something happens or something but id say he/she can get themselves whatever phone they want with their money but if im paying for it its gonna be the most basic non-smart phone i can find literally only capable of calls and non of that facebook instashit. 

 

ohh yeah and then probably 6-7th grade when they start doing more stuff on their own

[Kobathor]

Depends. I got my first smart device when I was nine y/o, an iPod Touch 3rd gen that I bought myself with my Christmas money. That lasted me four years IIRC. I didn't have my own cell phone until I was fourteen, and that was just a feature phone, talk and text only. I only got a smartphone plan this year, and I'll be turning eighteen this month. Sure, I was always jealous of kids that had unlimited data plans when they were twelve etc, but I'm glad my parents showed restraint rather than showering me with flagship phones and smartphone plans when I was a kid.

 

I think kids should get their first phone around thirteen or fourteen unless there are special circumstances. But I am of the opinion that a kid's first phone should not be a smartphone. I think other kinds of smart devices are fine, especially if they're willing to pony up the cash, but a smartphone is a whole other beast.

 

EDIT - reading posts in this thread, I have to add a very good special circumstance. If you don't have a home phone and your kid is left alone at home or they walk themselves to school/ride the bus, then they should have a basic cell phone before 13-14.

[bcredeur97]

at the point when it becomes a need rather than  a want. whatever that age is.

[Mike Soda]

Although I'll never have kids, now that I think of this some more, I'd be the kind of dad who makes his kid pay for their Moto G4 them self. Additionally, I'd also instruct them on what to reply with when their friends showed them their more expensive phones. "Yeah that's cool but I paid for mine myself ". Not even a Note 8 or iPhone X can compete with that if they were purchased by the parents.

[Slurpy]

5 hours ago, Mike Soda said:

Although I'll never have kids, now that I think of this some more, I'd be the kind of dad who makes his kid pay for their Moto G4 them self. Additionally, I'd also instruct them on what to reply with when their friends showed them their more expensive phones. "Yeah that's cool but I paid for mine myself ". Not even a Note 8 or iPhone X can compete with that if they were purchased by the parents.

Yeah, I wish that is what people said to me when they find out I have a really good phone. I don't see why people see phones as a class determiner.

[SansVarnic]

14 hours ago, KyberKylo77 said:

You'd feel left out since every other kid would have their own phone and also phones arent just for games and fun, its also for researching things on the go, calling parents when you need it and having emergency contacts just in case. Imo, you should at least get a handed down phone from your parents by 13 years. Personally, My first phone was an s3 when i was 14 

My first I bought when I was 14. First job. Feeling left out is not a good reason to have something.  

Having something like this is best by earning it and acquiring it through hard work and learning the responsibility of ownership by doing so.

[SansVarnic]

10 hours ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Assuming you, like basically everyone these days, don't have a land line... then children absolutely should have a phone by the time they are old enough to be left alone at home for numerous hours at a time. For my sister and I, this was somewhere around 5/6 (now yes obviously we used landlines at that time, but still).

A good point. We do not have a hard line to the house. (I am serious, there is no line that connects from the pole to the house)

I have a spare phone that is used for this use only. When we leave our children alone (they are young so it for a short duration - oldest is nine -) I pull out the phone and give it them and they are only allowed to call me or the wife if something happens that she cannot handle.

[Crunchy Dragon]

2 minutes ago, SansVarnic said:

A good point. We do not have a hard line to the house. (I am serious, there is no line that connects from the pole to the house)

I have a spare phone that is used for this use only. When we leave our children alone (they are young so it for a short duration - oldest is nine -) I pull out the phone and give it them and they are only allowed to call me or the wife if something happens that she cannot handle.

I like your thinking, but why not instruct them to call the police as well? Or are you guys always close enough to be able to help quickly? I'm not disagreeing with you, I think it's a great idea you've got going on there, but I personally would instruct them to call the police in addition to you and the missus.

[KyberKylo77]

21 hours ago, Sfekke said:

.

Loving the profile picture update/edit 

[NumLock21]

20 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

No, no, no, and defienlty no. 

 

You sound just like my Dad did before my Mom convinced him that a cell phone is a necessity. 

 

Unless your our kid is driven and picked up from school he or she gets around. Meaning you don’t know where they are.

 

if that alone isn’t reason enough to at least give your kid a basic call/text phone then I don’t know what is. Because to me that just sounds like a parent who doesn’t care about their kids. 

According to your profile, you're 18 so I agree with your mom that you should get a phone. Can't force you wear those rainbow cap with them propeller on it, that's disguise as a GPS beacon.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2/140-4091271-4414448?url=search-alias%3Dfashion&field-keywords=propeller+caps

 

[SansVarnic]

44 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I like your thinking, but why not instruct them to call the police as well? Or are you guys always close enough to be able to help quickly? I'm not disagreeing with you, I think it's a great idea you've got going on there, but I personally would instruct them to call the police in addition to you and the missus.

We have them call us first so that we can best understand the situation under and determine if that call needs to be made. 

I 100% agree with your suggestion, it is just that she has not yet been able to determine what constitutes that call but we are teaching that to her. She has a tendency to "overreact" so for now she calls us first. If she cannot connect after 2 calls in succession then she is to go next door (we have an awesome very reliable older neighbor) and if she happens to not be home (which is seldom) she calls 911 regardless.

 

Yeah we have a plan. We live in a small community and the Police/Fire is quite literally 3 block away from our house.