When Should My Kid Get a Cell Phone?

As fewer people have land line home phones, we're also seeing an increase in the number of people who have cell phones. Among those people are younger and younger children. Many parents are getting their kids cell phones so they can easily keep in contact with them when everyone has busy schedules. Others are for emergency purposes, but there are plenty of parents who are now getting their kids cell phones just because "everyone else has them."

When should a child get a cell phone? Most people agree nowadays that teenagers are ok with cell phones, though you need to monitor their use. What about younger kids though? Does your ten year old need an iPhone? There is obviously no exact answer to this, but here are a few things to consider before you make (or don't make) the purchase:

1.  Is your child responsible? If your child still looses their toys, needs reminders to feed their pets , or in general shows a lack of forethought and responsibility, do you really want to buy them a cell phone with an expensive plan and a two-year contract? A good option for an irresponsible child who needs a cell phone for whatever reason is to get a cheap "burner phone" (a phone that costs $20 or less) that just makes calls, texting if they're lucky, and is on a pre-paid plan.
2. Why does your child want the phone? Is it because they constantly need to borrow their friend's phone to get ahold of you or is it because "everyone else has one?" Make sure your child has a valid reason to want a phone. You can also use this question to find out what kind of phone they need. Parents sometimes want to spend the extra money to get their kid the nicest phone even if the child never uses many of the options.
3. What's their school's policy on cell phones? Ask any teacher or school staff member, and they'll all agree- they see lots of kids bring in cell phones their parents gave them for emergencies, but the kids are showing them off to their friends as toys instead. This means that in a short while, the phone is likely to either be taken away from a teacher, stolen, or broke. Some schools are stricter about their cell phone policy than others, but you always want to make sure you're not sending your child to school with something that will be taken away shortly thereafter.

Practical Tip of the Day:

No matter what age, gender or grade level your child is, I always recommend getting their cell phone in a durable case as soon as you buy the phone. This will help phone stay undamaged and in working order for as long as possible. Far too often, a child will accidentally drop theirs or another friend's phone, and then they will be looking for you to get them another one (newer model, of course).