At what age are my child's peers going to expect my kid to have a recent top of the line smartphone?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Art what age is the peer pressure going to start?
10 years old? 11? 12? |
Anonymous
| Depends on where you live. |
Anonymous
| I do not want to pay over $400 for something that can easily get snatched from my child's hand or backpack. Its not worth it. |
Anonymous
| Considering, I don't have a top of the line smartphone, my child won't either. |
Anonymous
|
Middle school in our area. So 11/12 most had a smartphone
|
Anonymous
| 9+ |
Anonymous
|
My DS is 10 (5th Grade). He has started asking, but no one in his friend group from school actually has one. He does have a friend on a sports team who just received one for his 10th birthday. We have been discussing getting a cheap flip phone with pay-as-you-go minutes that he can take to sports practice or other places where we drop him off, but he would hand it back in when returning home.
He got a fit bit for his birthday this summer and broke it within 24 hours falling off his bike. I'm in no hurry whatsoever to get him something that costs several hundred dollars. |
Anonymous
|
My kid's classmates started asking in late MS/early HS.
He still doesn't have one. And his classmates' parents are freaking out about how to pay for college. We're not. (Not to turn this into some victim-blaming screed about how you could afford a house if you didn't eat avocado toast or heath insurance if you didn't have an iPhone. But it's never too soon to start letting your kids know that your spending reflects your values, and fancy electronics for kids didn't make our cut.) |
Anonymous
|
Who cares. Be a parent. Mine is 12 and while we can afford it, it is something we will give a 6th grader.
He’s fine and happy. Who are these parents that are so concerned about popularity and keeping up with the Joneses? |
Anonymous
“not something” |
Anonymous
| In our neck of the woods, most parents gave it as a 5th grade graduation gift. By middle school, most kids had one. |
Anonymous
|
To quote a comedian...
They ask "When can we expect payment?" Uh, you can *expect* it whenever you want. Hell, if you get, call me, so that I can be surprised right along with you. |
Anonymous
| If you want your kid to be labeled and get ostracized, then by all means, make sure they have a hand me down phone. |
Anonymous
My kid got a smart phone at that age, but it was a $15 pay as you go one. When he got his own job, years later, he upgraded to a $100 pay as you go Android. He's got his eye on a $160 refurbished iPhone 6 and is saving. No kids have ever commented negatively. I don't think they notice. |
Anonymous
| Middle school, but even at the private, top of the line was never expected because parents were smarter with their money than that. |