What percentage of 3rd and 4th graders in your kids class have phones?

[Anonymous]

DD keeps saying “everyone” in her class has a phone so she needs one too so she doesn’t get left out of social and everything.

But how many kids IRL in your kiddos class in ‘26 have phones/devices?

[Anonymous]

I have a third grader and live in NW DC and exactly one kid in the grade has a phone. Everyone talks about it often. no one else does.

[Anonymous]

21 percent

[Anonymous]

No one

[Anonymous]

None of my 3rd graders classmates have a phone, that I know of. I do know 3 kids with smart watches (the Gizmodo watches) but they aren't in her school class, but friends from activities.

My kid has never expressed an interest in getting a phone. She is excited to get a watch in 4th or 5th because she knows that is going to come with a bit more independence for her (walking to and from school on her own, being able to walk to a friend's house without one of us). We have list of things she has to demonstrate she can do before we get it and she is working on it very seriously.

[Anonymous]

Few kids have phones, and if they do there is usually a good reason like diabetes. More kids have watches, which are phones attached to their bodies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None of my 3rd graders classmates have a phone, that I know of. I do know 3 kids with smart watches (the Gizmodo watches) but they aren't in her school class, but friends from activities.

My kid has never expressed an interest in getting a phone. She is excited to get a watch in 4th or 5th because she knows that is going to come with a bit more independence for her (walking to and from school on her own, being able to walk to a friend's house without one of us). We have list of things she has to demonstrate she can do before we get it and she is working on it very seriously.

Why would you do a watch before a flip phone?

[Anonymous]

All they really need is a device to get a messaging app. For most kids they use Kids Messenger on a tablet, and they use a parent’s old device and don’t take it to school. The only 4th grader I know with an actual phone needs it for his diabetes.

[Anonymous]

Our fourth grader got a Gizmo recently and her teacher mentioned that only a few of the students had them (I was checking to make sure we understood the rules and expectations around them). I doubt that many have phones if only a few have watches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD keeps saying “everyone” in her class has a phone so she needs one too so she doesn’t get left out of social and everything.

But how many kids IRL in your kiddos class in ‘26 have phones/devices?

I am not sure, as they are not allowed at school.

Different families make different choices, all of which are fine.

For our family, we WANT our kids to be left out of social and whatever. If our kids are known as the kids who are "out of it", then we are very happy. I was known as that growing up. My life was so much simpler and happier as a result - and I had very limited exposure to drugs/alcohol compared with many others.

[Anonymous]

Are you kidding me? None!

[Anonymous]

My niece is in fourth and we live in a major city. None have phones. They are not allowed to go anywhere without a grownup yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our fourth grader got a Gizmo recently and her teacher mentioned that only a few of the students had them (I was checking to make sure we understood the rules and expectations around them). I doubt that many have phones if only a few have watches.

Are you sending the Gizmo to school? Hopefully not on a kid's wrist.

-- teacher who would much rather see a 4th grade with a limited phone buried in their backpack than a kid attached to a distracting device.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of my 3rd graders classmates have a phone, that I know of. I do know 3 kids with smart watches (the Gizmodo watches) but they aren't in her school class, but friends from activities.

My kid has never expressed an interest in getting a phone. She is excited to get a watch in 4th or 5th because she knows that is going to come with a bit more independence for her (walking to and from school on her own, being able to walk to a friend's house without one of us). We have list of things she has to demonstrate she can do before we get it and she is working on it very seriously.

Why would you do a watch before a flip phone?

Largely because other kids get Gizmo watches and it works best when kids have the same devices. I've been told the Gizmo is very easy to place parental controls on, and the subscription is pretty inexpensive (like $10 a month or something).

We honestly haven't looked seriously into it yet because we're still at least a year if not more away from doing this. This is partly based on the experience of our good friends with a 5th grader and their recent experience (though bought her a "dumb phone" but she wanted a watch instead because it's what her friends had, they were able to set it up so it was limited in the same way).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our fourth grader got a Gizmo recently and her teacher mentioned that only a few of the students had them (I was checking to make sure we understood the rules and expectations around them). I doubt that many have phones if only a few have watches.

Are you sending the Gizmo to school? Hopefully not on a kid's wrist.

-- teacher who would much rather see a 4th grade with a limited phone buried in their backpack than a kid attached to a distracting device.

You can set the watch up so it goes to sleep when school starts and only wakes up when it's over.

I think watches are appealing because they are harder for kids to lose.