When did your DC get a smartphone?

[Anonymous]

Mine will get an Apple Watch for 5th grade “graduation” but waiting until 8th for the smart phone/internet access, and all that fun. Even then likely no social media. Luckily most of their class is on board which makes things easier.

[Anonymous]

Pp above - mine has had a “dumb watch” until now and in 5th. It’s done its job as far as late practices etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/16/health/cell-phones-jonathan-haidt-wellness/index.html

This author recommends holding off until high school.

I am only 40 pages into this book and already recommend it. Some sobering info/stats in there.

We are not iPhone people, and as of last summer at least, android/pixel did not do stand alone smart watches. We got our 6th grader a pixel watch, and got the accompanying phone for free with a promotion and keep it at home as a land line. He sometimes uses the phone to respond to a text after he gets home, but rarely does.

Our plan is to hold off on letting that be 'his phone' for a few more years.

Luckily his DCPS middle school takes all phones and watches as kids arrive and hands them out at dismissal so that's at least 7-8 hours a day nobody has access.

Don't even get me started on that topic that has been discussed on here before about group texts between iPhone and non-iphone users. Luckily my son is not interested in texting much yet, but the exclusion by type of phone is real!

[Anonymous]

16

[Anonymous]

9th for phone. After college apps completed for socials.

[Anonymous]

Start of sixth, locked down with no social media, videos, games, or contact (messages or calls) with anyone not on our preapproved list (which is family and a few adult honorary family members).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine got hers after 8th grade. She was probably one of 10 kids without a phone at that point.

She did have an icloud account and was able to receive text msgs on an ipad.

We talked with 1-2 other families (around 4th or 5th grade) and tried to work with others bc the peer pressure is real.

+1

Ours got them in ninth grade.

We had a family flip phone they could use when they were away from home if needed.

[Anonymous]

7

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Crowdsourcing since DH and I don’t agree on this one. Curious when everyone’s kids got their first iPhone/smart phone, age and grade please.

My DD is going into middle school (6th grade) in the fall and is already lobbying for one. Based on her friend group, shockingly I would say around half of the kids already have iPhones in 5th grade, and according to her, every single one of her friends that doesn’t already have one is getting one for graduation. I have asked the moms of her 2 closest friends and they both said they plan to get their DDs iPhones.

I would love to wait, but I also worry about my DD being the only one of her friend group without one.

High school. Look at some of the other threads here about middle schoolers doing very inappropriate things with smart phones. By 9th grade most kids are capable of understanding how compromising texts and images get copied and passed around and thus understand the importance of being very careful about what you send to whom. But in 6th-8th, even the smartest kids can make very very dumb choices.

[Anonymous]

5th grade, iPhone.

[Anonymous]

9th grade for my kid, she has a gabb watch now as an 8th grader.

[Anonymous]

We have done an Apple Watch the summer before 6th grade and an iPhone the summer before 9th. But I hate how the 9th grader uses the iPhone. And I can’t figure out how to lock it down in a way he can’t bypass. He’s so much better at technology than we are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8th grade

Same. More specifically, on their 14th birthday. Wait as long as possible op.

[Anonymous]

In 7th for my oldest but wish we’d waited longer. He really didn’t need it in 7th. For my younger child it will be 8th.

[Anonymous]

Just before starting 9th.