When do you think a kid should have a phone?

[Anonymous]

Mine got theirs when they were 14.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family rule is 8th grade- and despite being the only ones who did this of our friends groups- I stand by it as one of my best parenting decisions.
Once kids get phone- from my experience life is over as you know it. Phones will be the defining negative of this generation. And I work at google.
But the impact and effect these have on kids and families- OMG- it’s insane. Just wait.
Stand firm- make them wait until 8th grade. There are a hundred reasons to justify getting them- hear it from parent sans kids- but there is one big one for not- you lose your kids in many ways once they have that device.

They will define their existence by every click, like and snap- and they are lost without them. Family conversations- forget it- enjoying a vacation in the moment- nope- liking an outfit - hairstyle or activity without other ok’ing it- never.
They suck- and until they have one, you have a chance at having your child back.

I completely agree with this. DD got a phone spring of 7th grade. I didn't think it would be a big deal because her iPad was rarely used. I was wrong and the difference between her family interaction pre-phone and now is stark. And she's not even on social media!

I do think a phone is necessary once kids start going places by themselves, because it's not like they can find a pay phone on every corner to call you if they need something (what I used to do at that age). But hold off on the smart phone for as long as you can.

[Anonymous]

My kids got phones when they were consistently being dropped off for activities where we were not present and/or walking home alone with no one at home to greet them.

[Anonymous]

Remember that if your child has a school Chromebook or access to the internet in your home, regardless of whether he has a phone, then you have to monitor for social media access. A lot of these concerns are more internet related than phone (and those things like social media can be locked down in the phone's settings menu).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids got phones when they were consistently being dropped off for activities where we were not present and/or walking home alone with no one at home to greet them.

I use the Verizon Gizmo for this pre sixth grade. But I do find the "find my iPhone" feature much easier to use and more consistent than the gizmo's (when you want to see where your kid is).

[Anonymous]

Our DD was in fifth because she started spending more and more time at her chosen sport. There were three times she had to borrow phones to communicate with us and it lessened her anxiety to have her own just in case. That said, every number has to be approved by my husband (he manages the account) in order to be able to communicate with them and she has never even asked for social media (that will be a hard no for a very long time). It did end up being great during the past year bc she was able to FaceTime with friends or chat on the phone. I think lockdown would have been even harder for her otherwise. She does listen to music on it as well and uses the camera to take photos of the cats.