Anonymous wrote:Does she at least have an iPad to text friends? My kids classes all formed large text groups in 4th grade and they would have been out of the loop without. I also found that was about the time i actually needed them to have cells for logistical purposes with sports, carpools, etc.

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader (1st year of middle school) just got one so she can reach us. She texts with 2 or 3 other girls very occasionally. She does use it to arrange meetups with the friend she walks to school with. She says about half of her friends have one, and phones are definitely not yet the driver for social activities.

Yeah. I’m not giving my 6th grader one, tho she desperately wants one. My friends’ daughter started stealing her phone from her parent’s night stand (when her parent’s fell asleep) and sending topless photos to random men through some app she heard about at school.

After my friend told me that, I am saying flat out no.

I’m not saying this will ALWAYS happen, I’m not saying my friend is a perfect parent. I’m just saying the story scared me enough to become like Finland and say no until 15.

Trust me my child is campaigning for a phone. We have gotten slide decks about how we can give her security settings that our kid prepared (she has access to an IPad without messaging or the ability to download apps)

Still saying no for now.

My 6th grader (1st year of middle school) just got one so she can reach us. She texts with 2 or 3 other girls very occasionally. She does use it to arrange meetups with the friend she walks to school with. She says about half of her friends have one, and phones are definitely not yet the driver for social activities.

Does she at least have an iPad to text friends? My kids classes all formed large text groups in 4th grade and they would have been out of the loop without. I also found that was about the time i actually needed them to have cells for logistical purposes with sports, carpools, etc.

Your DD will "need" a phone when you leave the Elementary forum.

Mine both started with an iPad and got hand me down iPhones later, around 5th or 6th grade. They didn’t have full access to them at that time. They were making their own plans with iMessage then checking with us by 6th.

At the end of 4th grade DD started taking mass transit by herself to/from school, so she got a flip phone that only called 3 people. She had that through 5th.

Around 6th or 7th grade kids started getting their own phones and making their own plans.

Middle school

Anonymous wrote:We waited until middle school with no regrets.

+1

Around that age, yes, a lot of my kid's friends did get hand me down phones from parents that they were able to use of over wifi and a few had cell service as well.

8th grader has a Gabb and a full social life so at least 14 is my answer.

My kid is in kindergarten, so it’s not an issue, obviously. But I’ve seen ads for the Gabb phone and probably will end up getting something like it for DD once she’s at the point where she needs to contact us to pick her up and wants to communicate with friends.

There’s no internet browser, social media, or app store. They have a music library that doesn’t have explicit music in it. It seems to be a great option.

https://gabbwireless.com/why-gabb/

We waited until middle school with no regrets.

Maybe start with an iPad and let her text friends from that.
I’ve also heard of parents who give their kids phones that aren’t cell enabled, so basically they only work on Wi-Fi and they use them at home.
I held out until 7th grade for DS, but I think it is different for girls. He uses it mostly to check sports scores and ask to be picked up.

My 10 yo DD was begging me for a phone last night. This is not the first time this has happened. She made he argument that all her friends have one which I said I would confirm with their parents. I know that is not true, but I’m curious when it becomes limiting from a social perspective for a kid not to have a phone. We generally try to limit screen time and am in no hurry to get her a device until she is socially left behind by not having one.