It’s looking like I’ll need to be getting my 6th grader a phone. Attending middles school across the city and I’d like to give him some independence in how he manages his transportation and time. Anyone used a pinwheel phone?

We're holding out til 7th grade (middle school for most of FCPS). Not sure yet if we'll let him have an old iPhone or if we'll go with something simple like the Gabb phone.

6th. Now in 7th. We don't have a landline, and I wanted himt to have one to contact me when he was out with friends. He does not take it to school. Through qustodio, he has limited time across electronic devices, so he's not inclined to be on the phone constantly. I can check his texts at any time, and have not been concerned. He has used some bad language, along the lines of texting friends to "f off" when they teased him a bit about a poor soccer play. That doesn't particularly concern me, YMMV.

My 7th grader has a flip phone. Can text but it's burdensome. No social media. Works great for us for now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone try to start out with like a basic flip phone, essentially calls only and maybe slow texting? It is that not really an option any more?

We started with an apple watch with cellular. DS can reach us while out but less fully-functional than a full smart phone. He doesn't need the distraction temptation of a full smart phone.

+1

Apple Watch with cellular.

Anonymous wrote:So what kind of phone do you get? Not paying $400 for a new iPhone for a teen who will lose or break it.

I gave my son my old iPhone for his first phone, then later upgraded him to a newer iPhone (with accidental loss/damage protection). I think most of his friends have iPhones, but some have android phones like Samsung or whatever. Don’t cell phone companies offer deals on phones for adding a line?

So what kind of phone do you get? Not paying $400 for a new iPhone for a teen who will lose or break it.

Last summer right before 9th grade.

My 7th grader just got one, because she'll be going to middle school for the first time (in person next week) and on her own. When I was in middle school, there were payphones everywhere for me to use if I needed to call home. The family had a calling card that my parents kept refilling. My siblings and I had the number memorized and used it all through college too. But now you can't find payphones. Or landlines at a friend's house if something happened and the friend wasn't able to unlock her phone for use.

We gave our 10 year old one during Covid to facilitate meeting up with a friend to play tennis or ride bikes. He does not really use it for anything other than to take with him when away from the house, just in case we need to communicate. I was iffy but it is turning out to be nice for him to have it before he really wanted it (or many friends have one) because he is indifferent to it. (for now at least)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious at what age is a cell phone justified?

I had one in 1999 when I turned 16, but it was obviously at that point for safety...call us when you get there type of thing. Texting wasn't really a thing yet, and this was a Nokia phone so it was long before smart phones.

Most of my friends still called the landline at my parents house, so I just have no idea what is normal for kids in today's world.

I didn't get one until I was 21, in 2001. I had an old school emergency car phone that lived in my car's glove box for emergencies. I think a flip phone is a good idea to start with. Kids don't need to be using smart phones unsupervised, IMO. They can search the internet on their smart phones and find anything, or snapchat with anyone. Just kick that can down the road.

Same. I was 21 and it was 2006. I got it right before I graduated college- flip phone.

I don't get why kids need cell phones to "roam the neighborhood" or for parents to GPS track them. I just don't see a need for kids to have smart phones at all. If they are at school and need to call me they can asked to go to the office and call me. Kids shouldn't even have cell phones at school at all, but that is a separate issue I guess. DD is 11, DS is 10 and it hasn't been on our radar at all.

We also don't have a landline, so started a little earlier with the cell phones. For both kids, a basic flip phone in 4th grade. Older kid upgraded to a smart phone in 8th, younger kid hasn't reached that age yet.

4th grade was when they started wandering the neighborhood more independently, staying home alone for an hour or two at a time, or occasionally taking the bus home to an empty house. I wanted them to be able to reach us, and for us to reach them. I also like that both kids can talk to their friends without borrowing my cell phone, especially now in distance learning. It's important for them to stay connected with their friends, and I need my cell for work. That wouldn't be as big of a deal in a normal year, but it's been huge this year.

6th grade. I wanted to wait until 8th but it became impractical.

So far, he's been completely responsible with it. He doesn't do social media, though.

6th grade. I like him being able to call me when he is out and about if he wants to stay out past the agreed on time or if something unexpected comes up (so far, that has been a friend's bike falling apart and them needing a ride back).

6th for us, but we used a Gizmo with tracking and call capabilities before that.