ANSWERS: 84
  • I think they should get one when they start to go places without their parents.
  • I think it depends on the kid. Some kids are responsible at a younger age than others. My 11 yr old got a cell phone (prepaid) for Christmas from her older sister. It comes in handy, for times when she is at a church function we are not sure when it will end. She can call me when she is ready. She also uses it to call her older sister, who lives in a small town 20 miles from here, we don't have long distance service.
  • At 18, providing they can pay for it.
  • When they start going on outings with other kids.
  • right out of the womb, Cingular has a special post-partum package.
  • around 12 or whenever they go out by themselves.
  • When they are of an age to go out by themselves for an hour or so, that is a good time. Mobile phones are great for safety, but like all technology, should be limited access until the young one is old enough to appreciate how to use it correctly. Having had one teen run up considerable bills, we had to forbid mobile access from our main phone, and try to teach her that the house phone can be used for the majority of calls, and that they should be made to another house phone. Sometimes the obvious is not so obvious to a young person.
  • Around the age of puberty is when I think kids become more responsible, so I think that's a good age to give them a cell phone.
  • depends..my stepkids got them at 8 and 12 due to visits with their mom ..they are not allowed to call us on HER phone..
  • When they NEED them. So far, I have yet to think of a time when my daughter would NEED one. I don't have a cell phone because calling my family to see what to pick up at Taco Bell does not constitute me needing one.
  • Whenever they begin to go off with their friends without adult supervision, especially when they start driving just in case of emergency.
  • When they can afford to pay the bill.
  • For a holiday if the get good grades.
  • When they are mature enough to use it.
  • At least a teenager, though they should be held accountable if they text too much or make strange calls to strange places, or lose it.
  • when they need it they should get one. when it gets to a point where you need to be able to call them and you dont know where exactly they will be at any point in time
  • I was 14 when I got my first 16 when i got one on a plan from my parents, but at the time I owned a business.
  • My little cousin who's 8 years old gots herself a cellphone.
  • as soon as a child would need to contact you.
  • I'd say 13. Even then it should just be a cell phone to call home. Not to text their little friends.
  • At least thirty.
  • I would say 16. When they are old enough to drive they should carry one for emergencies.
  • It depends what kind of person or situation they're in. If a child is always around their parents and can contact them easily (one parent is always retentively free to help out) then a cell phone may not be needed until later...way later. :) On the other hand, if the child has a single parent who works all the time and needs to make arrangements, they'll probably need one earlier. And as I said, it depends on the person. If the child isn't responsible enough to manage how they use it and use it just for play or contacting friends, maybe it's too early to give a child a cell phone. But if the child is very responsible and mature, go for it!
  • No reason at all before 18 to have one.
  • I didn't have one and I think I am still alive,lol. I have seen these programs they have that you can give your kids where they can't call anyone you don't program into the phone. So it's impossible for them to rack up min or call Japan. It drives me insane to see all these kids walking around with phones, because it's the "cool" thing to have. I worked and did sports and all that kind of good stuff and I never had any problems, so I don't really see the point.
  • Over here it starts at 6 in some areas
  • Old enough to pay for their own credit. I would never pay my kids phone bills. Having a mobile comes with responsibilities. So I'm happy to buy them a phone... but they are going to have to pay their bills.... So they would need to have a paying job or be receiving some sort of regular pocket money.
  • I like the idea of a younger kid-maybe starting at 8- getting one of those kid cell phones where they can only call the numbers that you put into their phone. That is a very good idea for children and their saftey! Any kid younger then that should NEVER be left alone so they dont need one of those phones. But maybe at 8, they might run to the next isle in the store for a second and thats all it takes for them to get picked up or get lost! I think the age of getting a real cell phone should be 16-and thats only with phone calls. I would probably buy my 16 year old a cell phone and only pay for the bill when they didnt go over on their minutes or anything like that. But if they go over then they should have to cover that part! And then at 18, the "kid" should be able to get their OWN cell phone in THEIR name!!!
  • our daughter had one at 6 yrs , she was very active in 2-3 different sports and extracurricular activities and her school was far from home. so incase of any kind of emergency we needed to be able to reach her and her to reach us because to get to her school was over a 45 minute drive without traffic! so it depends on the lifestyle of your family.
  • As soon as they are old enough to be some where by themselves. If they are old enough to go to the mall etc. alone they should have a cell phone to contact their parents in case of emergencies.
  • Any age is fine I think- What if there's an emergency. People are sick and wrong these days, the child could call from the phone as he's getting kid napped. Sicko's don't expect little kids to have cell phones. They have those cool new little kid cell phones out. It has a total of 4 buttons- so it's easy to use. And I believe that the numbers are programmed in the phone so the child doesn't even have to dial or worry about memorizing a number.
  • i didnt let any of my four children have a phone until they were 13 any younger and i think they are too young to understand the responsability and they can get bullied by txt and get mugged
  • Anytime after turning 18 providing he can afford one.
  • Nowadays it's a good thing for kids to have cellphones. There are cellulars for kids now that have limits that do not allo them to exceed a certain amount of minutes- unless it's to call a parent. They also have tracking devices in them.
  • That is a personal choice, as parents know when their children really need a mobile/cell phone. My youngeat is thirteen and he has only just been allowed one, so he can phone me in an emergency, and yes he is sensible with it.
  • It all depends on the maturity level of the child. But probably around 16 would be a good age.
  • If they are old enough to go out by themselves, then they need one to communicate with you. My daughter is 12 and she has one. Her grandmother bought it. I was not happy about it, but it was my ex-husband's mother that bought the phone and pays the bill. My daughter loses it all the time. She lost it in a convenience store between states on vacation. A clerk found it and managed to get a hold of us and mailed it back. Her grandmother was with her at the time. That will teach her to make decisions without asking me!!!
  • Eighteen! With a JOB!
  • right out of the womb, Cingular has a special post-partum package
  • When they have more people to call than their friggin parents. I know so many little kids with phones it's disgusting. When they start to gain some independence and really want to go a lot of places without parents, then that's about time. I wouldn't get one for them until they were at least a teenager though. I got mine when I was 14, but to be fair, my mom also got my sister one. She was 11 and I though and still think that's a little unreasonable.
  • At the age of thirteen. Get one that can be restricted so the can only call certain people
  • At whatever age they need one, any age where they will be away from parents for a large amount of time and you might need to get in touch with each other (if there isn't a phone available to them) For instance, until high school I pretty much came home from school and hung out in my neighborhood, so my mom didn't really have much trouble getting in touch with me when she needed something, so I didn't really need a cell. But since starting high school I've become involved in more after-school activities and it's now practical that I have a cell phone.
  • ok i believe around the time the kid starts being away more as a teen when it is more dangerase 4 them cuz if they have a cell you can call them and make sure they are ok. cause i would know im 15 and i got a cell when some weird guy just randomly pulled up beside me and started asking me wierd questions
  • I don't think a child should get a cell phone until he or she is ready to accept responsibility, but maybe that's just me.
  • With my daughter it was at 12. She was going to be at several different collages during that summer for sports camps and we wanted to be able to get her and her be able to call us if she needed to. I don't regret if because she is quite responsible for her age.
  • As soon as they know how to call dad, mom or 911. Aside from that, if they want unlimited calling, texting and all the other bells and whistles, they can get that whenever they can afford it. Parents are far too liberal in their children's cell phone use in my opinion
  • My 8 year old has one. It has 4 buttons (Numbers 1-4). There are 4 numbers programmed into the phone. He can call me, his mom, or one of his brothers by pushing one of the numbers. He can't call anyone else. It also has gps that we can track from our phones.
  • As soon as their old enough to drive on their own.
  • I didn't get a cell phone until I was 18, and it's a Tracfone. If I want to be able to talk, I buy my own minutes. In high school, I didn't see the point in having one because if I went out, I always made sure my dad knew where I was, who I was with, how late I was going out for, and he also had my friend's number availiable in case something came up... I didn't see any point in having a cell when I could talk to my friends at school five days out of the week, or via land line on weekends! I don't think kids should have a cell phone in middle school unless they absolutely need one, and even then, the parents should get a restricted plan that allows them certain amounts of minutes, and only lets them call parent-approved numbers... Just my thoughts, though...
  • At the age they can sign a legal contract and pay the bill...
  • 18. That is when they will legally be old enough to own property, and sign a legal contract.
  • I think 12 is a good age. As soon as they hit middle school.
  • i didn't get mine until 16...it would've been nice to have it at the beginning of HS
  • 16. It'll just cause problems in school if they have one before they're driving and actually need it.
  • Rather than the age of a child, I would be more concerned with how responsible he/she is, instead.
  • When they can afford one.
  • At a young age, if you really want to be able to reach your kid, they make phones with two or three buttons. They can be controlled by the parents and can call limited amounts of people. Once they get a little older, pay-as-you go cellphone plans are great. I had both tracphone and virgin mobile plans. The phones are cool, but they offer a cheaper alternative to full out plans. I didn't get a full plan until I was 17. Now that I have it I'm not sure how I survived without it!
  • The summer before high school.
  • I think its up to you, and your child. If they are responsible enough to use one and not abuse the privilege they can be a great tool for keeping tabs on where your kiddo is.
  • i got mine when i was 13 and my sister got hers when she was 8
  • I got one when i was 13 in the 7th grade.
  • my daughter has one. Got it when she was 10.
  • I would say around 15 or 16. That's about the time they need to learn how to do things on their own and get more independent too.
  • depends on your philosophy. I think a cellphone can save a life. they have parrental controls to limit their ability to use it to excess. I hope when my son is old enough to use it I can afford to give him one. oh crap... at 2 he is already calling me from mommies phone. guess I won't be able to.
  • It depends on their income. I got mine when I was 15 and it was a prepaid and an old phone. I say give them a chance and if the bill goes too high you can always temporarily shut it off, or if it gets stolen or lost the child must pay for the replacement. Apparently I wasn't trusted. But this was 5 years back. Now I pay my own.
  • Whenever they can pay for the phone and the service.
  • When he or she is old enough to buy his or her own phone as well as to pay the bills.
  • 13 or 14 is a good age.
  • I got my first cell phone in grade 6 - so about 11 years old. My cousins got theirs when they were eight. I know kids that didn't get one till they were in their late teens. It depends on the kids and parents. Do they depend on you for transportation A LOT. Are they out with their friends often late. Do you wanna be able to know where your kid is at all times?
  • i think that it should be about 9 or 10. because kids need to express them selfs.and suppos that your kid got locked out of the house.you dont want them going to a crazy neighbors house.you dont want them to grow up not knowing how to text.so you could just give them a flip phone to start out with.and if they want to spend their own money to buy them selfs a better one then let them spend their money how they want to spend their money.thats how my parents did it and i got mine around 9 or 10.i hope this helps to decide how old you shold give them the cell phone.
  • I think a pre-paid cell phone is a good idea for any kid with extra-curricular activities. It wouldn't cost much to supply the kid with a way to get in touch with you and ask whether he can go get ice cream with the team after Soccer practice instead of coming straight home.
  • Wife and i raised two granddaughters. at age of 12 and 13, both moved to live with their mother in Seattle. the youngest one had a cellphone on a trial basis. only if she obeyed the rules, would she able to keep her cellphone. Of course, this did not work. she went text crazy and almost doubled our allowed minutes. the cellphone was no more. When they moved to Seattle, the youngest asked for her cellphone back, "to keep in touch". Wife and i gave this request a very careful consideration. lets see, she is going 3,000 miles away with a cellphone that calls around the earth. i am responsible for the bills and no control over her cellphone, except to cancel it. Final decision? no way, Jose. This decision is up to the parent(s) and their evaluation of the maturity of their child. we learned that 12 years old is not a matured age for the responsibility of an expensive cellphone.
  • i think about 9 or 10 because kids need to exprss them selfs.what if your child got locked of the house you cont what your child to go to a crazy neighbors house.you could start them of with a flip cell phone and then you could let your child spend their own money on a better cell. and teach your kid how to spend your their money wisely. phone and plus you dont want your kid to grow up not knowing how to USE a cell phone.so i hope this helped.
  • When they can afford to pay for it themselves.
  • My children were 12 and 14 when they got theirs. It is so inexpensive now. $10 each per month shared minutes that they never use and unlimited texting which they do A LOT! I don't think it is any different than when we were that age and were fighting our parents over phone usage and using 3 way calling!! lol
  • i think 9 or 10 because kids need to express them selfs.what if your child got locked out of the house you wouldnt what your kid to go to a crazy neighbors house.you could start them off with a flip phone and let your child spend their own money on a better phone that also teaches them how to spend money wisely thats how my parents did it.and plus you dont want your kid growing up not knowing how to use a cell phone.i hoped this helped.
  • When they need one! . My youngest had music and dance lessons that she had to walk to after school (small town, not big city), so we wanted to make sure she cold get in touch wiht us if needed or we could track her down if we couldn't find her right away.
  • About 9, 10 years old. I got my first mobile wen i was 10 and i had been wanting one for ages and my mum finally got one for my birthday and iwas so happpy! it does depend what they need to mobile for but it definalty made me a lot happier :)
  • I would say a child should a get a pre paid phone no younger then 10 and real phone around 16 or 18.
  • they shouldn't! coz they wont stop calling me!! Seriously! When they get to puberty!

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