Cell phones for kids

[ODOMS6598]

My son has one  he is 14  he has had a phone since he was 11 or 12  me and his dad are divorced so when he is with him , he can get ahold of me and vic versa.  me and his dad dont get along(his new wife dont like the fact that he has kids with me) so i dont want to have to call him to talk to my son.  he started of with a prepaid phone(that i paid for) and now he has t-mobile (his dad pays the bill)

[abeyta87]

I think it depends on the age... Are your kids old enough to know how to take care of a cell phone? Does the kid go out without you alot where you need to get ahold of him? If he is only going to and from school and rides the bus then why pay out that kind of money when you know where he is. If he goes out and about and walks around and you have no way of getting ahold of him you might want to consider it. Age is a big factor on weather or not he needs one

[gayecat]

I'm raising my 10 yr old granddaughter and got her one this year for safety.  We live in a safe as possible rural area, but no area is truly safe.  I have just started letting her go out of our yard up the street 1/2 block ( only with other kids ) to play and she checks in with me when she gets there and is leaving to come home. It is prepaid and she is very responsible for keeping track of it and of the minutes. 
Everyone should check the sexual offender data base to see how many there are in your area and where they live - you will be shocked. Every state has this data base online.  If there were any near me I would not let her go out of our yard even with other kids.

[corder34]

My son is 8 years old and he has a cell phone.  He leaves it at home when he is in school.  But I would agree it depends on the age and how responsible they are. Everyone have a blessed day

[rdluck]

let me start off by saying,some parents need to get it together i see these young kids with cell phones it is so sad to because of all of the crazy ways crazy people can try and hurt innocent children. PARENTS GET A GRIP giving kids everything they want is not the same as giving them what they need

[littlelotusgirrrl77]

I am pro cell phones for kids but parent need to step in and be an active parent. Moderate and check up on your teen or tween.

[piegirl]

My girls are twins and they will be 11 in July. 

I allow them to go for bike rides, walks, etc within a set area in our neiborhood.  They go to the local pool.  I think that they are responsible enough to have a cell phone.  They are mature for their age. 

However, they do all this together and public phones are available at the pool.  If they are in the area that has been set fo rthem they should be able to be found easily. 

I have decided that while they really really want a cell phone they have no true need for one.  They only want one so that they can be like everyone else

[rdluck]

i'll say it again why do young kids say 13 and under need a cell phone its ridiculous. dont any of you watch oprah

[endlessescape16]

kids should not have cell phones
i did not get a cell phone until i was in highschool

[trop8cana]

Times are changing and so is technology.I personally think that it's okay.I would put them on a prepaid phone as to where it is for emergencies only.You 'll never know when they will need a phone.And besides it's also good considering the fact that I don't see them putting up any more of those telephone booths or pay phones.And for the pay phones that are up don't even work.So I say yae to cell phones...prepaid at least.

[Moneymaker777]

I think there are very few instances where a kid really needs a cell phone. I think parents need to know everybody their kids talk to and who their friends are. Hard to do if they have cell phones. But different situations require different things.

[mamie520]

I was against getting my son (9 yrs old) a cell phone but when we looked into getting a house phone so we could get ahold of him after school we were blown away by the cost! It cost us less money to add his phone to our family plan & we got the phone itself for free!

The upside is now we can get ahold of him whenever as opposed to if we just got a house phone we could only get him if he was home! Plus it has this perimeter function so we get a text if he leaves the area we set.

[Gungnir]

Cricket has really good family plans and singles plans my friend owns a cricket phone

[lindsey27]

i think it depends on the maturity of your child.  It is a great idea in emergencies and if you need to get a hold of them but if they are not responsible enough to call you in those situations then they really don't need one.  Plus they might lose it if they are forgetful or not careful.  I think it is something that should be earned based on the childs performance.  Luckily my daughter is only 1 so I don't have to worry about it for a minute

[shaulina]

let me start off by saying,some parents need to get it together i see these young kids with cell phones it is so sad to because of all of the crazy ways crazy people can try and hurt innocent children. PARENTS GET A GRIP giving kids everything they want is not the same as giving them what they need

I guess I don't understand this statement. It is the parents' fault for wanting to protect their children by getting them a cell phone so they have a way to contact someone because there are so many crazy people out there who want to hurt kids? The fact that there ARE people out there and situations that happen is exactly why I am considering getting my 10-year-old son a cell phone so he can contact me if something happens no matter where he is.