Kids and phones
Technology has come a LONG way since I was a youngin.’ We played outside or indoors with toys and arts and crafts, occasionally Sega Genesis (I was always Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog), no Facebook to worry about, and we wrote notes back and forth instead of texting. When I was in middle school, my friend’s mom let us borrow her cell phone while we went to the mall.. it was the size of a brick and had a giant antennae, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. My mom didn’t have a cell phone, and my dad had one that was for work.
I was 16 when I got my first cell phone. Tom was a sophomore, too.. in college 😉 I begged my mom for one, and she said there was no point in me having one until I could drive. Later that week, I saw a 5-year old yapping on their cell phone while signing up for summer arts programs. At the time, I was shocked, and now.. it’s the norm to see kids talking, texting or totally fixated on their phones. If I were a kid in today’s society, I would totally want an iPhone.
It’s definitely not something we’ll have to worry about for a while – and who knows, something else new may be out by then- but when is it appropriate for kids to have a cell phone? When did you get your first phone? I could see myself trying to say “not until you drive” like my mom did, but I think that they can be extremely helpful for safety reasons. Maybe a phone with calls only- no data plan or texting until she’s much older?
Totally random, but remember when you had to plan out when you’d call your friends?
Busy tones?
Pagers?
Oh, the good old days 😉
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I was 13 when I got my first cell phone. All it could do was make phone calls – no texting, no internet, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I didn’t get a texting-capable phone until probably sophomore year of college.
seriously.. me and my husband always joke that it will be our kids will have ipads when they are 3.. but seriously they are 19 months old and they both know how to open our iphones and go straight to their games!
I was also 16 when I got my first cell phone, but now it seems like kids are getting phones before they’re even 10 years old! My sister and I never got into handheld games or anything like that, and to this day it always makes me sad when I see kids playing on phones or other electronics at dinner or when they’re around adults. That being said, I’m attached at the hip to my phone and laptop now. I would try to keep my future kids away from cell phones for as long as possible, but then again, I don’t even know if I’ll have a land line when I have kids, and they’ll need to be able to call their friends somehow!
We got our daughter (my stepdaughter) one when she was about 11, but only because we couldn’t reliably count on getting a hold of her mother, so it was more for our peace of mind then her.
My parents got me my first cell phone when I got my license too. It was a tiny Kyocera and I was so excited to get it! But now I really want an iPhone too. I will probably wait until my kids are ready to drive before I give them one. I would love if they grew up playing outdoors like I did.
i had a kyocera, too! 🙂
I was 18 when I got my first phone. And I had to pay for it myself. My niece is 14 and she has just got a cell phone. I think maybe one just for emergency calling is ok for when they are out by themselves and then maybe once they get a part time job or have some cash they can do texting and other calling but only if they pay for it themselves.
I was 15 when I got my first cellphone. My brother had gotten one and I wanted one so bad but my mom wouldn’t get me one until I was able to drive – so I got a job and bought a phone and paid my portion of the bill every month with my own money! My 10 year old cousin just got one for Christmas – they are a very busy family with a lot of sports and activities, but I still feel like that’s too young!
Hahaa, too funny. I think about this, not even having kids yet. I got my first phone when I could drive. It had a 30min plan on it, and it stayed in my car for emergencies only. I didn’t really start using my phone until I got to college. I did beg my mom for a pager/beeper when I was like 15yrs old. So ridiculous, haha.
Ha I feel so old. I didn’t get my first cell phone until I was late into high school and it was a Tracfone so I never used it. The real cell phone didn’t come till I was in college and then it was the “emergency only” situation. My husband and I are very much behind when it comes to cellphone technology so I imagine our little peanut on the way is going to have to work really hard to get a cellphone before its able to drive.
I’m now a freshman in college, and I got my first cell phone in 6th grade. My parent’s only let me have it for safety reasons though. I began riding the bus home that year, and they wanted me to be able to contact them if I forgot my house key or if I was riding home with a friend to hang out until they got off work. I didn’t have texting for the first year until I “proved I was responsible enough to have a phone (and not break/lose it, I guess?).”
My best friend got her first phone in 4th grade. NO ONE at school had one except her, and we were all so jealous. Even today, I still think 4th grade was a little ridiculous though. I don’t think I could justify buying a child one before junior high (6th grade+).
My nephew got one at age 7 (last summer). He only has family members programmed into it, and he’s not allowed to call people whenever he wants—but he texts. It’s actually good for him–he has to read texts and spell things good enough to get his messages across. I absolutely love that he has a phone. He is my little love, and whenever I get a text that says “Hi” or “I luv u” it melts my heart. He also took a video of his rooster (Big Steve) with it, so I think it’s funny and good that he can use it to be creative. Of course there are rules, but it’s teaching him responsibility. He left it outside overnight once, and it was taken away for a few weeks. His dad checks it to make sure he’s not doing anything naughty, and he seems to respect the responsibility. None of his friends have phones yet though, so there isn’t really an opportunity for being naughty with it yet.
I got my first phone in college, and it was for emergencies only….I swear I don’t know what I would do without it now!!!
I was 14 when I got my first cell phone, and I was one of the first in my class so back then parents definitely waited longer. A friend of mine recently posted on FB that she got her 9 year old one which seemed shockingly early to me, but now I’m thinking it doesn’t sound THAT crazy. I have an 8 yr old who sometimes gets left at dance while I run errands. Leaving her is only going to become more frequent as she gets older and her little sister (not so in love with dance, more of a soccer girl) does her activities same-time but elsewhere. When I get her a phone, I want to get her one of those phones that only allows the user to call a few numbers. We’ll probably wait until 10-12 and there will be no texting or calling friends…it would be exclusively for us to keep in touch with her and vice versa.
Oh, I’ve had this conversation so many times because it amazes me. I was 15 when I got a phone. I think when kids start hanging out with friends regularly outside the home is a good time for cell phones, also depending on maturity level.
My cousin is 13 and recently got a phone because she goes to ballgames with friends and also gets dropped off at the movies and mall sometimes. She’s very mature so I think it’s ok. I think it depends on the kid. I do think it’s rediculous for small children to have one. I feel like alot of kids don’t know how to be a kid these days because they live in such an adult world with all the technology now. Kinda sad.
I was 20 when I got my first cell phone!!!
I was 15 when I got my first cell phone. It was a Motorola flip phone with a purple cover. The line had to be drawn somewhere because my mom was constantly calling my friends’ cell phones to talk to me. It was the most embarrassing thing at the time and they would always get irritated because “my mom was using their minutes”. My friend conveniently worked at the cell phone store so she added texting to my package one day. I had started out with just the 50 message per month package. I can’t imagine going back down to that number. lol.
Remember calling boyfriends and being so nervous when their parents would answer the (home) phone?!?
On a related note, I was at a Cardinals game this fall and they always ask random fans a question of the day before the game and then show their recorded responses on the jumbotron. This game, the question was “what was your favorite childhood toy?” All the adults/young adults answered things like barbies, matchbox cars, whatever, and then they asked an actual child…and her favorite toy is her iPod Touch. Crazy, right?!? That is not a toy.
I didnt get a cell phone until my senior year of college. All of my friends had them, but I really didnt want one. My parents still dont have cell phones! I think I’d want my kid to have one once s/he was going out with friends to the mall or movies. But it wouldn’t be a smart phone, something just for calling home and checking in.
i got my first phone when i was 16. it was a bag phone – nice, right? i now have a 5 yr old and 3 yr old. they have our old iphones to play with (with no cell service). its crazy what all they know how to do on them! i’m constantly giving my phone to my oldest daughter and telling her to fix it back to how it was. and she made my husbands background picture and pic of taylor swift! hilarious (and scary)! not sure when we actually buy them working phones but i know it won’t be any time soon. 🙂
In todays society I think it is justifiable for kids to have phones at a younger age. Not only for communication purposes, but for safety. I got my first phone when I was 8 because I started acting professionally in local theatres and communicating with my parents was necessary for rehearsal changes, pick ups, etc. I would say anytime before middle school is a little extreme though. Kids should stay kids for a little while longer….
I think it’s hilarious that we (myself included!) all talk about getting kids phones young as okay sometimes for safety reasons and then I think, how did our parents survive long enough to have us without cell phones?! 🙂 And back then (according to my mother) kids were a lot more independent and had a lot more outside time yet they survived just fine. I know, the times change, etc. Just makes me chuckle. I think our future children will have one when they start driving, maybe earlier if they’re taking the bus or walking to/from school. I got one at 16 (my mom MADE me get one when I started driving…sounded like a big bummer to me. Who wants to be easily accesible at 16?). Didn’t do text messaging for another few years after that. I don’t know….my phone is still a pretty big bummer. Work calls any time/place are enough of a drag sometimes, now the emails can find me anywhere too! And I work with teens who LOVE to text and Facebook. I can’t escape the dang thing.
Working with teens every day, I find their use of text messaging pretty darn scary. They swear and discuss things over text that they NEVER would out loud, and I think it is more harmful than anything when it comes to bullying. I know it may change in the future, as you said, but right now there are phones for kids that have no texting, internet, etc. They only allow you to call preprogrammed numbers, and I think it is great for kids to have this in order to call mom, dad, and some emergency contacts, and even some of their close friends.
I definitely had a pager when I was 13… my friends and I had this whole made-up pager language. No idea why we didn’t just call each other! It was helpful when I was at the mall or movies with my friends and my mom needed me to call home. I got a cell phone at 16, just before I got my license. Now I’m a high school teacher and I must say “put the cell phone away” about 15 times a day…
I was probably 14 the first time I got a cellphone. I had a two hour commute home from school on public transportation and I had it so I could call my mom when I got to a certain point on the route. I had it for probably a year, until the first time it was used to call someone other than my mom or my stepdad and the bill was outrageous.
I don’t remember what kind of phone it was, but it was a litte flip phone that I don’t think even had a screen? Definitely no texting (did that even exist twelve years ago?) or games.
I was 17 when I got mine and it was one of those prepaid motorola ones that I had to buy minutes for haha. I worry about this kind of stuff too! Parenting is going to be a tough job!
My parents got me a phone when I was 15 because they forgot to pick me up from school and I had to walk home, crying.
Did I mention that it was my birthday?
That is so sad! I’m sure they felt horrible though.
aww!
I got my first phone at 14, it was a nokia ( The indestructible brick!!!) and I thought I was sooooo cool. My parents got it for me, because I went out a lot with friends and they wanted to keep tabs on me.
When I have kids, they will get a phone when they are in middle school, but I would rather the phone not have a camera. Also, I really hope that facebook dies out by the time my (not yet born) kids are teenagers.
I didnt get my first phone until I had my first job, out of college! I was a sales rep and was driving all over Chicago in the winter and the roads were dangerous and I was a woman alone, sometimes it was dark after 4pm there, and I’d be walking to my car alone after a sales call or driving for hour(s) in traffic. A phone was practical. It was a PrimeCo phone, really expensive for what it was for the plan, i.e. I only talked on it in like 30 second bursts, truly an emergency phone!
My 5 year old knows how to fully use an iphone, Droid phone, iPad, mouse, you name it…she knows it. We didn’t even teach her. She just figured it out. She helps her dad find things on his phone since she can find things better than he can 🙂
I got my first phone when I was 19 and started working full time and could pay for it myself. This past Christmas I watched in horror as my husband’s cousin negotiated with a 12yo to borrow her phone while the mother’s was broken – IMO as long as the parent is paying for it then it’s the parent’s phone and the child has the privilege of using it for safety purposes while at school or out. Also, our niece is only 2yo and gets given her parents iPhone to play games on when there out. Not a problem and it keeps her entertained. The bit that blows us away is that she knows how to switch it back off airplane mode so that she can make phone calls (she called the local pizza shop 8 times the other night before any of us realised that she was having real conversations not imaginary ones 🙂 ) !!!
I got my first phone when I was 12… so back in, uh, 1997. It was a big hunk of a cell phone and I hated having it since none of my friends had one. My mom insisted “just in case something happens”. But again, that was one of those phones you can’t do anything but call other people with. Smartphones are a completely different matter.. ideally there’ll be ways to childproof them in 13 years.
I got my daughter one when she was 15.She was away from home a lot with sports,,,so yeh,,,just whenever Mom ,,,You feel she is ready for one.There is no certain age.Momma knows best 🙂
I can go back and forth on the cell phone debacle – I think that junior high is a good age now – only because some homes don’t have land lines (ie: mine) and faimiles just use cell phones to communicate when mom/dad aren’t home. ALSO, I feel like pay phones barely exist anymore. Whenever I was at a sporting event/needed a ride home from the mall, I would pick up the pay phone and call my parents. However, does that even happen anymore!??!
I get a feeling the current generation might just rebel against the ‘you can find me anywhere’ nature of technology. Maybe it will be you saying ‘you need a phone’ and her rolling her eyes because it’s sooooo 2012 to be constantly connected to everyone else.
My 6 yo niece can use Skype, but she is currently visiting (she lives in Europe, I’m in NZ). Today she said to me ‘sometime I hear you calling on Skype but I ignore it because I want to be alone’. Apart from the Aunty Ego Trauma, I think that’s cool.
I got my first phone at 18, mainly because I was driving to school and work so it was a safety thing. My 14 year old cousins have cell phones as they travel a long way to/from school each day. They so aren’t interested in them though, or texting, facebook etc. It’s pretty refreshing actually! My 15 month old is fascinated with the iPad, computer, cell phones etc, hope he grows out of it 🙂
I was homeschooled from second through sixth grade, and my parents told me I could have a cell phone when I switched back to public school – so my first one was in seventh grade. (I’m a junior in high school, by the way, lol.) In my case, that was totally reasonable. Yes, all my friends had phones before I did… but honestly, I don’t use mine for much more than internet. And if I forget it when I go anywhere, I can always use one of my friends’. Rare for a teenager to say… but I could probably live without mine.
Kids are fascinated by phones, and parents just let them play with them all they want. What annoys me is that I’m a 911 Dispatcher and I’d say sometimes half the 911 calls I get a night (12 hr shift) is a child under the age of 10 playing on a cell phone. The child is NEVER taught anything but the phone being “fun” sometimes. The problem is that we only have so many lines, and there is a potential for a “prank” or “accidental” call to keep a real call from coming through. At my job we always joke “America’s favorite babysitter”, because we’ve heard so many parents say “oh I was letting little Sally/Billy play with my phone to keep her quiet”. Working in this profession has definitely changed my views on what I think is appropriate. There is the flip side that I’ve had an 8yr old very maturely call 911 on her cell to tell me where she needed the police and why. I think if I were to let my child have one it would be after MUCH discussion about responsibilty at an age where they can fully comprehend it.
I teach middle school, and ALL of my kids have cell phones. It boggles my mind because, like you, I didn’t have one until I drove, but it’s the norm now—many of them had them by the time they were TEN!
My parents always said I could get a phone when I started driving, but surprised me with one when I was 14. That was the age when I started going to movies and things on the weekend and they felt safer being able to get ahold of me.
i definitely agree with the no phone til you’re driving thing. but my little guy does LOVE to play with cell phones now. he thinks they are way cooler than toys. ha! i didn’t get a cell phone until i was a freshman in college and could pay for it myself.
i, too, was 16 when i got my first cell phone and it was to ensure safety while driving. i’m a third grade teacher now and a good majority of my kids have cell phones. ludacris!
I was in grade 9 when I got my first phone. I did have a pager and my mom had a Zac Morris phone and my dad had a car phone. I can’t even believe children use phones now! I saw an 8 year old video taping a gymnastic competition on her hello kitty iPhone on the weekend and couldn’t believe it! It was hard for me to even get a $30 personal organizer as a kid let alone a cell phone!
I had to be in my early 20’s (dating myself a little). When my son was a little less than 2 years old I would let him play games on my iPhone. I have a new phone now and he still plays games on that phone occasionally. (he turned 3 in November) I guess I’m starting him out early but it keeps him entertained and is educational.
At least he can’t buttdial anyone anymore. =)
I got my first phone when I was 16 because my parents wanted me to have it in case something happened when I was driving (like running out of gas which happened at least once a week). My brothers both got phones their freshman year of high school (15ish) because they were both involved in hockey and were driving all over the state with the high school team. My aunt and uncle gave my cousin a phone when she was in 5th grade, but she could only use it between 3:30pm and 6pm. If she texted, she had to use full sentences with proper grammar (spelling, punctuation, etc.). Apparently, there’s an app on the iPod touch that you can text on it. Another of my cousins has that, but she has the same rules–only between 3:30-6 and with proper grammar. I think it’s crazy when really young kids get a cell phone. Really, why does a 6 year old need a cell phone?!
I definitely think that kids get phones too early now. Who could a five year old possibly be calling besides their parents? I remember growing up we had one phone… with a cord that was in the kitchen. I would wait until I knew everyone would be out to call my friends so my mom wouldn’t be listening over my shoulder. I got my first cell at 16 too… the classic Nokia with several cool colorful faceplates.
I got my first phone at 11 (looking back I was WAY too young) but that was only because that coming school year my older brother was not going to be in the same school as me and I needed one so I could contact my parents in case of an emergency. I remember when my mom got a a new phone once and it was so “small” and “thin” (Now lt is a huge thick old thing) and we thought it was amazing!
I am 16 now but I still remember when you had to plan out a phone call with a friend. I also remember what life was like before Boston had to use area codes. I remember how we would have to entertain ourselves because we didn’t have a good tv and things were expensive (my family didn’t have a lot of money when I was little). We used to take rectangular blocks and draw dots on them and put “antenas” on the top and those were our walkie talkies!
No one had cell phones when I was in high school too expensive back then, but we all had pagers. I got a prepaid phone when I 19 and working full-time and could afford to pay for it. I think kids need to understand responsibitily before getting a phone see to many kids going way over mins, so I would maybe get my kids a prepaid phone to teach them to learn to manage there mins.
we must have grown up right around the same time because i was always playing the occasional sonic the hedgehog game on sega! loved it! i too didn’t get a cell phone until i got my license. most of my friends got theirs once we were about 15 or 16, and when i didn’t have a cell phone it was fine because i could always use my friends’. i think i would still instill that age when giving my child a cell phone, but i agree with your opinions on safety. who knows, things may change drastically over the next 10 years!
I totally had a pager! My dad refused to sign a cell phone contract, so I didn’t get my first cell phone until I was 18 or 19. Having a pager was so lame though, I went from having to borrow someone’s cell phone because I didn’t have one to ‘someone just paged me, can I use your cell phone?’ I still crack up when I think about having a pager, haha.
I also didn’t get my first cell phone until I started driving at 16. I was the last of my friends to get a cell phone, get texting, and I still don’t have a smart phone…so I guess I’ve always been a little behind the times 😉 I don’t have kids yet, but I think it’s ok for them to have a cell just to make calls home and what not. Just make sure they’re responsible. I had a neighbor girl who got a cell a couple years before I did when she was 8. She was constantly losing it and got a new one every single time! It drove me crazy!
I just went to Disney World and saw at least 5 separate families with kids in strollers on ipads or iphones…at DISNEY!!
that’s just not allowed
I don’t think kids should have phones until they can pay for it themselves. I got a cell phone when I could drive, and I think it’s sad when really young kids have phones. They need to learn to connect with people person-to-person before they have technology do it for them.