So do your kids have cell phones? What are peoples opinions on kids having cell phones. Not wanting to start an arguement, just wondering about others opinions.

My DD is 13, she had had a cell phone for 2 years and 3 months. We originally got it because she plays sports, softball and basketball. Where we live the softball park and the school gym do not have a phone accessible to the kids to call parents to be picked up after practice. Their practices are not a set length, the coach decides at the time, they might practice 1-1/2 hours or 3 hours, just depends, we never know in advance. Plus when they go to out of town games and parents don't attend, the coach like them to call their parents when they are about 15 minutes away from home, so the parents can be at the school to pick the kids up when they return. A plus for me is that I like to be able to contact her at anytime. I remember how it used to be with my oldest trying to track her down, calling friends houses, etc. not a problem with the younger ones.

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I think its a need vs want as to whether or not a child should have a cell phone. If a parent buys a cell just because their child(rens) friends has one, well thats another story in my book. In the case of a child doing sports or if the child has to be left alone at home thats a case where I agree the child needs one.(given there's no other way for said child to contact the police or parents in an emergency ).

My DD and I have fights all the time because she "feels" she should have a cell phone. I "feel" she doesn't need 1. She goes to school comes home and shes never with out one of us. She wants one because as she put it EVERYONE HAS 1. She will not be getting a cell phone till she has to be placed in a setting where she needs one. end of story as far as I'm concern LOL.

I believe this is one of em slippery slope questions.

My son is eleven and has had a phone now for over a year. The biggest reason for us was because when he was at his dad's we wanted him to have a phone (his dad doesn't have a landline). It's also been great for his extra-curricular activities.

ETA: He is not a "got to have" materialistic kid. He rarely uses it for his social circle....his friends still call either my house phone or my cell phone! When he fell off his scooter and really took a hard fall, it was a blessing to have. He was able to call me and I immediately came to his rescue.

my dd has had one since she was 12 she is almost 16 now and my son just got one a few months ago for his 13 bday.

steph

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For Christmas I bought my 12 and 13 year olds cell phones. I also bought a new phone for my 22 year old. I bought my oldest his first cell phone when he was in 9th grade. The year before we had a shooting at one of the two local high schools and I saw how scared the parents were waiting to hear from their children. That was when I decided to get him a phone. Before that I didn't think he needed one. My youngest are in 6th and 7th grade. Do they NEED a phone, not really but I like that they have one.

Our family didn't have a cell phone for the last couple of years. Last month I went out and got a Net 10 phone.

My oldest son is 12, and he has just started going to the park and down to friends houses (that don't live on our street) by himself. We tried using walkie talkies, but they were crap.

The cell phone is not actually his, despite what he may think.

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DS1 got a cell phone when he was 17 (!!) and started driving. DS2 got his around Christmas after his first report card as a HS freshman. He will be 15 in May. Neither of them have texting available.

I am a mean, old mom.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

My oldest has what he would call a "real phone" without a "real plan". He pays for it himself out of money he earned at his summer job - $20/month - and he has unlimited texting and mobile to mobile.

My husband, middle child (13) and I have Tracfones. We're on the "Family Value Plan" - 100 minutes a month for me ($10) and 60/month for each of them ($6/month).... so $22+tax.

The 13 yo uses hers to call from practices, youth group, etc. She's had it since Christmas and used about 50 minutes, total. She never has it on so I can never call her. I don't think she has ever made a 'pleasure call' or texted anything that wasn't a "come pick me up!" message.

My oldest (24) bought one for himself when he was in high school and paid all the bills. I am buying a phone for my other son when he goes to college out of state in the fall. I will pay for that one-I want him to call home! lol

My kids are only 7 & 9 so no, they don't have one and I don't think they will get one until they *need* one. Probably 13 or 14 if they are doing things that would require me to phone them....but with lots of restrictions. Right now the phone we are looking at for the future is the kind that the parent has to authorize which numbers can call/text to it and can be called/texted to. I will have to authorize numbers to be called or who can call. I would prefer not to have the text option but we don't know right now...it's a few years off for sure. My kids aren't going to have "free reign" over their phone. DH and I will control the phone(s)...at least that is the goal

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My older two got them when they were maybe 16 or so. They are in their 20's now and have their own plans. My 15 year old has one on my plan and we have 800 minutes and unlimited texting. I do not tell her when to use it or who to call. I have never needed to and it is not just for practical use. I do not see any harm from it.

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We said ours would get one when they were dating or driving. Well, oldest dd ended up getting one when she turned 13. She was doing neither, but she is involved in a lot of activities and always going somewhere with someone. We love her having it. It is SO convenient. She started with 200 texts per month, after abotu 2 months she went to 1500 then after another couple months went to unlimited.

Youngest dd is 12 and she got one 7 months ago when she turned 12. Oldest was mad because youngest got it sooner than she did.

We all have the unlimited family texting plan and 550 minutes. We never use all the minutes between us! Oldest texts about 14K per month, youngest about 3k and me about 400. DHs phone is through his work, he has 200 per month but never uses them all.

We love it that you can always reach them. We fought it at first considering it a want versus a need. Then fought the texting, but it's the norm. It's how the teenages communicate. No matter how much the adults hate it, fighting it isn't going to change it. We pick other battles. And, to be honest, the texting is pretty handy!

Lisa

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We got oldest DD hers last summer, between 8th and 9th grade. Our thought has always been that they didn't need one until high school because then they were going to be very much on the go and I would feel better being able to get a hold when I wanted. When we got hers it was added to our plan at $10/mn we then added the family all you can text for $30/mn for all 5 of us on plan (DH, MIL, FIL, DD and myself).
Our 8th grade DD got lucky, she has a cell phone now and has since the end of last summer because it is linked to DH co-business owners plan and was already being paid for as a work phone. With so many roll overs minutes it was silly to not let her use it. However she doesn't have texting and won't until summer or beginning of Freshman year. Have to make her wait for something. LOL

My DD, 13, has one and has had one for about 1.5 years. We got her one because my DH works for one of the large cell companies and we get two family phone lines for taxes only. We have strict limits so she cannot do a lot of texting or we start paying. My DS will probably get one in a few years when he is 12. I think they are helpful, but they can also be very expensive if the kids aren't careful.

Hi, do you happen to know our other new member ShwetaSwaroop?

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Both kids have had them since 6th grade. One in 10th now and the other in 8th.

oldest dd 14 now has had her for the last 2 yrs so since she was 12 she babysits & walks her sister home everday so I needed to be able to get a hold of her & her to have access to a phone at all times

SHe started out with a tracphone though at 11 & it was pretty cheap we did all online deals for her mins & she got enough for xmas & her bday we rarely bought them now we have no house phone just the cells

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We just recently got our oldest one (for his 11th birthday). Our rationale was multi-fold: He's going to middle school next year, and he may become involved in activities and I want to be able to have contact when needed or wanted. This is something that I intend to use to teach some responsibility....and yeah, I want him to have one like his friends.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Each of our kids got theirs when they became freshmen in high school. We didn't feel they needed one until then. We only added texting last year and it was because I wanted it for my phone and decided to just get the family unlimited plan.

I am amazed at the number of students at my elementary school (K-5th) that have them. As soon as the last bell rings, you see them whipping them out as they walk across the playground to the pick-up area.

Both of my kids have a Tracphone. DS (13)got his when he was 11. Very responsible with it. The first one he got, we got the year plan and he got 600 original mins. When it was time to renew a year later, he still had 300 mins on it. So he upgraded to a newer tracphone and his sister (9) got his old one.

Both of my kids are very active,

Son plays basketball, baseball, soccer, is a boy scout and in Taekwondo.

DD is on two competitive cheer teams, plays basketball, soccer and runs cross country. and is a brownie girl scout.

So there are a lot of times when I have to leave them both at different places to transport the other somewhere. It is a piece of mind for me that they both have one.

Some weeks we are only home 2 nights. So we are always on the go!

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My mother in law bought my 13 year old a Tracfone. For her birthday and Christmas they purchase her minutes as her present. So far, we have not had to buy any minutes for her. We already told her to use the minutes carefully (which she has done). She will have to do extra chores for me in order to add minutes. She was the last of all her friends to get a phone. Most of them had cell phones several years ago.

mine are 22, 20, and almost 17 and all have had one for for long periods. I happen to think they do more texting then regular talking. However I just like knowing when they are not home I can reach them at all times. Peace. Catherine

My dd who is 14 now has had a cell phone for 4 years.

She goes 2 nights a week and every other weekend to her dad's for visitation and he has no landline, just his cell. Sometimes he will leave her alone so for my piece of mind, she has one.

It also came in handy when she started riding the school bus. She can call and tell me if the bus is late, broke down, etc. so I knew if she would be late coming home.

My other dd who is 7 just "wants" one. But no, she doesn't have one...no need to yet. Probably will get her one though when she starts junior high (6th grade here) just for the above mentioned bus incidents.

My sons' are 14 and 9. Much to their dismay, they do not have cell phones, as we don't see the need for them to have them. While my oldest is in sports, etc, there are so many other kids that have phones that he can borrow someone elses to give me a one minute call saying mom come get me now. (There is a girl in my youngest son's class who has had one since she was 7 though, so it does happen)

Holy Toledo, Lisa! 14,000 texts per month!!@* That's more than 450 per day.... am I reading that wrong? That's a lot of texting. Perhaps they're counted some other way that I don't know about (since we don't have texting) Wow, I'm flabbergasted....and happy to have boys! lol

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Just curious....for those of you that have kids with phones......what kind of phones are they using? And do any of your kids have a data plan...or do you just stick to the texting?

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Both here on the kids phones

No, you are reading that right. 1 in, 1 out, each count as 1. She does more on the weekends, but that girl is always clicking that phone (all of the teenagers around here do, though, it's not just her!)

We do have rules. She's not allowed to text at dinner and we never have to remind her to put the phone down. Also, not late at night on school nights, just common sense things.

I also like the ability to threaten to take the phone. It works pretty well!

It was funny. She went through text withdrawl on our cruise for spring break! International roaming was 50 cents for each one going out. So she could read the ones coming in, but could not respond. We told her she could, but she had to pay for them. She almost couldn't stand it!

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

My DD has a RAZR phone. We have unlimited texting on her phone, so far this month, which started on the 15th, she has 4500 text messages. She rarely talks on the phone, only 27 minutes so far this month.

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I don't have texting on my phone we opt out of it and Internet. But can you get a phone just for texting ? I don't even know how to text LOL. I have never used it in the 7 years we have had cell phones.

Seems it might be cheaper since you can get unlimited texting and if thats what the child does most no reason to pay for mins they will not use.

my son will be 17 and he has a cell on our family plan. I find it very convenient for when he stays after school for practices.

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We have a family plan that has the minutes and we use the minutes, DD is the only one that has unlimited texting, I hate texting, can't stand it I tell everyone DO NOT text me unless it is an emergency, LOL and meaning you better can't reach me by cell phone first. DH doesn't text either. Now, I know the pre-paid phones you can buy the minutes and they can be used as minutes or for texting the same amount comes off for a text message as for a minute of phone call (we got DD a prepaid phone for the 1st year to see how responsible she would be with it before we put her on our family plan) but the prepaid phones are much more expensive than a plan if you are going to be making alot of calls or doing alot of texting, much cheaper to get a family plan. Really depends on your needs/wants.

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Aww Ok I see. I was just wondering if maybe getitng my DD a phone with nothing but texting might calm her down. I really don't see a need for her to have a phone tho. But the texting is the 'in thing" I think they all really want and not the phone. She at one time want that ( I call it a toy ) That did only texting but the other person had to live no more than 2 miles away. I did a research on Amazon and almost all the reviews said it did even work in the same room forget about that 2 miles. Others said it had to be a clear shot not trees, 2 story homes etc for the text to go thru.So after reading those replies I x that. But that was the only thing I had ever head that you could just do texting with. Thanks for the reply.

My DS will be 9 next month and I'm thinking of adding another phone to my plan. I would let him take it when he goes out with another family, to a friend's house, etc. He would not be able to have it all the time and I would limit the numbers he could call. There are kids in his grade (3rd) that already have their own phones that they carry everywhere. I think that is too much -- a 9 year old does not need to be on the phone unless they need to get in touch with their parents for some reason, in case of an emergency or to get a ride home, etc., not chatting or texting!!! When he's a teenager, there will be pleanty of time for that.

I have a Blackberry, only because it comes with free unlimited 'blackberry messenger' texts (to/from blackberry subscribers on any network). It was actually less expnesive for me to upgrade to the Blackberry instead of unlimited text messaging on my old phone. Most of the people I test are on Blackberry messenger -- there are only two or three that aren't and I don't text very often with them. I have maybe 10 texts/month that aren't Blackberry messenger.

Sarah........

My DS's 9 and 7 have had one each for over a year now. The only reason we got them one is that they have one is I feel safer. When they are at a friends house playing outside I can get in touch with them. And they can call when they go somewhere else. We only pay $15 every 3 months for their phones as they are only used when they are out playing. I think that the cost of $5/each phone per month for me is a good deal for my piece of mind.

I guess I am lucky. I have a 14 year old daughter that cannot stand cell phones. She does not even like to talk on the phone!! Since she does sports I was considering getting her a tracphone (that is what I have) and she asked WHY? I can always borrow someones to call you. (I also have all of her friends numbers stored in my phone if I need to get intouch with her)

My friends son (this family does not have alot of $$) has a phone now and he is constantly texting and calling on it when he is at HOME!! HELLO, use the home phone!!

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I don't think I am unlucky because my daughter likes to talk with her friends. It is a very normal thing. She uses it at home a lot, too, but it hurts nothing.

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I am lucky like ILOVEMYCHURCH....no one in the family are big cell phone users...DH is probably the most frequent user. Blows my mind when people can't wait in line at an amusement park with friends or go to a movie without talking on the phone.

DS1 got a cell phone of his own when he started driving and working - that was at about age 17. He has never had texting and has not wanted it.

DS2 got a cell phone at age 14-1/2....you know those younger ones....they grow up much faster. He wants texting but we haven't given into that request yet. We'll probably link it to some accomplishment - likely good grades.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

In my family I am the one who hardly ever ever uses the cell phone truly just to talk to my dh, children and parents and for extreme emergencies should the problem ever arise. Texting I know nothing of it never once did it. I actually personally think a cell phone should be used for only purposes mentioned above for me anyway. However dh of course has his for work and also his nextel which he uses both all the time he needs for his business to communicate with family members and workers since he has his own business . However my children all text all the time and have been doing so for a long time. If you have a teenager who does not use the cell phone that much or texting that is something very rare because that is all I see all the time. My eldest dd pays totally for her own. Tommy and Caitlin are on a 4 way plan which includes unlimited texting with me and my dh. However if they give us 25 dollars each towards the bill. Again I much rather them have it so that me and my dh may know where they are and we can reach them especially since all three have boyfriends and a girlfriend and it seems they are spending more time out especially the younger 2 they are always double dating like tonite and for my peace we like knowing we can reach all 6 of them...Peace. Catherine

I was NOT saying that parents who have children that talk on the phones were unlucky!
For "ME" I feel lucky that my child is not constantly on the phone.
If you do not have a plan that is unlimited I think it would hurt when the bill comes!

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