|
Post by 950nancy on Nov 29, 2019 21:16:04 GMT
Seventh and ninth grade. Only texting and phone calls until we knew they were going to be reasonably responsible young adults.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 18, 2024 20:27:17 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2019 21:31:04 GMT
7th grade.
|
|
|
Post by just PEAchy on Nov 29, 2019 22:02:29 GMT
My older kids got their first phones 9 years ago when they were in 4th & 5th grade. They were flip phones. It was also the time we got rid of our landline. Our youngest got a basic smartphone when he was in 5th grade, which mostly stayed on our counter. He only took it to things like sleepovers. They all started getting IPhones in 7th/ 8th grade.
|
|
ellen
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,509
Jun 30, 2014 12:52:45 GMT
|
Post by ellen on Nov 29, 2019 22:14:16 GMT
My older daughter got her first phone before she started 7th grade. My younger daughter got hers shortly after we got rid of our landline. She was in fifth grade or so. She was old enough to be left home alone and we'd leave one of our phones home with her so she could call if she needed help of any sort, but as soon as we saw that wasn't always going to work out we got her a phone of her own.
|
|
Peal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,524
Jun 25, 2014 22:45:40 GMT
|
Post by Peal on Nov 29, 2019 22:22:01 GMT
My oldest got his in 5th grade. It was a flip phone. DH and I had just upgraded to phones with a qwerty keyboard and got him a phone at the same time. We had just moved to a new state and he had a lot of anxiety and he wanted to be able to call if he got lost on the way home from school.
Our second got his when he was in middle school. Probably 7th grade. We were upgrading again and so he got one too.
Our youngest probably also 7th grade. Maybe 6th because we lived so far away from the school and if he needed anything or missed the bus he needed a good way to contact us since walking home or public transport isn't an option.
Each kid got their first phone after moving to a new state.
|
|
|
Post by AussieMeg on Nov 29, 2019 22:30:34 GMT
In Australia, high school starts in Year 7 (and the school year starts at the end of January), so most kids seem to get their first phone for Christmas that year, when they are about 12, and just going into high school. My son got his (hand me down iPhone 6) for his 12th birthday, which was a few months before he started high school. My daughter's dad gave her one when she was in Year 5 (so about 10 or 11). I think that's a bit too early, but he wanted to be able to ring her whenever he wanted.
|
|
|
Post by tenacious on Nov 29, 2019 22:51:22 GMT
DS1: 14 DS2: 13 DD: 12 Erin
|
|
MaryMary
Pearl Clutcher
Lazy
Posts: 2,975
Jun 25, 2014 21:56:13 GMT
|
Post by MaryMary on Nov 30, 2019 4:35:41 GMT
I think 14 was the youngest so far. My kids didn’t really need one before then.
|
|
|
Post by buddysmom on Nov 30, 2019 4:48:16 GMT
We got our DD26 her first just before her first day of 5th grade about 2004(?) She was about the first in her grade to get one (she says).
WAY back in the 60's I got my first pink Princess phone with push buttons (and my own phone number) when I was in 6th grade so I guess that's the reason I got her one earlier than others. I remember I was so excited to get mine!
|
|
|
Post by miominmio on Nov 30, 2019 5:40:11 GMT
DD got her first phone when she was 10, I think DS was around 13 when he got his.
|
|
paigepea
Drama Llama
Enter your message here...
Posts: 5,609
Location: BC, Canada
Jun 26, 2014 4:28:55 GMT
|
Post by paigepea on Nov 30, 2019 5:42:42 GMT
Between 11-12.
Older dd got a hand me down SE at 12. At 14 she got a hand me down 8 plus and little did 11 got the SE. If she proves she can not loose the SE we have a 7 here for her to grow in to. Both of our girls are on $15/month plans. We don’t have a family plan.
Basically they use our hand me down phones. We have never ‘gifted’ then with their own, new phones.
|
|
|
Post by mikewozowski on Nov 30, 2019 5:52:05 GMT
for the most part, i think kids get phones way too early. most just want them because other kids have them. they are a distraction at home and at school. i think it would serve everyone well to wait as long as possible to get kids phones. never in elementary school, for sure. and maybe not even middle school depending on whether there is a REAL need or not.
|
|
|
Post by aj2hall on Nov 30, 2019 6:08:54 GMT
My kids were one of the last ones in their grades to get them. ODS (now 20) got his at 16, when he was a junior in high school. Middle ds got his at the same time, AT&T was offering buy 1, get 1 free so they both got iPhones for Christmas. Middle ds was 14 but was active in sports and it was more convenient for us. Youngest ds just got his a month ago at 14, mostly because dh bought a new phone for me, yds now has my old iphone
|
|
|
Post by mrssmith on Nov 30, 2019 6:18:30 GMT
DD just got hers at age 11 when she started 6th grade. She goes to/from school on her own and goes to friends' houses after school. Plus it makes it easier to contact her when she's at her dad's. She has my old iPhone 6s. We share a limited data plan.
|
|
|
Post by betty on Nov 30, 2019 7:14:30 GMT
14 for my two oldest kids. My youngest got his brother's hand-me-down iPhone just a couple months shy of 14th bday.
|
|
|
Post by monklady123 on Nov 30, 2019 13:07:57 GMT
Mine got them in middle school because I was going to school in DC and dh works in DC. We live in Northern Virginia which means there's a river -- and bridges -- in between DC and VA. I wanted them to be able to reach one of us if they had to in the case of an emergency (9-11 was always on my mind since we live so close to the Pentagon, and at that time they did close all the bridges so dh was stuck in DC) since they were more independent in middle school. When ds started there dd was still in elementary school, but that school is three blocks from our house and even when she was home alone for a few hours there were several neighbors who knew that and who were looking out for her. But to get to the middle school they had to walk a bit, plus the after-school sports things, etc.
My kids are old enough now that back when they first got theirs they were thrilled with a flip phone. lol. Smart phones might have been a thing for adults but they weren't for kids, so there was no pleading from my kids for one. lol
|
|
|
Post by compeateropeator on Nov 30, 2019 13:12:11 GMT
No kids, but my niece and nephew have them ( both are probably better than mine...hahaha).
My nephew is 13 and has had one for 2 to 3 years. I am thinking he was 10 or 11.
My niece is 10 and has had one for a year. She got one when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She has the dexcom app so she can check her glucose monitor on it as well as on the dexcom monitor, but more importantly she can get in touch with her parents at anytime.
My brother got both of them from his work as the upgraded phones, so they are used...and I think both are iPhone 7s. Both are locked down pretty tight.
|
|
peabay
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,617
Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
|
Post by peabay on Nov 30, 2019 13:17:24 GMT
My older two are millennials and my younger two are Gen Z. All 4 were given phones for their 8th grade graduation. It was easy with my younger two, but I held fast. I just felt (and still feel) that middler schoolers are too young to handle the physical and emotional responsibilities of phones. My younger ones had Chrome Books and could go on Instagram etc... they weren't shut out socially. But I believed (and still do) in the whole "wait until 8th" philosophy.
|
|
|
Post by bearmom on Nov 30, 2019 13:46:56 GMT
Both dds got them for their 12th birthday. Older dd’s birthday is in August before school starts and she was going to be coming home alone. Younger dd, to be fair, got hers at the same age.
We have a strict no phones at the table policy, so whenever we are sitting around a table (dinner, playing games, etc) no one has their phone out, older dd has called her Grandma out on it.
|
|
|
Post by lisacharlotte on Nov 30, 2019 13:49:42 GMT
If the phone is only so they are reachable, a flip phone is all you need. Calls and text. I wouldn’t give my kid a smartphone. My son didn’t get an iPhone until he bought his own. We do use a combined family account even though he’s almost 30 since I get a work discount.
|
|
|
Post by MissBianca on Nov 30, 2019 13:52:42 GMT
just before 8th grade graduation. We took class trips to DC and New York and I wanted them to be able to reach me if we got separated. And at the HS they took the pay phones out about 10 years ago and all the buildings are now locked except the atrium which doesn’t have a phone. My kids all do after school activities so they need to let me know when they are done because the times change a lot depending on where they are in the season.
|
|
peaname
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,389
Aug 16, 2014 23:15:53 GMT
|
Post by peaname on Nov 30, 2019 14:00:48 GMT
Can you add in how old your kids are now? My 18 year old got his first phone in 7th grade but I think that was then...this is now. Sometimes on this board you’re getting 20 year old parenting advice
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Nov 30, 2019 14:27:59 GMT
just before 8th grade graduation. We took class trips to DC and New York and I wanted them to be able to reach me if we got separated. And at the HS they took the pay phones out about 10 years ago and all the buildings are now locked except the atrium which doesn’t have a phone. My kids all do after school activities so they need to let me know when they are done because the times change a lot depending on where they are in the season. I think the lack of pay phones everywhere makes a huge difference. Back in the Stone Age when I was a kid, everyone had a land line at home and there was a pay phone on every corner, at every gas station, at school, etc. so even though we didn’t have cell phones as long as you had a couple quarters in your pocket or purse you could call someone and at least get an answering machine to leave a message. These days that isn’t the case. And since no one ever wants to answer an unknown number, a call from a school friend’s phone might not get picked up. I know a lot of people who never listen to voicemails either.
|
|
luckyjune
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,685
Location: In the rainy, rainy WA
Jul 22, 2017 4:59:41 GMT
|
Post by luckyjune on Nov 30, 2019 14:53:55 GMT
Ours got them going into middle school, which is 7th grade here. However, this was during the age of flip phones. I think if smart phones had been a thing, our decisions on cell phones would have been less clear.
Phones for emergencies: fine. Smart phones, however, are just entertainment in a kid's pocket. I know this is difficult when smart phones are the only thing available (my 77 year old mother is lamenting the fact that she'll have to give up her flip phone soon, as they won't be supported anymore).
|
|
seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,427
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
|
Post by seaexplore on Nov 30, 2019 16:23:53 GMT
Ours got them going into middle school, which is 7th grade here. However, this was during the age of flip phones. I think if smart phones had been a thing, our decisions on cell phones would have been less clear. Phones for emergencies: fine. Smart phones, however, are just entertainment in a kid's pocket. I know this is difficult when smart phones are the only thing available (my 77 year old mother is lamenting the fact that she'll have to give up her flip phone soon, as they won't be supported anymore). Motorola is supposedly making a new flip phone. DH and I have Samsung Rugby flip phones still.
|
|
The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,930
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
|
Post by The Great Carpezio on Nov 30, 2019 17:20:58 GMT
It is interesting to see the variety of answers, but sometime in middle school seems to be the majority. I think there are a lot more people who give cell phones to younger kids than this board indicates, but I also suppose people feel judged sometimes too, so those people aren’t sharing.
The smart phone vs flip phone thing doesn’t really bother me much. My kids have had home iPads for years and school issued iPads this year. They can’t have their cellphones in class and will have to keep them locked in their lockers. I’ll be checking access and usage.
I would have liked to have waited longer, but it’s become an inconvenience and a safety issue.
|
|
|
Post by fredfreddy44 on Nov 30, 2019 17:21:58 GMT
Oldest got it for 12th birthday because biomom gave her one (2004). Our sons got them for their 14th birthdays (2013 & 2016)
|
|
seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,427
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
|
Post by seaexplore on Nov 30, 2019 17:26:41 GMT
My kids (8 and 3) have both had iPads since they were 2. Been using them since they were old enough to interact with them with my help. I don't feel my kids are going to be too sheltered or miss out on anything by not having phones. They can message on their iPad, go on an social media sites they want (with my approval). Both iPads are pretty locked down with restrictions tho.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 18, 2024 20:27:17 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2019 17:34:30 GMT
It’s 8th grade in our house. That is also the age that our kids start football practice, etc at the high school. I wanted them to be able to contact me if need be. My older two had very basic phones. My youngest did have a nicer phone with internet. He is an introvert and uses no social media. Also, being a rule follower, had no resistance to monitoring. My older two no longer lived at home so no complaints from them!
|
|
luckyjune
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,685
Location: In the rainy, rainy WA
Jul 22, 2017 4:59:41 GMT
|
Post by luckyjune on Nov 30, 2019 20:38:22 GMT
Ours got them going into middle school, which is 7th grade here. However, this was during the age of flip phones. I think if smart phones had been a thing, our decisions on cell phones would have been less clear. Phones for emergencies: fine. Smart phones, however, are just entertainment in a kid's pocket. I know this is difficult when smart phones are the only thing available (my 77 year old mother is lamenting the fact that she'll have to give up her flip phone soon, as they won't be supported anymore). Motorola is supposedly making a new flip phone. DH and I have Samsung Rugby flip phones still. I'll let her know! She'll be thrilled.
|
|