# What age would you allow your child a mobile phone?



## mum22ttc#3

As the title says really?

DD1 is 8 at the moment so Im defiently not thinking about it for the near future. Just wanted to see what others think and when you think is an acceptable age?

Personally I was thinking the year she starts secondary, as in the christmas before. I have had others say that she should be allowed one before this though.


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## 17thy

I personally started wanting/needing one around 12/13 when I started Jr.High. I was walking home alone a lot because of our school times, 12/13 seems acceptable. I see a lot of people with 7-8 year olds with a cell phone and just shake my head. Certainly wouldn't get my elementary school student have one.


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## mum22ttc#3

Thanks, thats why I was thinking 11 really, she will be starting secondary school that year so will have a bus journey of either 15-45 minutes depending on which school she goes to. 

I'm assuming she will also start wanting to go to friends houses that bit more and as they may not be just round the corner I think there will defiantly be a need for her to have a phone, it would make me feel that bit more comfortable I think if nothing else.

I suppose I really just wanted to make sure I wasn't being to harsh or anything in not allowing her to have one now.

:flower:


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## iceylou

kyle got one for his 12th birthday. the majority of his class had phones from the age of 8 for their Communion. he got a normal cheapish one, nothing special ie I-phone. last year for his birthday he upgraded it to a more flashy one. he wanted an I-phone but when he priced them he nearly had a heart attack. he thought we were making up the prices lol.


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## 17thy

iceylou said:


> kyle got one for his 12th birthday. the majority of his class had phones from the age of 8 for their Communion. he got a normal cheapish one, nothing special ie I-phone. last year for his birthday he upgraded it to a more flashy one. he wanted an I-phone but when he priced them he nearly had a heart attack. he thought we were making up the prices lol.

lol @ thinking up you were making up the prices.


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## sabby52

Dan got a pay as you go mobile when he was 9 and a contract one this year he is 13 :)


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## NuKe

12/13. my best mate got her 9 year old one last year when she was 8 and shes getting a contract one for xmas. i think she's insane. wtf does a 9 year old need with a mobile phone??


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## Leanne09

my step son has just recently had one as he has started comprehensive school. he turned 11 in july x


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## going_crazy

I'll be getting my DD1 one when she heads off to senior school (actually, the Christmas before), BUT I'm seriously considering getting her a 'cheap' one to take to school and a 'nice' one for all other times....... Only because round here there seems to be a lot of school kids getting their phones stolen on the way to/from school!


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## JASMAK

13 probably...or so


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## sabby52

NuKe said:


> 12/13. my best mate got her 9 year old one last year when she was 8 and shes getting a contract one for xmas. i think she's insane. wtf does a 9 year old need with a mobile phone??

Dan had one at 9 it was needed as he had a lot of friends that lived quite a bit from our house, so I used it to keep in touch and make sure he was alright :thumbup:


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## 5-a-side

My dd1 got her's for her 10th birthday in July this year. She hasnt even used £10 credit yet bless her so its good she isnt abusing it. 
Mainly she will text a few school mates and her dad uses it to call her (brilliant means I dont have him calling me!) But then she doesnt go out on her own around the village so has no need to call me in an emergency either. 
Her phone is only a cheapy from argos (think it was about £25 with £10 free credit) wouldn't think of buying her something better until she is older. 

I know of kids dd1's age who get through £50 credit a month :shock: that's crazy!


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## 17thy

Could be like my little brother, he's about to be 15 in 10 days and he's getting a cell phone. He has had one before but never kept it on, or forgot it in places, so it didn't really matter anyway.


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## Jen.Uh.Fur

Not until they can pay for it themselves. So 16 at least.


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## besttoys

hi everyone for me it would be alright to give them a phone at 12 yrs of age :)


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## allyk

I agree once they start secOndary school, I have 13 & 10 yr old step daughters. The older one got bought pho e for her 11th birthday (which I disagree with) as now the 10 yr old is expecting one for her 11th birthday!! Although she has accepted that she does t need one but still causes issue.

I did t get phone til I was 18 and I had 1 1/2 hour bus journey to school I survived without phone!!!


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## RachA

I know i am nowhere near this stage yet but i would of thought at the start of secondary school. Before this age i wouldn't be letting DS out somewhere where i couldn't get hold of him if needed, or vice versa.


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## Vonnie18

My sons are 8 and almost 7 and they both have mobiles, mainly so I can keep in touch with them when they are out or if they need to get in touch with me in an emergency. Youngest onyl really got one cos oldest had one and of course it wasn't fair haha! TBH, over the winter when they have not been out the phones haven;t been touched and I can't tell you the last time they had charge in them lol...plus they are only £20 phones so not expensive :) x


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## Amarna

At around 13 or 14 I'll probably end up getting them a cheap pay as you go phone with a limited monthly amount of cash I'm willing to put into it. If they want to save their own money for extra time/texts/whatever they're more than welcome. Anything other than that I view as really not necessary and if they want something fancier or with a contract they're welcome to get one when they have a job and can pay for it.


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## smelly07

I will be getting my daughters one on their 11th birthdays just before they start secondary school, I want them to be able to contact me and vice versa when needed and that will be the age they will start walking to school alone and i imagine spending more time out and about with their friends.
I want them to have one just as much as i imagine they will want one. x


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## CarlyP

I think once DS starts to go to sleep overs and playing out with friends etc then we will get him one.


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## KittyVentura

When they start secondary school I think.

In cases where parents are separated I think a child should really have one as soon as they can operate a phone really. Assuming there is a custody agreement. I think a child should always be able to speak to the other parent when THEY want to xx


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## bumphenders

I am nowhere near this point yet, but I got my younger step sister a cheap (£20) phone last year when she was 8 to teach her the importance of looking after things, and also so that I could keep in touch with her as I don't live with her and I don;t get to see her as often as I would like...

She receives pocket money off my Dad and step mam and if she chooses to use some of it to top up her credit with then that is her choice...Again, if she spends her pocket money on other things, then she won't have credit on her phone so its another way to teach her to appreciate things more.

:flow:


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## mandy81

My daughter bought herself one last christmas when she was 8 !!! x


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## Coxie

I got my daughter one when she was 7. She spends every summer away from me at one or both of her Grandparents which is all the way across the country. I wanted her to be able to call me whenever she wanted and I wanted to be able to contact her when I want. Ya I could call my parents phones but to be honest my Mom is so technically challenged she doesn't even know how to operate or find her cell phone half the time. It has come in handy also when she goes to sleepovers or when I am running late to pick her up from sports or school.


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## sarah0108

When they go to secondary school, so, 11-12?


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## Mummy2B21

I would consider at age 11 when they move to senior school.


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## amore

allyk said:


> I agree once they start secOndary school, I have 13 & 10 yr old step daughters. The older one got bought pho e for her 11th birthday (which I disagree with) as now the 10 yr old is expecting one for her 11th birthday!! Although she has accepted that she does t need one but still causes issue.
> 
> I did t get phone til I was 18 and I had 1 1/2 hour bus journey to school I survived without phone!!!

Totally agree :thumbup: 

I dont think I will let my boys have phones until they are atleast 14 as I just dont see why they would need one personally :shrug: I used to walk to school and back each day and I survived just fine. When they are at a friends house I can just call the house phone of his friends like my mum used to do :)


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## holly2234

I had one the christmas before i started secondary school. Just after i turned 11. Nothing special, just a cheap one. I definitely wouldnt be getting Erin a contract one, ever!


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## more babies

When my daughter was 8 I went out and added a phone to our plan. The phone itself was free (just your basic phone) and it only cost $10 a month. This phone line will eventually be hers but right now its our "extra" or "emergency" phone. The original reason I got it was because she was doing a sports camp and I didn't feel comfortable leaving her there all day without her being able to get whole of me right away if needed. She also takes the phone if she goes out riding her bike with the other kids on the street. Its more of a comfort for me. I don't plan on giving her the phone any time soon and now that she's 10 and all her friends are getting them she's been asking for one but I can't see any reason she would need a full time phone at 10. I told her she can have a phone when she can pay for it and she wasn't to thrilled with that answer.


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## hopeandpray

UK government advice is to minimise phone calls under 16 because of possible health risks. I would let mine have a phone but maybe have them use it with earphones and try text whenever possible instead of calling.


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## kel21

Mine is only 5 right now, but I would just say when need arises. Hopefully not until teens. My big thing is that we want a gps in it! We live out in the country, and kids party out here! I want to know where he is at all times, not just what he tells me! But that kind of phone won't happen until he is at least 16!


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## Tegans Mama

Its probably gonna be a lot sooner rather than later for us. At the minite we rely on a baby monitor to let us know when Tegan wakes up (she's paraplegic and can't get herself put of bed or down the stairs etc). As soon as I feel she is ready I'll be getting her a mobile phone instead so she can call/text me to tell me she's up. She has severe health problems and shell need to e able to reach us in emergencies, so as soon as she can operate a phone independently shell have one. It will only have two numbers in though, mine & my wife's.


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## angiepie

I think when you start high school is a good time. We never needed them in primary, but suddenly everyone had one in year 7 and I felt soooo left out. So halfway through the year I got one for my 13th birthday [although it was a cheapie and my parents only had to put credit on it every few months coz I had no one to text!]. Round about year 9, when I was 14/15 is when I really started to text a lot and when I turned 15 I got a job, anyway. I think it's important for the child to be able to pay for the phone. It's a good way to teach them to save. I would've had a lot more credit if I hadn't spent so much money at the school canteen. :haha:


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## Mighty Max

I gave my daughter her first phone at 6! It wasn't an iPhone! But it did what I wanted it to do, ring and text me. As a single dad, I had to work, and after school she would have to go to other children's houses after school. Our neighbours usually took her but often enough, I had to make other arrangements. So I would text her asking her if she was ok with going with such and such a person today. And my daughter was constantly (still does) forgetting her gear for practice. So i'd often get a text asking me to drop off gear bags and sometimes lunch or money. And on a couple of occassions the parents I had asked to collecct her had forgotten to pick her up or mixed up the dates! Once, she forgot her phone on one of those days. She was left on her own outside the sports field for an hour (6 o'clock, on a winters evening, it was dark) until I realised. She didn't want to leave the field because she was afraid and she didn't want me to show up and she not be there. She was 9 years old! That phone helped us so much! She's almost 13 now, and she has a smartphone. I must say, she's great. In all fairness, her bill is never more than &#8364;20, compared to my bill of &#8364;200+. She doesn't text much. Most of her bill is internet usage. She goes on youtube, downloads music, plays games and all that crap! And if you were to go through her logs, 90% of the calls and texts are to me!

EDIT - Did I mention it contains a GPS tracker? I rarely even use it. But it 's a handy device!


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## Family

Harry is getting his phone this year (turning 13). I think that 12-13 years old should be getting a phone!!!


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## lizardbreath

When I.was 13 I got my first phone and I was told then I had to pay for it my children will be told the same the can have a cell phone when.they can pay for all costs


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## nugget80

my girls bought themselves a phone when they were 7 & 8. i wasn't happy but i had said i wanted nothing to do with it so they went in and bought them without me! tbh though once they had them i felt happier about them playing out and going to park alone. their dad got them contracts last year without asking but as he pays bills I've not said anything... they use them lots to text friends and arrange to meet outside of school and as i can always contact them i don't mind them venturing further when with others (never alone)


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## lozzy21

I think once they are going out independently then they can have one. I got one once i started going into town with my friends or to the cinema on a weekend.


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## motherofboys

Well my 6 year old son came home the other day telling me how some girl in his class has just got a phone for her birthday and shes 7 and could he have one for christmas as he will be nearly 7. He wants to use it to send texts to his friends (how many of his friends will actually have a phone, I ask you lol) and his family "who don't live in our house"
I don't think I will be letting him have one until he is at the age where his going out alone with friends.


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## AP

Alex has an iphone, helps us when going to hospital appointments and long waits in places - obviously not for calls but i dread to think of how young she will be when that day comes :rofl:

My sister got one at like 6/7 and all she did was text me utter rubbish. More fool to my parents for filling it with credit. Needless to say she doesnt use it much either.


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## sobersadie

My eldest had a pay as you go mobile from age 8 and my 6 year old has one but it has no credit in it, no numbers and i only give him it when hes out playing so i can contact him at any time to see hes ok and where he is etc. The eldest is 11 now and he has a contract phone and uses free apps to chat to his pals etc or if hes at his sports clubs he can fone me and say come pick me up etc so i like them having them as it gives me peace of mind.


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## motherofboys

Reading over the thread I see there are lots of different circumstances which might call for a younger child to have a phone. ATM my sons don't go anywhere that either myself or their Dad isn't going too. We walk them to school, we take them and wait at their clubs, when my 6 year old went to friends houses a few times I had the mums number already anyway. Perhaps if he were like his Dad used to be at his age, going out after breakfast and coming back at 5pm with his Mum not knowing where he had been all day, then I'd get him a phone, but seems unnecessary atm. He can play the games on mine, and he'd just annoy people if he could text them LOL


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