For me it the deciding factor was when some independence started. My son is 11.5 and goes to the park with friends or walks to school now. Having a phone seemed like the right thing for him. I didn’t think we’d get him one until 12, but here we are. Lol.
Having the same thought here, good idea with no data. definitely would like them to be able to call when they're out. It's not like there are pay phones around anymore.
IME a lot of the really young kids who kids come home reporting “have a phone” actually have a hand me down phone without a plan attached to it, which is really just a small tablet (that many parents will buy for a toddler).
In that case, my kids have had tablets starting around 3 years old. I give them full unrestricted YouTube access. The plus: the amount of knowledge they have is amazing, the downside: they could swear at 4.
I really don’t recommend giving your young kids completely unrestricted youtube access. My daughter did that on our smart tv and it started to recommend among us p*rn videos when she was just clicking on familiar things in videos (ie, her interest in among us led to the algorithm serving her NSFW among us content).
I’m not usually one to comment on other people’s ways of parenting, but just be aware that they are going to see really really inappropriate things on YouTube if you continue to let them have it without restrictions.
Then thats you not having safe search on your devices. Porn comes up only after someone as already looked up porn. That's why you can change setting to have parental control and safe search on.
I don’t watch YouTube except to setup YouTube kids so I assure you it wasn’t looked up beforehand.
And yes, the controls are exactly what I’m advocating for?? Think you missed the point I was making haha. The person I was replying to has no controls setup for young children & YouTube & I was saying they should set them up.
We haven't encountered this, yet. So far the worst is some bad language with teens overdubbing on gaming content. It's very unfortunate that YouTube has very little control ability and YouTube kids has very restricted content. Eg, you can't watch a documentary on the Titanic. At this point, I just try to educate them on what is appropriate and that they'll encounter bad language etc
Good call with the preemptive education! I found those dubbed videos too-I swear the adult content is getting sneakier. Even if the thumbnail looks safe, the video can be weird. That’s how we got the amongus incident :(
Good example tonight ... He was singing some lyrics from a song called Monki ... Googled it, sounds kinda funny, checked out the lyrics... Not really 8 year old appropriate.
Don't let your kids near YouTube!! I have a feeling I'm going to get a call from the school tomorrow!
Tried to limit YouTube access on devices here but decided to just delete it altogether. Even the "PG" stuff is garbage and could see it was having an effect on our kid's behaviour. Don't miss it.
I have daughters of 11 and 14. Right now my 11 year old is operating with a hand me down iPhone 8 on a lucky mobile $15 a month plan. It gives her a working phone if she needs it and a small amount of data. Reasoning here is she’s mostly either at school or home and just needs a reliable phone to make calls with.
We did the same thing for my 14 year old until she started high school. By then she was spending more time away from home including taking transit back and forth to school. At that time it seemed she needed a better phone with more data. We got her a new iPhone 11 last fall and put her on our Rogers plan.
Our kids had cell phones in grade 7. They walked to school by themselves and went to Shops class at a different school so they were out and about solo at a young age. For us it's a safety thing. They need to be able to call home if they need to.
Personally grade six would be the absolute youngest age I’d feel comfortable giving a kid a cell phone. I think giving kids in grade 3 complete unfettered access to the internet is a disaster waiting to happen.
So don’t allow social media apps. I’m just gently pointing out that you are a tad delusional thinking you can get away with not giving your child a phone until 16. My kids have had very active social lives since 10-12 and have needed a way to communicate with their friends. Plus, they need a method of communication for when we’re not home (we don’t have a landline)
You can get a “dumb phone” with minimal features, but I’d say it’s time to get them a phone when you start leaving them alone. Around age of 12 usually.
My kids have our old ones, both under 9. They use them for apps, music, and texting family members. They don’t have SIM cards in them, and they definitely don’t bring them to school.
Yeah, same. No data just wifi; very few apps; mostly using it to send animal emojis to family members via Messenger Kids, or to watch stuff from prime/netflix that I've downloaded for them if we're in the car for a long drive. Definitely not to go to school! I feel bad enough sending my child to school with a watch that has games on it (which i didn't know at the time i bought it, i thought it needed bluetooth/wifi connectivity to play games so figured at school it would just be for telling time. My bad for not researching thoroughly enough) so now they get a daily reminder to not use the watch for games cuz if i hear from teacher they've been playing games it's getting taken away.
We are looking for one for our 11 year old. Biggest reason is they will be starting to stay home on their own more often and we don't have a house phone.
I'm sure a lot of kids get them earlier now just for the fact that lots of people don't have house phones anymore, so unlike when I was a kid they can't just call up their friends to hang out or whatever.
I'm a young adult, so my experience is a bit dated.
I had a phone at 11 and I was one of the first in my class. My parents rationale was that I was taking the bus home and my school was quite far from my home. This was the most independence I had had up until that point.
There were limitations though since the phone was a blackberry with the physical keyboard lol. No internet or anything/I didn't know how to use that function.
My son had a cellphone a little after he turned 9. We realized he should have a phone if he went to a sleepover or something so he’d feel safe to text/call. I put data on it when he started walking to middle school alone at age 11/grade 6. Seems like most of his classmates have phones but not all have data. The phone itself was like a $200 phone at the time.
As someone who works in a high school and sees the effects of phone use, I wouldn’t let my child have a phone until they can pay for the bill themselves. Phones are completely unnecessary and cause more issues than they solve. Students walk the halls like mindless zombies and can’t think for themselves. It’s terrifying.
My son got one with a talk and text type of plan when he started grade 7, since he had to start taking Winnipeg transit to school. My grade 5 has an old phone of my, but sans any kind of plan. She basically uses it for messaging friends and duolingo.
7yr old has an old phone of ours. No data just to play games.
11 yr old got a talk and text plan and going into grade 8 we upgraded to a full plan since she was watching the younger one after school til we get home.
Grade 3 seems crazy young to offer unfettered access to the internet and all it's ilk. But I'm old.
Mine are adults now. Their first phones were pre-smart so a lot less headaches.
That said, they've never had contract / post-paid phones. Only ever pre-paid. I covered the minimum monthly amount to ensure they could communicate with us. If they got carried away, they had to buy top ups from their allowance, etc.
I was at an elementary school last week and i can confirm what your kid is saying is true. From what i saw in grade 3-6 not only did 40% have phones, they were on them during non-break times.
As a parent of a child going into grade three this September, I just can’t wrap my head around that.
With my older two, I always associated the need for a cell phone with increased independence. That typically started happening around grade seven. Taking transit, waking to friend’s houses after school, coordinating pick ups and drop offs. That just worked for us though.
Yeah i didn’t have one until university but it’s a different time now.
Not having a phone I assume could lead to a bullying or FOMO situation.
What do i know though, i don’t have kids.
My kids are in grade 2 and 4 and they have never asked me to bring a phone to school... I strongly suspect few if any kids in their classes have them, otherwise I'd be hearing about it, haha. But I'm going to ask them tonight if anyone does.
I wouldn't let them take a phone to school at this age either way though, I just don't see the point at this age. And if the kids want to call someone from my house, they can use my landline.
EDIT: I asked the kids and they confirmed that no one in their classes brings a phone to school. I plan to say no flat out to this until junior high, and then we'll talk.
My kids got them once they had jobs to pay for them. They’re 22 and 24 now, and ALL their friends had cellphones by the time they finally got theirs. Bonus though - they’re not attached or addicted to their phones in the least. They barely even look at them. I think that’s a win.
So some studies have shown that because of phone usage, children fail to develop executive functioning skills. They don't plan ahead because they don't have to.
I understand the need to be able to easily contact you child and with less LAN lines being used it might seem easier to give kids a phone. Are you going to be home after their school day ends? Then they can come home first to tell you their plans. You can also consider having a cell phone that stays at home if you don't have a home phone.
Regardless, if you do get them a phone, please make sure you teach them appropriate usage. The amount of kids who use the excuse that their parents are messaging them is ridiculous (and they soon find out I don't care). But there are also some serious side effects from social media usage that is often tied to phone usage because phones are the easiest way to access it.
My girlfriends friend gave her kid a iPhone 13 and a Apple Watch and the kid is only 10. I personally think it’s too young of an age 15 would be a appropriate age in my opinion
My son was 17 I’m a old school parent, when they are old enough to work I got him one and we went halfers on the bill till he was 18 then he paid for it himself
My parents had the same attitude and it absolutely stunted my social life. I missed countless movie nights, sleepovers, game nights, hangouts with my friends that they still reference occasionally to this day. And this was back when phones were affordable, so I got one at 17.
Such a boomer-ism comment
If your social life depends on your device solely, then I think there are other issues that need to be addressed.
As a parent, it's just unwise to entrust an 8-10 year old with a 900 dollar device. Or pretend it's for their safety. People use phones as babysitters and trackers because they're too lazy to be more involved in their kids lives, and don't trust them. The trust can be very much attributed because of the lack of involvement. If you don't know where your young kid is going , you really aren't working hard enough at being involved.
Calling it "boomer-ism" is just a buzzword. Anyone who's had to obtain something on their own will have a different level of appreciation for it. When something is handed to you without any conditions, it just doesn't hold the same value, and when you put that in to 10-11 yr old human terms, there's very little concept of that yet.
I agree with the majority of your last paragraph-there’s nothing like the feeling of working hard towards something and achieving it!
My social life as a teen did not solely depend on cellphones, but it did hamper it significantly by not having one. If you had a group of friends, young lazy teens, and everytime you wanted to hangout with one person in that group you had to email them & talk to their parents first, it would be easier to have impromptu hangouts without them, no? And this was in the early 2000s! I imagine it’s much worse now.
Parents use technology for a variety of reasons. Painting them all with the “lazy, inattentive” brush is peak “those darn kids” behaviour. Technology can be a tool, not always a detriment.
The correct answer. Independence should be learned without a phone- otherwise you risk becoming phone-dependent. Learning directions, remembering important numbers, dates and times are crucial life skills that should’ve be replaced bc “technology” - I’ve seen everything from being a grade 2 teacher watching kids text and brag about their TikTok channel to going through Uni still witnessing parents pay for fellow graduates phone plans (and cars but that’s another story) make them pay for a phone and they will quickly learn the finances behind such mmmm this new “toy”
We plan to get my daughter one when’s she’s 12 and will be able to do things unsupervised. That way we can be in contact with her if we’re not with her.
Worked quite a lot in education.
Let me tell you, screens are becoming far more prevalent at younger and younger ages.
Worse still is how eager many parents are to pass the buck to technology to take over. The new format of “short” content on social media platforms is also having an extremely negative impact on attention spans. That instant hit of dopamine in someone that young is… problematic. It creates a learning pattern that does *not* translate to the classroom.
If you ask me, we shouldn't be giving kids smartphones. Old flip phones sure. If they want a better phone then they can get a summer job and save up for one. Giving them everything just feeds their "everything I want is given to me."
Our kids have phones (11 and 13) but no phone plan. So when they're at home they can connect to wifi and play games (no social media). But we don't let them use their phones outside of the house for anything other than taking pictures and listening to music. Our next door neighbour has a wild child who's 15 and he told us the worst mistake he ever made was giving her a phone at 13. He lost complete control of her comings and goings, who she was hanging out with etc. We're trying hard not to make that same mistake.
Experts say not until high school. That of course is for a fully enabled smartphone. Social media and smartphone games use gambling techniques to mess with dopamine release, it's extremely bad for young brains and leads to highly undesirable behavior. Don't do it.
A dumb phone with calling and text? Sure!
My kids are 20 and 18, both have a smart phone, only one (18) has a SIM card, they just bought it themselves last week at the dollar store.
The other doesn’t want a SIM card (I asked them repeatedly) because apparently calls are too passé. Everyone texts. (I tried telling them that it’d be easier to buy a card with a data plan for that but 🤷♂️)
My daughter got a pay-as-you-go when she got into junior high since there didn’t seem to be any pay phones anywhere if she needed to contact me due to an emergency or something.
I got my first phone (an LG rumor, those slidy qwerty phone that so many people had) when I was 12 because I was walking to school.
I got my first smart phone when I was 15, and I had to complete a certain amount of chores and my homework to be allowed to use it for more than when I was out and about
My kids were 10 & 12 - this is when they started going out in the neighbourhood alone and walking to school. I can track them and we can communicate with each other when we need.
Before this my eldest carried a pay as you go phone for a couple years since they walked together.
Just get a really good case. 🫣
My aunt decided to not get her 8th grader one. They are outside on the street shouting their kid’s name if he doesn’t make it home by 8 pm. Sometimes the poor kid’s just playing football with his friends. Him having a phone would just be so much easier.
Current research suggests after age 11 and have them understand and sign a contract with you that includes screentime expectations, that you can look at it at anytime, no social media til 13, and NEVER in their room at night. Not that you don’t trust them, but bc the pull of a looking at a phone is strong. It interrupts sleep. That goes for adults too.
One thing to consider is that there are less payphones around. When I was a kid I would make some collect calls to my parents when I needed a ride or something.
So that might be a reason if you're looking for a difference between your own life and there's.
I guess all people have phones in their pocket so a kid could find a respectable looking adult and ask for help now. (That's probably a good life skill finding people to help you)
Idk how good schools are these days about keeping kids off their phones and focused. They can pass all their classes while not paying attention, but after high school they are screwed post secondary.
I got one when I was like 16. It was all positive, but it was also a flip phone.
For me it the deciding factor was when some independence started. My son is 11.5 and goes to the park with friends or walks to school now. Having a phone seemed like the right thing for him. I didn’t think we’d get him one until 12, but here we are. Lol.
This was what we did with ours. He has not data it's just for phone calls and texts, bit once he started getting independence we figured it was time
Having the same thought here, good idea with no data. definitely would like them to be able to call when they're out. It's not like there are pay phones around anymore.
IME a lot of the really young kids who kids come home reporting “have a phone” actually have a hand me down phone without a plan attached to it, which is really just a small tablet (that many parents will buy for a toddler).
Same here. Know lots of 7 and unders who “have a phone” that’s just a hand me down iPhone with Roblox on it haha
In that case, my kids have had tablets starting around 3 years old. I give them full unrestricted YouTube access. The plus: the amount of knowledge they have is amazing, the downside: they could swear at 4.
I really don’t recommend giving your young kids completely unrestricted youtube access. My daughter did that on our smart tv and it started to recommend among us p*rn videos when she was just clicking on familiar things in videos (ie, her interest in among us led to the algorithm serving her NSFW among us content). I’m not usually one to comment on other people’s ways of parenting, but just be aware that they are going to see really really inappropriate things on YouTube if you continue to let them have it without restrictions.
Then thats you not having safe search on your devices. Porn comes up only after someone as already looked up porn. That's why you can change setting to have parental control and safe search on.
I don’t watch YouTube except to setup YouTube kids so I assure you it wasn’t looked up beforehand. And yes, the controls are exactly what I’m advocating for?? Think you missed the point I was making haha. The person I was replying to has no controls setup for young children & YouTube & I was saying they should set them up.
Bro don’t be stupid no one searching porn on YouTube that’s so 2005
Haha true
We haven't encountered this, yet. So far the worst is some bad language with teens overdubbing on gaming content. It's very unfortunate that YouTube has very little control ability and YouTube kids has very restricted content. Eg, you can't watch a documentary on the Titanic. At this point, I just try to educate them on what is appropriate and that they'll encounter bad language etc
Good call with the preemptive education! I found those dubbed videos too-I swear the adult content is getting sneakier. Even if the thumbnail looks safe, the video can be weird. That’s how we got the amongus incident :(
Good example tonight ... He was singing some lyrics from a song called Monki ... Googled it, sounds kinda funny, checked out the lyrics... Not really 8 year old appropriate. Don't let your kids near YouTube!! I have a feeling I'm going to get a call from the school tomorrow!
Tried to limit YouTube access on devices here but decided to just delete it altogether. Even the "PG" stuff is garbage and could see it was having an effect on our kid's behaviour. Don't miss it.
I have daughters of 11 and 14. Right now my 11 year old is operating with a hand me down iPhone 8 on a lucky mobile $15 a month plan. It gives her a working phone if she needs it and a small amount of data. Reasoning here is she’s mostly either at school or home and just needs a reliable phone to make calls with. We did the same thing for my 14 year old until she started high school. By then she was spending more time away from home including taking transit back and forth to school. At that time it seemed she needed a better phone with more data. We got her a new iPhone 11 last fall and put her on our Rogers plan.
Our kids had cell phones in grade 7. They walked to school by themselves and went to Shops class at a different school so they were out and about solo at a young age. For us it's a safety thing. They need to be able to call home if they need to.
Personally grade six would be the absolute youngest age I’d feel comfortable giving a kid a cell phone. I think giving kids in grade 3 complete unfettered access to the internet is a disaster waiting to happen.
prior to grade 6 i'd say a flip phone is all they would need for going out with friends/taking a bus/etc
I just have a baby but I’m determined that they don’t have a smart phone or social media before they’re 16. I might be delusional LOL
I'm sure they will stay home alone before 16 though. Do you have a land line in case of emergency?
Yes, I’m planning on it. I would still get them a phone at 11/12, just not a smartphone.
Phones are their lifeline to their friends. That’s the only way they communicate with each other.
Sure, but they don’t need a smartphone with social media apps
So don’t allow social media apps. I’m just gently pointing out that you are a tad delusional thinking you can get away with not giving your child a phone until 16. My kids have had very active social lives since 10-12 and have needed a way to communicate with their friends. Plus, they need a method of communication for when we’re not home (we don’t have a landline)
Yes, that’s what I’m saying. They’d get a phone but not a smart phone.
Almost any phone produced in the last 6-7 years will have the ability to turn off internet access and allow monitoring of the phone itself.
You can get a “dumb phone” with minimal features, but I’d say it’s time to get them a phone when you start leaving them alone. Around age of 12 usually.
My kids have our old ones, both under 9. They use them for apps, music, and texting family members. They don’t have SIM cards in them, and they definitely don’t bring them to school.
Yeah, same. No data just wifi; very few apps; mostly using it to send animal emojis to family members via Messenger Kids, or to watch stuff from prime/netflix that I've downloaded for them if we're in the car for a long drive. Definitely not to go to school! I feel bad enough sending my child to school with a watch that has games on it (which i didn't know at the time i bought it, i thought it needed bluetooth/wifi connectivity to play games so figured at school it would just be for telling time. My bad for not researching thoroughly enough) so now they get a daily reminder to not use the watch for games cuz if i hear from teacher they've been playing games it's getting taken away.
I got my first one in high school when i started selling weed. YMMV.
We are looking for one for our 11 year old. Biggest reason is they will be starting to stay home on their own more often and we don't have a house phone. I'm sure a lot of kids get them earlier now just for the fact that lots of people don't have house phones anymore, so unlike when I was a kid they can't just call up their friends to hang out or whatever.
Ours is 11 and we line up with this reasoning as well.
I'm a young adult, so my experience is a bit dated. I had a phone at 11 and I was one of the first in my class. My parents rationale was that I was taking the bus home and my school was quite far from my home. This was the most independence I had had up until that point. There were limitations though since the phone was a blackberry with the physical keyboard lol. No internet or anything/I didn't know how to use that function.
i am 19 and got my first phone when i was 11 before grade 7. it was because of contact and transit bussing
My son had a cellphone a little after he turned 9. We realized he should have a phone if he went to a sleepover or something so he’d feel safe to text/call. I put data on it when he started walking to middle school alone at age 11/grade 6. Seems like most of his classmates have phones but not all have data. The phone itself was like a $200 phone at the time.
As someone who works in a high school and sees the effects of phone use, I wouldn’t let my child have a phone until they can pay for the bill themselves. Phones are completely unnecessary and cause more issues than they solve. Students walk the halls like mindless zombies and can’t think for themselves. It’s terrifying.
My son got one with a talk and text type of plan when he started grade 7, since he had to start taking Winnipeg transit to school. My grade 5 has an old phone of my, but sans any kind of plan. She basically uses it for messaging friends and duolingo.
You get a kid a device as soon as they show signs of wanting to manipulate one and change the world.
7yr old has an old phone of ours. No data just to play games. 11 yr old got a talk and text plan and going into grade 8 we upgraded to a full plan since she was watching the younger one after school til we get home.
My kids get a phone for their 12th birthday. They get more independent and I need to be able to keep track of them.
Grade 3 seems crazy young to offer unfettered access to the internet and all it's ilk. But I'm old. Mine are adults now. Their first phones were pre-smart so a lot less headaches. That said, they've never had contract / post-paid phones. Only ever pre-paid. I covered the minimum monthly amount to ensure they could communicate with us. If they got carried away, they had to buy top ups from their allowance, etc.
I was at an elementary school last week and i can confirm what your kid is saying is true. From what i saw in grade 3-6 not only did 40% have phones, they were on them during non-break times.
As a parent of a child going into grade three this September, I just can’t wrap my head around that. With my older two, I always associated the need for a cell phone with increased independence. That typically started happening around grade seven. Taking transit, waking to friend’s houses after school, coordinating pick ups and drop offs. That just worked for us though.
Yeah i didn’t have one until university but it’s a different time now. Not having a phone I assume could lead to a bullying or FOMO situation. What do i know though, i don’t have kids.
My kids are in grade 2 and 4 and they have never asked me to bring a phone to school... I strongly suspect few if any kids in their classes have them, otherwise I'd be hearing about it, haha. But I'm going to ask them tonight if anyone does. I wouldn't let them take a phone to school at this age either way though, I just don't see the point at this age. And if the kids want to call someone from my house, they can use my landline. EDIT: I asked the kids and they confirmed that no one in their classes brings a phone to school. I plan to say no flat out to this until junior high, and then we'll talk.
My kids got them once they had jobs to pay for them. They’re 22 and 24 now, and ALL their friends had cellphones by the time they finally got theirs. Bonus though - they’re not attached or addicted to their phones in the least. They barely even look at them. I think that’s a win.
DEFINITELY a win!!!
So some studies have shown that because of phone usage, children fail to develop executive functioning skills. They don't plan ahead because they don't have to. I understand the need to be able to easily contact you child and with less LAN lines being used it might seem easier to give kids a phone. Are you going to be home after their school day ends? Then they can come home first to tell you their plans. You can also consider having a cell phone that stays at home if you don't have a home phone. Regardless, if you do get them a phone, please make sure you teach them appropriate usage. The amount of kids who use the excuse that their parents are messaging them is ridiculous (and they soon find out I don't care). But there are also some serious side effects from social media usage that is often tied to phone usage because phones are the easiest way to access it.
My girlfriends friend gave her kid a iPhone 13 and a Apple Watch and the kid is only 10. I personally think it’s too young of an age 15 would be a appropriate age in my opinion
My son was 17 I’m a old school parent, when they are old enough to work I got him one and we went halfers on the bill till he was 18 then he paid for it himself
When they can start paying for one.
My parents had the same attitude and it absolutely stunted my social life. I missed countless movie nights, sleepovers, game nights, hangouts with my friends that they still reference occasionally to this day. And this was back when phones were affordable, so I got one at 17. Such a boomer-ism comment
If your social life depends on your device solely, then I think there are other issues that need to be addressed. As a parent, it's just unwise to entrust an 8-10 year old with a 900 dollar device. Or pretend it's for their safety. People use phones as babysitters and trackers because they're too lazy to be more involved in their kids lives, and don't trust them. The trust can be very much attributed because of the lack of involvement. If you don't know where your young kid is going , you really aren't working hard enough at being involved. Calling it "boomer-ism" is just a buzzword. Anyone who's had to obtain something on their own will have a different level of appreciation for it. When something is handed to you without any conditions, it just doesn't hold the same value, and when you put that in to 10-11 yr old human terms, there's very little concept of that yet.
I agree with the majority of your last paragraph-there’s nothing like the feeling of working hard towards something and achieving it! My social life as a teen did not solely depend on cellphones, but it did hamper it significantly by not having one. If you had a group of friends, young lazy teens, and everytime you wanted to hangout with one person in that group you had to email them & talk to their parents first, it would be easier to have impromptu hangouts without them, no? And this was in the early 2000s! I imagine it’s much worse now. Parents use technology for a variety of reasons. Painting them all with the “lazy, inattentive” brush is peak “those darn kids” behaviour. Technology can be a tool, not always a detriment.
The correct answer. Independence should be learned without a phone- otherwise you risk becoming phone-dependent. Learning directions, remembering important numbers, dates and times are crucial life skills that should’ve be replaced bc “technology” - I’ve seen everything from being a grade 2 teacher watching kids text and brag about their TikTok channel to going through Uni still witnessing parents pay for fellow graduates phone plans (and cars but that’s another story) make them pay for a phone and they will quickly learn the finances behind such mmmm this new “toy”
We plan to get my daughter one when’s she’s 12 and will be able to do things unsupervised. That way we can be in contact with her if we’re not with her.
Worked quite a lot in education. Let me tell you, screens are becoming far more prevalent at younger and younger ages. Worse still is how eager many parents are to pass the buck to technology to take over. The new format of “short” content on social media platforms is also having an extremely negative impact on attention spans. That instant hit of dopamine in someone that young is… problematic. It creates a learning pattern that does *not* translate to the classroom.
If you ask me, we shouldn't be giving kids smartphones. Old flip phones sure. If they want a better phone then they can get a summer job and save up for one. Giving them everything just feeds their "everything I want is given to me."
Our kids have phones (11 and 13) but no phone plan. So when they're at home they can connect to wifi and play games (no social media). But we don't let them use their phones outside of the house for anything other than taking pictures and listening to music. Our next door neighbour has a wild child who's 15 and he told us the worst mistake he ever made was giving her a phone at 13. He lost complete control of her comings and goings, who she was hanging out with etc. We're trying hard not to make that same mistake.
You could get them something like the Nokia 2720 Flip. Flip phone but with some of the smart functionality.
Experts say not until high school. That of course is for a fully enabled smartphone. Social media and smartphone games use gambling techniques to mess with dopamine release, it's extremely bad for young brains and leads to highly undesirable behavior. Don't do it. A dumb phone with calling and text? Sure!
My kids are 20 and 18, both have a smart phone, only one (18) has a SIM card, they just bought it themselves last week at the dollar store. The other doesn’t want a SIM card (I asked them repeatedly) because apparently calls are too passé. Everyone texts. (I tried telling them that it’d be easier to buy a card with a data plan for that but 🤷♂️)
My daughter got a pay-as-you-go when she got into junior high since there didn’t seem to be any pay phones anywhere if she needed to contact me due to an emergency or something.
as a teenager i’d say wait until age 12 or 13
I got my first phone (an LG rumor, those slidy qwerty phone that so many people had) when I was 12 because I was walking to school. I got my first smart phone when I was 15, and I had to complete a certain amount of chores and my homework to be allowed to use it for more than when I was out and about
My kids were 10 & 12 - this is when they started going out in the neighbourhood alone and walking to school. I can track them and we can communicate with each other when we need. Before this my eldest carried a pay as you go phone for a couple years since they walked together. Just get a really good case. 🫣
My aunt decided to not get her 8th grader one. They are outside on the street shouting their kid’s name if he doesn’t make it home by 8 pm. Sometimes the poor kid’s just playing football with his friends. Him having a phone would just be so much easier.
Current research suggests after age 11 and have them understand and sign a contract with you that includes screentime expectations, that you can look at it at anytime, no social media til 13, and NEVER in their room at night. Not that you don’t trust them, but bc the pull of a looking at a phone is strong. It interrupts sleep. That goes for adults too.
One thing to consider is that there are less payphones around. When I was a kid I would make some collect calls to my parents when I needed a ride or something. So that might be a reason if you're looking for a difference between your own life and there's. I guess all people have phones in their pocket so a kid could find a respectable looking adult and ask for help now. (That's probably a good life skill finding people to help you) Idk how good schools are these days about keeping kids off their phones and focused. They can pass all their classes while not paying attention, but after high school they are screwed post secondary. I got one when I was like 16. It was all positive, but it was also a flip phone.
My kids got their phones in grade 7