cellphones

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2007
cellphones
8
Sun, 06-17-2007 - 2:19pm
hi there. i have a thirteen yr. old daughter who goes to a private christian school. she is begging me for a cellphone. she has after school activities. has a sleepover every weekend and enjoys hanging out w. her friends? should i get her a cellophone? or what age shud i get her one?
Avatar for jbgattuso
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-29-2003
In reply to: superrrmommy
Sun, 06-17-2007 - 2:28pm

Hi there,

We got our DS's cell phones at 13. We felt that when they started doing things and going places by themselves we wanted for them to be able to reach us and us reach them. It worked out great for us. I will say my boy's only seem to talk on their cell phones when making plans or getting in touch with us :) We also did take the youngest's phone away from him for a week when once I tried to reach him and he didn't answer. He didn't have it turned on, and we wanted to re-iderate that the reason he had the phone was to stay in touch with his parents!!! My DD 6 asks us all of the time when she will get a cell phone LOL but their are actually kids in Elementary school with them. We tell her, not till Jr. High when she NEEDs one :)

Julie

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-1999
In reply to: superrrmommy
Sun, 06-17-2007 - 2:47pm

We got our DD a cell phone in the 7th grade, and her continued use of it is based on her GPA each quarter.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2004
In reply to: superrrmommy
Sun, 06-17-2007 - 6:14pm

Get her one to use to contact you & you to call her, in case of emergency.
Don't get her one to chat with her friends. You can control the hours on it.. a "pay as you go one" is good.

We got both kids cell phones when they were 14. Both were told that having a cell phone was not a right. We were giving them phones to keep in touch; call when they are going to be late or when they need us to come & pick them up. Their friends do not call their cell phones. I know because I see the charges each month.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-1999
In reply to: superrrmommy
Mon, 06-18-2007 - 2:09pm

Our girls got cellphones around 13 or 14. My DD has always been responsible w/ it, where my DSD has been a nightmare! My DH actually said he thought my DD would be the one going over the minutes because she had more friends, but she would just make brief phone calls and when a friend called her at home on her cell and it was before 9:00 (when the free minutes started) she would always say "can I call you back on the house phone?" It has been very convenient w/ knowing where the kids are.

When my DS wanted a phone at 11, I really felt he didn't need one, but since I work, his excuse was that if he stayed after school or something, he could call me. They do have phones at school. I think I was just running out of ideas on what to get him for Christmas, so I got him a pay as you go one. I was not going to get into going over the minutes. I told him how much I would spend and if he went over and needed more minutes, he could pay for it. After a couple of weeks, the novelty really wore off. He loves to spend a lot of time on the phone w/ his friends, so he uses the house phone.

I think if it's basically for emergencies and getting in touch w/ you, I would go w/ the pay as you go phone and save a lot of hassles.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
In reply to: superrrmommy
Mon, 06-18-2007 - 4:52pm
If you want ones for just emergencies get her a pre-paid cell phone with a set of minutes on it. (we have tracfone)
Avatar for weberdns0
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2000
In reply to: superrrmommy
Mon, 06-18-2007 - 4:54pm
Sorry for the hat.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2003
In reply to: superrrmommy
Mon, 06-18-2007 - 6:46pm
Our dd is 16 and we got her a cell phone at 13 when she entered 7th grade. It was about that time she started to making noises about wanting one so we gave to her as a birthday present. But we mainly got it for our peace of mind. We figured that with her now being in middle school, it wouldn't be long before our dd would be doing more things independently...going to movies, going downtown (we live in a small N. England town) with her friends, and possibly going to the mall on a weekend afternoon, etc. I couldn't deal with the idea of not being to reach her or her not being to reach us in case of an emergency. To me, it was worth every penny we paid for it. The only thing I would suggest is to definitely pay the extra few dollars per month for insurance because things do happen. My daughter was thrown in a pool by a bunch of kids at a party (the phone was in her pant's pocket) just a few months after getting the phone and we had to replace it. It wasn't cheap. Our daughter was very upset when it happened because the phone was her pride and joy. So that's the only thing I would suggest since we learned the hard way. Good luck!
Community Leader
Registered: 12-16-2003
In reply to: superrrmommy
Mon, 06-18-2007 - 11:23pm
I don't think you ahouls get a cell phone because they are "begging" for one, but because it is a toolfor your family. We got dd one in 5th grade, as she and her younger brother were involved in so many things, and often one ran late, making me late for the other. She is not big on yapping on the phone, so it has never been an issue.

Ramona  Mom to 2 great kids and wife to one wonderful hubby since 1990!