re: Parents Only Thread- Childs first cell phone

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I don't think anyone under the age of 15 should have a phone.

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My son is 12 (turns 13 in December) and we gave him a phone a few months ago. Our reasons for doing this were;

1. He has middle school football practice in the afternoons and we want him to have a way to get in touch with us in case they end practice early (which they do sometimes)

2. He spends a lot of time out with his friends in our subdivision. Him having a phone means that even when he's out of earshot, we can still reach him.

3. He's reaching an age were we're starting to give him a bit more freedom and along with that we're teaching him to be responsible for these new expanded freedoms. We want him to learn now how to be responsible for things like a cell phone and a iPad (we gave him one Christmas before last) and now as of the start of the school year a few weeks ago, a laptop. He's going to grow up and live in a world where these types of devices and technology will be a huge part of his life. We want him to be ready for that.