Kids with phones or tablets.

Can’t speak to a percentage, but as someone who teaches at an upper middle class middle school, I can say that the overwhelming majority of students have smart phones. In fact, two years ago, we had a student who didn’t have a phone at all and she was brought up by the counselor for potential social issues because of it.

We don't have a home phone and there are times our daughter is home alone. There are times when she sleeps out and the places she sleeps do not have a home phone. She goes to events with friends and pay phones are a thing of the past. When she turned 11 we gave her a phone.

My kid was using iPads for school work starting in about the 6th grade. We got her a cell phone when she was 11 or 12. Basically around the age where we felt comfortable leaving her home alone some because we don't have a land line.

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just curious to the rational for doing so.

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To shut those little frickers up!!!

I don't lose many battles with wife on kids but I did this one. I have 1 son who is in his 20s but 2 that are 13 and younger. They do, older Iphones. I have basically stripped their ability to look at anything on there except kid's channels. I did give them access to Youtube this past summer. They have a few games they can play but can't download any new apps w/o my password. Their phone only works on Wifi.

They have to leave them at home. Key is to monitor how much kids are on them. I'm pretty strict about it and they have gotten to where they just don't look on them much. I try and do the same, I limit myself to 1 hour a day online whether phone or laptop to try and set an example.

All of them start with those Nabi tablets or something like that.

Many reasons but the main ones are:

1. One day you were at the doctor and the kid was doing kid stuff annoying everyone so you whip out the phone and show them a video. Then until eternity, that kid wants your phone all the time. Even when you stick it on the charger, that POS is grabbing it and playing. So you get the kid a tablet so they'll leave your phone alone.

2. It's a much better baby sitter than the TV. You can throw a few games on it and a few of your preferred shows that don't push them to some alternative lifestyle and they're happy.

It's a lot worse than a book, but IMO better than giving them the tv remote. But you have to make sure to get the kids version that has some sort of protection in case little johnny is advanced.

I've got kids aged 5-9

A couple years ago we got them amazon fire tablets with the kid-specific programming on them that you had to have a password to get out of and access other parts of the tablet

We did this because their teachers recommended some fun educational games on them.

Now they have the same tablets and we also let them play a couple non-kid specific games on them only on weekends for about an hour each.

I'm going to avoid giving them smart phones for as long as possible

My 13 yr old had a phone with unlimited internet access. He’s 15 now and is completely normal.

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just curious to the rational for doing so.

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A moment of peace

My kids are seven and five and they both have iPads. I have them set up to where they can only use certain apps, are not able to browse the internet and all of their apps have time limits on them. They can only use them for a couple hours a day which they do not. I make my kids go outside and play in the dirt.