In my last blog post, Michelle asked “At what age is it appropriate to give kids a cellular phone? I do not feel comfortable with my 10 and 12 year olds having a cell phone.”
That’s a great question, Michelle!
Personally, I don’t think there is a “cookie cutter” answer to when we should give kids wireless phones. I think all kids are different and, as moms, we know our kids best. I know for myself, I wouldn’t give each of my boys devices at the same age. Having said that, it sounds like your kids are in the “tween” stage. I think having a device would be beneficial and I would highly recommend AT&T Smart Limits for Wireless™ feature. It will allow you to put the restrictions on where you see fit to make you feel comfortable and safe with them having a device, while allowing them some freedom and responsibility. You can limit how much they use it and when. It’s a great feature! Here’s a link to learn more.
Hope you find this information helpful! Let’s continue chatting …
Rhonda says:
December 2, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I SO believe in Smart Limits. We had a major problem with our 15 year old daughter texting “through the night”… literally. She was tired all the time and it was very hard to “police” her texting usage. We set up Smart Limits and now her phone shuts down for calls and texting at 10pm each night. We have it set up where she can only call or text the family during the 10pm-7am time frame, which gives us the peace of mind that if she is ever away from home after 10pm, she can still call or text me or her father if she needs to. ATT was brilliant when they came up with Smart Limits!!!
Brandy says:
January 3, 2009 at 6:30 pm
That’s perfect Rhonda! One of my best friends did the exact same thing. Their daughter kept going over on her text messaging and they would continue to ground her (which clearly wasn’t working). Now they have her phone shut down at 9pm with Smart Limits and just like you said, they maintain control while keeping peace of mind. Such a great feature!
Phil says:
May 21, 2009 at 7:45 pm
we got my son a phone when he was 9 for Christmas, and just yesterday, I asked him where it was, he had no clue, so now we pay 9.99 a month, for nothing…. eventually we will get him a cheap replacement, but he does not really use it now anyway perhaps we made a mistake getting him one, at least it was a cheap nokia flip phone that comes free