What age did you give your kids their own mobile phone?

We gave our 7 year old son his 1st phone this year. It doesn't connect to a network, he only uses it for WiFi: music & games. He can message me using the Messenger Kids App that way. It's taught him a ton of responsibility. I was shocked when I was checking over it (which I do every night to keeps tabs on what he's doing) & saw he created a phone alarm to wake up, one to get ready for school, one for when his bus comes & apparently one for when to make it quiet when he is at school. I was upset he took it to school at first but impressed he was smart enough to figure that one out & do it! I was worried at first but impressed on how he has handled it.

i don't know why parents are so interested in giving their kids a cell phone, saying it is for their safety. in most cases, our children go to school in the school bus and come back home. they can always use the home phone to call parents in case of an emergency if parents are not around, and do the same from the school phone too. giving phones to kids is only increasing the danger of them getting exposed to social media and other online dangers at a young age.

if can when d age of 14...at the moment i will give if she had CCA or extra class after sch....n b4 i give d hp...i will tell d rules...once she cant follow my instruction...i will not let her use d hp...only when she got extra class other den that no hp....i will come n fetch...by fetching d children without realizing u r bonding between you n your kid thru comunnicate each other...while walking hme fm sch....well its depends on situation.🙂

I probably would share the same opinion on this. I wouldn't want my kids to have their own mobile phone at an early age. I want to avoid them getting addicted to games and/or be dependent on apps to get entertainment. The only time i would allow them to use a mobile phone is when there is a need to communicate with us. For now, I don't see the need.

We bought a very basic, non-smart Nokia phone, that works on a monthly prepaid top up card, just solely for the purposes of contacting our daughter after school as she makes her own way home. Started giving to her in P3. We monitor her usage frequently to ensure no misuse as she could still connect to free WIFI at certain malls.

I'd prefer to wait till they are in high school (like me) but in this day and age, mobile phones are very useful in communicating and keep track of kids especially if both parents are working. On average, my friends wait till their kids are 11-12. Some of them give their kids mobile phones at 7 but I think that's too young.

my child is still too young but i will not give her a phone before she is at least 13 or 14 years of age. i don't think there is need for a separate phone for kids. they can make calls from their parents' phones when they are home.

I most likely wouldnt encourage to give a mobile phone at such a young age. Maybe only in Primary school because then if he goes to school on his own i can contact him. Otherwise, definitely not necessary.

my older one is 10 and i have not yet given her a mobile phone. most of her friends already have their personal phones, but i am definitely not giving her one for at least the next few years.

Personally, I wouldn't give them a phone until they're in their teens; having a phone is a big responsibility. They have to show that they're mature enough to own one.