<p>I noticed the first kids to get cell phones when my kids were growing up were those whose parents had divorced, it made sense to me that the kid had his own contact number so friends weren’t calling the wrong house to talk to jr. and both parents feel more consistently connected to the kids. Ozzie and Harriet aren’t coming back anytime soon - let the kids have the phones and don’t judge too quickly.</p>
<p>It depends what the kid uses it for. I’ve seen two 5th graders in my neighborhood going to community college for classes. They need to contact their parents, and they need cell phones for emergency. They’re mature. Plus, an iPhone is an excellent studying device on the run.
On the other hand, should most of the elementary students get an iPhone? I don’t think so. Go out and run and talk to people face-to-face. Gosh.</p>
<p>Reasonable. I got my first phone when I was 11 when I started middle school. It’s weird that you don’t have a cell phone in my opinion. It’s incredibly useful.</p>
<p>@ibworldstudent My parents didn’t think I needed one.</p>
<p>The radiation from their phones interfere with by functioning. unreasonable!</p>
<p>I mean yeah, sure, if they like radiation permeating through their skulls.</p>
<p>Well, I got a phone in 5th grade, but only because I went to a private school without buses. And we lived an hour from campus, so with all the sports and stuff I had after school, it would have been kinda dangerous for me not to have one, especially after the front office closed for some really late practices. And I lived in a sketchy area… so I completely understand my parents’ want for me to have one.</p>
<p>But, I couldn’t like text friends and stuff. That’s what I don’t get. When parents give their little kids phones not for safety but for social stuff. It’s like why take away their childhood so soon?</p>
<p>Cell phone…okay. Anything more than a pre-paid calling plan is too much.</p>
<p>I say reasonable but I did get my phone at a young age and when I did smartphones were very limited and for the rich and business people. So texting, internet, etc was not a probabe.</p>
<p>I say that most of the time they are not necessary until kids go to middle school. But i do think that there is nothing wrong with having a simple phone during elementary school if the child is not always reachable when necessary on a regular basis. But when they get a phone, a smartphone is just unnecessary and imo its spoiling the child as well because most little kids i know that have a smartphone tend to be spoiled.</p>
<p>I think it would depend on the kid and the situation. If I lived in a large city I would at least give him/her a basic prepaid phone so we could keep in touch without constantly worrying, especially if it were in a bad neighborhood. But if its in a small area with safe neighborhoods I really don’t see a reason why they should have a cellphone.</p>
<p>If they need to contact me at school they can use school office phone. If they want to talk with friends I don’t see why a child shouldn’t use a parent’s phone if the parent isn’t using it and the child has nothing to hide. So I say a basic prepaid phone for rides and quick communication before giving them a smartphone when they’re much older. If they deserve it.</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore and I’ve lived so far w/out a cellphone. Kids nowadays are spoiled with such great technology.</p>