My daughter does but that's only bc I work for a cell phone provider and only pay 5 a month for it. We don't have a home phone and during the summer when I'm at work I would call her, bc you know men...my fiance never charges his phone so I'd call on my lunch and of course no answer. So I have a bunch of extra phones sitting around and activated it. I do check thru it all the time and also she barely uses it. In fact I don't even know where it is right now, lol. She just turned 8 in Feb.
I think if the 8 year old has after school activities or walks home from school by themselves then its ok....but not one to just walk around the house and talk on. My sisters have always been really heavy on the after school activities (gymnastics, cheer, clubs) so they had one strictly for when they were away from the house.
I agree with Ashley_smashley, I only did it mainly for her to call me or her dad and grandparents. Bc no home phone she really isn't into it at all tho. The only other person she talks to us her cousin. For me its more peace of mind that there is an extra phone in the house too...we leave it if a babysitter comes etc.
Our oldest daughter is 7, our contracts r up at the end of the year and we r thinking of getting her a phone then... With rules of course. We dont have a home phone and my husband never charges his phone either. We also live 1200 miles from all family. So it would maily b for her to play games on and call grandparents... and just b there for saftey reasons. She knows how to work our phones now. I dont see harm in it if you have rules and they underatand them.
@mommyof3girls exactly, I feel safer with her having it. Also, I feel even if my daughter was older I'd be looking in her phone...too much out there to not do that. I always make sure even if she is on the computer to make sure where she has been online etc. She usually does math counts online but it doesn't hurt to check;)
My 8 year old son has a one to call his dad, for emergencies or if I take him along to a job ( I do face/body painting and work a lot of faires) and he gets lost on the way to the bath room or separated from me or hubby. But it is a super basic one, a fancy iPhone would be out of the question. I do not allow him to go online with the phone at all! As with many others we do not have a home phone.
@ashley_smashley I havent had a home phone in years. I dont know many who do lol. I personally dont think a child that young needs or should have a cell phone. At least, not a REAL cell phone like most of us have (aka smart phones). Im okay with the ones made for children, that are only used to call parents etc & for emergencies. I see absolutely no reason a child needs a cell phone with internet, texting etc. My niece has had a smart phone since 9 yrs old. She is now 12 & has ran the bill up hundreds of dollars, been caught using it to cheat in school, & has posted very inappropriate pictures on fb from her phone. Its absolutely ridiculous. My son MAY get a phone designed for children when hes older & in school, but he wont have a smart phone until hes old enough to pay for it himself lol
I personsally Wont get a phone for my kids if they want a phone they can get one when they have a job and cann pay for it themselfs and if they go some where they can take mine or my husband cell phone with them
@mom2ing, exactly! That is the only phone my children will have. If they want anything else, they will wait until they get a job and pay for it themselves
My husband activated an old iphone. She doesn't have any activities that we arent always w/ her already. So i dont understand it just keeps her w/games up late and not focusing on whats important. I do like the kiddo phones where theres no games and they can only call certain ppl. I would think middle school would be a a lot more appropriate. Some kids need to learn and aporeciate the value and importance of things and some are taking advantage to grow up too fast leading into other problems
We got our oldest daughter a phone when she was 8 or 9...originally it was for when she went to her dads because they wouldnt let her call me when she needed me. She is now almost 13... Our 10 year old has one. Internet is blocked on both phones, they cannot make calls or texts during school hours or after a certain time except to me or dad. They get their minutes as an allowance and both my hubby and I have complete access to both phones.
See mommyo4 that makes more sense but she has unlimited and she's always w/her us. Glad to know that IF i would need them that these options are available
My daughter is 10 and she has one and I am ever so thankful for that as well!!! She takes it to her worthless dads house and keeps in contact with me bc he doesn't like to watch them. He leaves it up to the oldest two to watch the youngest two. Hardly feeds them, pays attention to them, etc. my son got attacked by his ferret on Christmas and she called to let me know. Also with all the school shootings in our area and threats I make her take it to school with her as well! I am very thankful I do too bc just last week she sent me a txt message telling me there was a kid on the bus that had a gun. I immediately called the school. The school supported me in every way with her having the cell phone. She has had problems before with a kid on the bus harassing her so I told the principle I didn't care what he said my daughter would keep her phone with her in case. He said that was fine. When this happened he thanked me up one side and down another for her texting me and telling me about the kid on the bus. He ended up not having one but had a bullet though. She did the right thing bc the kid said he had one. If he did have a gun my daughter could of saved a bunch of kids lives! She has restrictions on the phone but I encourage it!
The way I see it, we never had cell phones as children, nor the generations prior. I will get a child cell phone, no games, no texting etc. Nor will my kids have computers in their room. That's a big one for me.
I can see everyones point. I know growing up we didn't have phones but also today things are soo much different. Shootings happening at schools you wouldn't expect to happen at. Also, my service i can restrict her phone to when/what she can do.
I liked the firefly phones but they were pretty expensive. Its only $5 permonth per extra line and with our company we can set all kinds of limitations on each individual phone. So as they grow we can add perks.
my son is ten next month and has had a phone for two years. where we live in London there is no way i would be able to let him play outside or walk up the street to his friends houses if he didnt have one, its just not safe enough. also, his class teacher wont let them walk home alone without one. that being said, he isnt glued to his, ALWAYS has to be reminded to take it with him places and only gets it topped up once a month or so.
@Mom2ING def, my mom used to let us run around by ourselves and no probs at all. Now I wouldn't even let my daughter walk down a few houses by herself. I mean high schools around here have sec guards, when i was in high school we didn't. These kids grow up so quick these days. I mean look at the 1950's compared to us growing up (referring to ages 25 to 35 ish). My mom is always saying how diff it was in the 50 and 60's.
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