Is 8 Too Young for a Cellphone?

Yes. If you are responsible for transporting her to and from activities and releasing her to the care of another adult, she has no need for a phone.

If she gets a phone at 8, what is she going to expect at 12, 15, 18? Think about that for awhile. I think kids today get things too soon, but that's my 2 cents!

Generations of children have done just fine not being in constant contact with their parents. When she is staying at friends homes for playdates and overnights I assume the friends families have telephones. Schools have phones. Pretty much any place my kids go they have access to a phone, and if they don't they are close enough to home to run home if they need to talk to me. Don't teach her to become dependant on technology.

I think that if you can't be with her, then a phone is a great thing. Because she is so young I would look into one that has a lojack on it too so that if something happens you know where she is. Actually, I think everyone should have one for safety! Just teach her how to use it to call you and emergency, not her friends.

A refurbished TracFone from Big Lots, so she can call you and 911? AWESOME (and I've seen them as cheap as $5 there!)

An iPhone with unlimited access to everything? NOPE!

At eight, part of keeping our kids safe and accountable is by reaching them through coaches and other parents. Cell phones are often an illusion of safety... some would say that it's convenient that the child can call the adult at will and the adult can reach the child any old time.

Here's the thing, at least for me: if I am comfortable with my child spending time at school after school, I want him in the presence of a teacher/instructor/coach, who will likely be engaged with the kids BUT who will either have their own phone or will be able to be contacted through the office. If my child is at another child's house, I want to know/talk to that parent to ensure my child is where they say they are and that the parent and I are communicating directly about visit arrangements/pickup times. Kids at this age are sometimes not so reliable to get this info across. Likewise, spending the night with friends... I would prefer to actually connect with the parent and get their take on how things are going.

At this age, although we want to be available for our kids, I think it is a good thing to make kids really consider which situation warrants a call to mom (and thus, asking an adult to use the phone) and what they can handle on their own or with the present adult's help. If you must, however, get a prepaid phone without texting or internet access (a 'dumb' phone, if you will-- )this is what I have used for the last four years. Even as an adult, I have never needed internet access while out and about. And have her keep it at home most of the time anyway... she can use it on overnights, but should have those opportunities to learn independence and simple problem-solving on her own.

My former neighbor got her dd a phone when she was 8. That phone ended up being replaced 3 or 4 times due to being lost or damaged.

One of my 9 year old dd's friends got a phone when she was 7. She was constantly leaving the phone places and then finally ended up dropping it in the toilet.

Another of dd's friends got a phone at 8. Don't know what happened with her phone but she no longer has it.

My feelings are that is just too young to be responsible with a phone. All the situations you named, your daughter is going to be with an adult who has a phone for her to use if you need to get in touch with her or her with you.

I plan to get my kids one in college, just like I did.

In elementary, middle school, and high school (with a few exceptions in high school) there is NO need for a phone. I NEVER needed one. I guess we just planned well and communicated about pick-ups, etc. Easy.

While research is hinting that cell phone radiation can damage a child's brain (though still inconclusive) why take the risk?

Even now I don't use a cell phone. I have one, and that's about it. Only if I'm picking up from the airport, do I need (ok, want) it.

One thing is that the current generation is so used to being connected 24/7, it's easy to forget what it's like to NOT be. And at some point people won't understand how anyone could live without a cell phone, at any age. Just like humans didn't have AC for years, and I (myself) included can't imagine being without it.

On the upside, so many kids have cell phones, in an emergency, she'd be able to make a call.

I agree with the moms who say that she shouldn't "need" to have a cell phone to contact you, because when she isn't with you, she should have a trusted responsible adult watching her. Whether that is at a friend's house, at cheerleading practice, whatever. And if you don't trust whom she is with, then why is she there without you in the first place?

Being a third grader, you should know the parents of her friends. You should know what teacher is in charge of the cheerleading practice. And you should have contact information for both.
I don't see a cell phone as a safety issue for an 8 yr old (in the situations you describe). Spending the weekend with an ex-spouse whom you can't trust... that would be a different thing altogether, and many children have phones for that reason. For cheerleading and playdates? I don't see that as necessary OR helpful.
The more likely scenario, is that you will have a tendency to become more lax about whom your daughter is with, "because she has her phone".

I do not want my kids to have cell phones for as long as I can hold out. But my kids don't take a bus, they don't go to practices without me, they're never without an adult without a phone, whether it's a friend's parent or supervisor or something, and I never don't know how to reach them. I do have friends who have gotten their kids phones for situations that you describe, but in most instances, the kids have lost the phone, the charger, or some other component that has resulted in an expensive problem. Plus, texting starts young and can be problematic. If I had to, it would be prepaid, preprogrammed with her parents' numbers, and limited in its functionality, but I'm really conservative in these things.

No I don't think it's necessary. It's too easy to get into the pattern of relying on the phone and becoming disconnected from the adults who should be responsible for your child when she is not with you.

If you need to get in touch with her after school, there should be someone in the school office to answer the phone. And most elementary schools ban cell phones anyway and would prefer that you call the office, so she could get in trouble just by having it with her. Ditto with cheerleading practice. If she needed to get in touch with you, there should be a responsible adult around who can get in touch with you. When she's at friends' house, you should be able to call a parent and reach someone pretty quickly.

There is no reason for an 8 year old child to be in a situation where she can't be reached or can't reach you using the adults who are around.

I have an 8-year-old daughter and I wouldn't consider getting her a phone. She simply doesn't need one. She's never in a place where she doesn't have access to a phone. It's just not necessary. 8-year-olds are not mature enough to keep up with a cell phone.

I think its a great idea in your situation. I wouldn't agree with it in for most 8 year olds--but for your circumstance, yes. I have heard there are certain phones that you can program the numbers the child can call and its very safe-- I would do it so you can always reach her and she can always reach you. GL

I would get her a basic cell phone... One without internet access, and limited minutes and texts. I would just go with whatever option is cheapest (without signing a contract...) as far as what 'kind'

I would program in whatever numbers she will need, and tell her that she is ONLY allowed to call/text those numbers when needed. I would also keep it in your room, and give it to her ONLY when she is going to be somewhere she might need it.

I would also get a VERY durable case for it... lol.

*You might also look into a firefly phone or something similar... You program in 4 numbers, and they are the only numbers that the kid has access to. There is an emergency button as well...

http://www.fireflymobile.com/store/phones/?osCsid=eghvt7m...

My daughter is 10. A handful of her classmates have phones. I think she's too young. She'll get one when she's a teen and going places on her own.

I didn't allow mine to have one until she was 15.

My 8 year old has an old phone we had laying around the house. He takes it with him to sleepovers, activities and summer school. The only number programmed into it is my phone. He will not be taking it to regular school unless he has an after school activity. So it's not really used very often. We had the extra line on our plan anyway and the phone is a really old flip nokia.

He has 3 friends that have iPod touches and I think that is crazy!! lol

She is 8. I assume that she is not roaming the streets alone. She is either at cheer leading, where there is an adult or at a friends house. I will make the jump and assume that if she is at a friends house, an adult is present. So really she does not need a cell phone.

well since she is 8 years old I'm assuming she is always being supervised by an adult who she can ask to call you if she needs to. I do not think that an 8 year old is old enough to have a cell phone. My kids will not be getting a cell until they start driving.

For me it wasn't about age, more about real NEED.
My kids went to school, after school club, scout meetings, practices, etc. but they were always with and/or being transported by an adult, so I didn't feel there was any need for a phone.
Once they started sixth grade they started taking the bus and going out more on their own, unsupervised, after school and on the weekends (to the library, park, movies, ice cream, etc.) so I wanted them to have a phone at that point.
For me it was a right of passage, a sign of maturity, responsibility and a privilege. The message was, now that you have a little bit more independence, here is a tool to keep you connected and safe.
I know not everyone sees it that way, and I strongly believe to each their own, I'm just sharing with you how I see it :)

If she is out that often then yes I think it is okay and the safe thing to do. However, expect her minutes to be used by calling her friends, expect she will give out the number to her friends, AND expect that she will answer when she wants to.

My daughter had a cell phone while she was in college. If she didn't want to hear it, she just didn't answer.

It depends on the child, of course.

We got my SD a phone at age 7 because she was at her mom's and her mom only had her own cellphone. She never answered it and wouldn't allow my SD to use it. So we got her a 4 button phone and programmed numbers into it. It made her feel better to know she could call us whenever.

That being said, WE had to be responsible for it because she was not yet ready. We had to constantly ask her where it was, and we had to put it in her backpack when she left and retrieve it when she came home.

We traded her 4-button phone in for a regular phone at age 9. However, she was again, not really ready for the responsibility because she used the phone to prank-call relatives when she was bored. She didn't know that we could SEE her phone number, and that her father and I could check and see everything she did. We got Parental Controls on the phone that made it impossible for her to use it for any numbers except ours. Later we had to change the parental controls to turn the phone off at night when we found her texting friends late at night. Most of her friends got phones around age 9-10 so she was starting to text friends.

At age 11 she is now fully responsible for her phone. I do check all her text messages from time to time but she has treated the phone well and not lost it. She no longer does things she shouldn't on the phone and I think she's set up to be a responsible texter and phone user.

Depending on your daughter's personality, 8 can be okay for a cellphone. Otherwise just know that YOU are going to have to help keep track of it!

I would also like to mention that even though we got my SD a cellphone, she never answered the thing! She just kept it in her bag and went on playing and such. Now she STILL doesn't answer it half the time, she's too busy being a kid. It gets more use for HER to call US. And she doesn't think to check her messages. It's not on her mind to keep the phone handy, or listen for the ring.

The only reason we continued her having a phone was because we signed a 2-year contract the first time, and then when she was 9 we signed another 2-year to get the free phone upgrade. Also there were issues at her mom's house and she DID need to call us a few times. For us, the cost was worth it for just those few times she needed to call us.

Your daughter will probably not need the phone, nor need to use it yet. If my SD lived here all the time she probably wouldn't have gotten a phone until she was 11-12. It's only now that she's getting lots of use out of it and can finally be responsible for it.

Hope that helps!

Yes. She is too young.

Another thing to consider is whether, if she has a cell phone, how many you will have to purchase. How often will an eight-year-old's phone get lost or broken?

I think how you add her to your plan is the most important part of this decision. If she has the ability to use the phone freely and do all that that entails you cannot be mad at her for using it freely.

If you make it so she has only the ability to phone home or certain people then it may be cheaper.

well, yes, the simple answer is that i do think 8 is too young. however, under the circumstances you describe, i'd allow one with restrictions. as you say, a simple phone with no internet or texting (can you even still get those?)
most of the time she's with an adult who CAN get in touch with you, right?
but i don't think a simple phone, given to her under specific conditions and with specific instructions, is a bad thing.
khairete
S.

Nope, she is old enough for it. My youngest has had one since he was really young. I also have gps on his phone so I can track where he is.

If it works for you, and you feel like makes her safer, go for it!

I think if your child is places (other than school) without you, then it's not too early. Just set ground rules about use -- we make all our kids plug in their phones on the first floor of the house before they go to bed, so they don't stay up too late texting etc.

I think you are the best person to judge how mature your daughter is, and whether you can trust her to make judicious and safe use of the cellphone.
If you think it she can handle it responsibly and well, sure...get it!