At what age do you think a kid should get their first phone?

Let's see what the AC forum community has to say.

Smartphones are awesome. They allow us to stay connected with friends/family members, look at dog pictures on Twitter, follow the news, spend hours watching YouTube videos, and so much more.

However, a phone also comes with a lot of responsibility. As such, there's an unsurprising debate as to what age a parent should get their kid their first phone.

Someone in the AC forums recently asked this question, and this is how some of our other members responded.

Rukbat

07-31-2019 01:35 PM

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IMO, as a father, no. Unless there's some special reason a 7 year old needs a phone (medical, a school bully, needing to be picked up at random times), there's no reason a 7 year old needs a phone. He can talk to his friends in person or by computer when he gets home. This "every kid of any age needs a cellphone" philosophy doesn't sit right with me. Even if all his friends have one. (My...

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B. Diddy

07-30-2019 08:29 PM

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Personally, I think it's ok as long as you limit his usage and avoid pointless games. Stick with games and apps with educational value. And don't open a whole new line on your wireless account just for his phone -- there's no reason a 7 year old should have his own phone number. Just buy a cheap used phone (you can probably find many for $50 or less on eBay) that he can use as a wi-fi only...

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milleniumdroid

08-01-2019 04:48 AM

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Sure, so long as he is responsible enough to not break it or spill water all over it. Only put strict parental controls if he becomes irresponsible with the usage time to the point it starts hurting other aspects of his life. Don't use scary stuff like Qustodio (don't even ask about the absolutely horrific stories I've read about that software), because it is not right to spy on your kid's...

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Mike Dee

08-01-2019 12:48 PM

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Despite all the varying opinions on the OPs original question and some of the other posts I'm going go out on a limb and say you're all right for all of your own reasons. It really boils down to a personal choice based on many different things. To those who feel children only need the basics, I could make an equal argument that most adults only need basic phones or no phones at all for that...

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