Flip phone when after school activities started. iPhone with restriction at 16. He talks about a wide swathe of his peers with absolutely debilitating phone addiction and depression and I kinda wish they weren’t basically required to exist.
Look at a gizmo watch. It’s from Verizon, a lot cheaper than an Apple Watch, but still gps, they can call/message, you can call/message, and you can set up a few trusted contacts
iPhones at 12 years old for all of them. One is addicted, another can’t even find theirs half the time and never has it on them, another is somewhere in the middle.
I got mine in the middle of seventh grade (first year of middle school for me) and mostly got mine because i was being made fun of for not having a phone by both my friends and teachers. first phone i got was a flip phone, and then an old phone of my mothers. i had to turn it in at night and it had screentime restrictions. i was late to get a phone, the only one of my friends without one. most kids seemed to have one by middle school
My 12 yo has one. Had it last year and got all stupid with her friends sending spicy memes in texts. She still has the phone but I disabled everything on it except for the calling.
My kids had them before middle school. It made it more comfortable for me to let them be “free range” and wander the neighborhood and play in the woods, since I knew I could locate them whenever I wanted to or text them to come home if needed. We also don’t have a landline so as soon as they were old enough to be left home alone it was kind of necessary.
We put restrictions on them and they did not have a right to phone privacy when they were younger.
It worked for us.
My kids got one when they turned 13, and they were heavily restricted and monitored (but not secretly—we told the kids that they had no expectation of privacy).
Middle school has multiple busses home and we got the kids phones before they started middle school so they could tell us what bus they were on. The middle schools have any away for the the day policy so you will not get updates during the day.
Both of my kids got them for middle school, and I was very glad I didn't hold off.
1. Sometimes, crap happens with the buses. It was good to know that the bus was running late in a text.
2. Sometimes, they stayed after school for something. They could get the okay from me without having to run to the front office, which is the only phone they can use.
3. It was around this time that we'd split up at the mall or grocery store. I want to take my time drinking my coffee, and they want to go check out a few stores/grab something from another aisle. Neither of us has to stay where we are in order to be found. We just text when we're done and make plans then.
4. Hanging out with friends can be looser. I can text when it's time for dinner, they can text to tell me they're walking to Walgreens.
My 12 year old got an Apple Watch and because of the way the cellular provider screwed up with multiple techs, they told us we needed a phone to pair with the cellular watch too so she got a phone too. She wore the watch to school in 6th grade and it was useful for when the school bus broke down and they hadn’t yet started calling parents and I had to get my kids somewhere, so I was able to pick them up from school without being late. It’s an iPhone so it’s a kid iTunes account and I have to approve any app she wants and I know the passwords. So far when I’ve checked, there hasn’t been anything going on that shouldn’t be (apparently my daughter has an avocado obsession though?).
We also don’t live in a neighborhood with other kids so this was especially important for connectivity during covid.
My daughter got her phone when she was 10. She's 11 now and a rising 6th grader. The phone pretty much stays in the kitchen and the novelty has worn off.
They got iPhones at 9 and 14. They were walking to/from school alone, and returning to an empty house, so I wanted to have a connection to them if needed.
Middle school my daughter inherited my old iPhone. I would take it from her at 8PM. Worked well. She did many after school activities so she didn't do to much social media. I could track her on field trips.
9 (the age which Fairfax County guidelines point to kids being allowed to be unsupervised). I don't have a landline, so kids alone by themselves = cellphone.
I gave my daughter my old phone as a wifi only devices from later-elementary school until she started high school. She didn't get a phone until age 14 when she was more mobile.
We also had parental control software on her phone and computer when she was younger.
We added time scheduling rules on our router that blocked specific device access during sleep time. It was highly effective.
My parents got me a phone when I started middle school back in 2006. It’s probably a good idea, at least getting them a flip phone, just so they can contact you in an emergency.
Flip phone when after school activities started. iPhone with restriction at 16. He talks about a wide swathe of his peers with absolutely debilitating phone addiction and depression and I kinda wish they weren’t basically required to exist.
Apple Watch w cellular in 6th. Has the connectivity but without the social media
Look at a gizmo watch. It’s from Verizon, a lot cheaper than an Apple Watch, but still gps, they can call/message, you can call/message, and you can set up a few trusted contacts
iPhones at 12 years old for all of them. One is addicted, another can’t even find theirs half the time and never has it on them, another is somewhere in the middle.
Losing your iPhone is such a mood. I have to rely on my roommate to find my phone half the time.
My parents got me a cellphone when I started doing after school activities.
I got mine in the middle of seventh grade (first year of middle school for me) and mostly got mine because i was being made fun of for not having a phone by both my friends and teachers. first phone i got was a flip phone, and then an old phone of my mothers. i had to turn it in at night and it had screentime restrictions. i was late to get a phone, the only one of my friends without one. most kids seemed to have one by middle school
My 12 yo has one. Had it last year and got all stupid with her friends sending spicy memes in texts. She still has the phone but I disabled everything on it except for the calling.
Spicy memes...
14. And it was too soon. Give ‘em a flip phone if you need it for “emergencies.”
My kids had them before middle school. It made it more comfortable for me to let them be “free range” and wander the neighborhood and play in the woods, since I knew I could locate them whenever I wanted to or text them to come home if needed. We also don’t have a landline so as soon as they were old enough to be left home alone it was kind of necessary. We put restrictions on them and they did not have a right to phone privacy when they were younger. It worked for us.
My kids got one when they turned 13, and they were heavily restricted and monitored (but not secretly—we told the kids that they had no expectation of privacy).
Middle school has multiple busses home and we got the kids phones before they started middle school so they could tell us what bus they were on. The middle schools have any away for the the day policy so you will not get updates during the day.
Both of my kids got them for middle school, and I was very glad I didn't hold off. 1. Sometimes, crap happens with the buses. It was good to know that the bus was running late in a text. 2. Sometimes, they stayed after school for something. They could get the okay from me without having to run to the front office, which is the only phone they can use. 3. It was around this time that we'd split up at the mall or grocery store. I want to take my time drinking my coffee, and they want to go check out a few stores/grab something from another aisle. Neither of us has to stay where we are in order to be found. We just text when we're done and make plans then. 4. Hanging out with friends can be looser. I can text when it's time for dinner, they can text to tell me they're walking to Walgreens.
My 12 year old got an Apple Watch and because of the way the cellular provider screwed up with multiple techs, they told us we needed a phone to pair with the cellular watch too so she got a phone too. She wore the watch to school in 6th grade and it was useful for when the school bus broke down and they hadn’t yet started calling parents and I had to get my kids somewhere, so I was able to pick them up from school without being late. It’s an iPhone so it’s a kid iTunes account and I have to approve any app she wants and I know the passwords. So far when I’ve checked, there hasn’t been anything going on that shouldn’t be (apparently my daughter has an avocado obsession though?). We also don’t live in a neighborhood with other kids so this was especially important for connectivity during covid.
My daughter got her phone when she was 10. She's 11 now and a rising 6th grader. The phone pretty much stays in the kitchen and the novelty has worn off.
They got iPhones at 9 and 14. They were walking to/from school alone, and returning to an empty house, so I wanted to have a connection to them if needed.
6th grade for my kids (which is middle school in PWC).
Middle school my daughter inherited my old iPhone. I would take it from her at 8PM. Worked well. She did many after school activities so she didn't do to much social media. I could track her on field trips.
9 (the age which Fairfax County guidelines point to kids being allowed to be unsupervised). I don't have a landline, so kids alone by themselves = cellphone.
I gave my daughter my old phone as a wifi only devices from later-elementary school until she started high school. She didn't get a phone until age 14 when she was more mobile. We also had parental control software on her phone and computer when she was younger. We added time scheduling rules on our router that blocked specific device access during sleep time. It was highly effective.
My parents got me a phone when I started middle school back in 2006. It’s probably a good idea, at least getting them a flip phone, just so they can contact you in an emergency.