What age are people giving their children their first phone?

[LemonChiffon]

Dd has been asking for a phone for her 10th birthday, which is coming up. I have no idea when people start giving their children phones and whether 10 is reasonable or not! So please let me know when you gave your child a phone!

Btw it would be an old phone of mine, with some v cheap SIM only contract.

Thanks!

Not until year 7.

Age 10 so year 5/6 is a good time as they can walk to and from school at that age and gets them into the swing of using one before high school.

I'm sure I had a mobile phone when I was year 5/6 back in the 90s/early 00s. I know I def had one whilst at primary school, a blue Nokia!

DD2 saved and bought herself one this year aged 10. Now she's gone into year 6 most of her class have them. The same thing happened with DD1, Y6 was when the majority got them.

I am increasingly hearing (as part of my job) about primary age children being bullied and threatened by other same age children on their phones. Parents obviously not checking what their children are doing. I'd say unless absolutely necessary don't give primary age children a phone, there is no need. And also check daily what they are doing on them.

11th birthday -
When he was still in primary it stayed home while he went to school (actually he used to do pokemon go on the walk to school then DH or I would bring it home)

Now he's in comp and on the bus he takes it to school - with instructions that it stays on silent in his bag when he's actually in school - it's more so if he misses the bus/bus doesn't turn up he can ring

That was very early days! You must have been the only one

My year 7 doesn't have one yet and at least half the year don't. Judging by this thread this is later than the norm.

Birthday /summer hols before secondary school

Start of secondary here although dd got hers early as was in yr6 when covid hit so we got one for her to keep in touch with friends in lock down. Youngest is Yr 6 now and will wait until secondary or maybe just before leaving primary so he can get phone numbers as we made that mistake with the oldest, he got his phone but had no way of contacting anyone to get their number! Oops

just before she was 10 because everyone in her class had them around 10th birthday but she is youngest so was getting left out so probably about 9½
no regrets

After Y6 SATS.

Mine got them when they started walking to and from school at the start of year 6.

13 yrs (in Yr7) and not before (and only if the child has a degree of maturity).
Younger children do not understand the tone of texts and impulse messaging, but they do understand popularity and acceptance which can lead to much social anxiety/bullying/negative emotions, which paves the way for a mental health crisis.

DD is 10 and a half and just started Yr 6. As part of her increasingly insistent campaign on this (we’ve said she can have one when she starts secondary), she canvassed the whole class yesterday, so I have stats! Out of her class of 27, 12 have phones already, 9 will get them when they turn 11, 3 when they start secondary, 1 at Easter and 1when he can pay for it…

Secondary school. Cheap Nokia. Dumb phone. No need to have my daughter distracted by nonsense. We have devices at home that we can monitor.

Getting DD 10.5 one soon so she gets use to it before starting high school. All her and my other DDs friends have had them for a few years, some as young as 6.

DS (8) cycles himself too and from school (about a mile) so he has an Apple Watch so I can track him and he can call/text me. He has an iPad at home. He won't need a phone really.

Just thinking about getting my daughter a non-smart phone now at 7, since she's now occasionally home alone for 20 minutes or so and she's started going to and from school and sports practices by herself.

Smart phone not for a loong time!

We did Christmas of year 6.

It gave enough time to get used to having a phone in preparation for starting Secondary school for year 7.

Mine got theirs in the last year of primary school when they started going out with friends and to prepare them for the walk to secondary school on their own etc

Birthday before secondary here. The only kids who seemed to have one before then were those with separated parents who needed it as a source of contact

Will be Christmas of year 4 ready for middle school as they are supposed to walk there themselves

11

We gave DSS a phone for his 10th birthday. It was a cheap PAYG handset from Argos with a £3 contract with ID mobile which could be cancelled at any time (incase he lost the phone). A year on and he still has it and has looked after it well.