Kids with Cell Phones, How Young is Too Young?

An anonymous reader writes "CNet is reporting that the average age of a child receiving their first cell phone is continuing to drop. A report carried out last year showed that the average age of a child's first cell phone was just eight years old and is expected to drop closer to 5 years of age this year. The author raises the obligatory medical questions that have been argued about in adults for years. Just how young is too young for a cell phone?

Comments

Re:How young is too young?

[Red Flayer]

In my experience, many problems with family harmony can be either traced back to cell phone use -- or cell phones helped compound the problem.

And before cell phones, those same problems could be traced to regular telephone use. And before regular phones, those same problems could be traced to the same underlying factor: kids trying to establish their independence.

Cell phones aren't causing those problems, they are just a manifestation of other problems -- some of which are just part of the normal process of growing up/raising kids.

Why not just lock out all numbers except 'home' and '$parentsoffice' during proscribed times? Allow general use during the time they are allowed to watch TV -- then they can choose between the two.

Finally, one more thing -- ban cell phones from mealtimes, and from family time.

The trick isn't to ban kids from using cell phones -- the trick is to teach them to use them considerately, responsibly, and at appropriate times.

That said, I won't let my kids have a cell phone until they are allowed to go off and do things unsupervised -- their tween years. Then I won't feel comfortable unless I know that IF they needed to contact me, they could.

Now, back to TFA -- I think the health concerns are probably overstated, and are for me a minor concern compared to the social and psychological well-being of my kids.