This is the main reason I went with iPhones for my younger two. DH pushed for flip phones but I needed the security blanket of being able to see where they are when letting them go off on their own.12 and the start of middle school, and only so I could track him as he rides his bike every day and I want to make sure he arrives safely. He never calls or texts anyone but giving him my old phone and adding a line at $15/month was cheaper than using a GPS tracking device with monthly service.
DS got one at 10 because when he and his sister would go to their dad's for the weekend often times they were really late coming home and my ex would not answer my text messages or calls because he would be working on something and also because he did not have a house phone. I wanted to make sure that we had a reliable line of communication. DD got one when she was 12 because I gave her my old phone when I upgraded.
DGD (8) asked for One for Christmas Thankfully not my decision it's her parents the grandparents have offered to split the cost of the phone plan if they decide to get her one
Thankfully her father is a computer geek and he can lock it down really good
Just wondering at what age you let your child have a cell phone?
This is the number one reason my divorced friends give their kids cellphones, so they're always able to call home.I am so sorry you & your kids had to go through that. I do have a divorced good friend & her ex was the same. They had phones at 5 or 6. Stinks.
11 - middle school - same reasons as above, staying after school, more freedom going to friends' houses, etc...plus honestly, even though we have a landline, his friends were calling my cell phone (bc that's the number the other parents had) and it was starting to get annoying! He texts his friends mostly, so the landline isn't too useful to him (DD is only 8, she uses it to call her friends). While the school assured us that kids didn't need it and they could go to the house office etc to call home as needed, I was warned by friends that the kids are actually discouraged from doing so (and a friend's daughter experienced that last week). He got my hand-me-down phone, which was DH's before I got it.
Sounds like my house! DS was 11 because his friends starting calling my cell phone all the time and it was really annoying. And I found it needed in middle school for afterschool things. Convenient to know when they needed a ride home. DD was 9 when she got a tracfone because she spent many hours at dance/gymnastics and it made me feel better. They both got iphones for their 11th birthdays. 3rd DS is 8 now, he doesn't need one. He facetimes his friends on wifi, has no desire to call. So he'll be waiting... I think it depends on the kid and their needs.