How Old Does a Kid Need to be for a Cell Phone?

by Shane McGlaun

Not too long ago I gave my 6-year-old son a cell phone. He doesn’t take it to school, but when he is running around our neighborhood with his friends it allows me to keep up with him, talk to him when I need too and more importantly it allows him to tell me when he is going from one friend’s house to another so I never have to wonder where he is.

Some think that 7 is too young for a cell phone and others feel like I do. The question I am wondering about today is how old does a kid need to be before they get a cell phone. Many of the other parents in my neighborhood obviously feel the same way I do about cell phones. Shortly after my son started carrying one, many of his friends did too. So what do you think, how old does a kid need to be before you get them a cell phone?