The kid in the picture is definitely too young to have a phone.. that’s where I stand.

I think all junior schools should ban mobile phones altogether. This would take away the peer pressure in schools on the kids some what. I bought my daughter her first (basic) mobile phone when she was 10½ due to peer pressure as all of the kids in her class and the younger class had one but in reality, she only started using it when she started secondary school at age 12. In the year and half in between, she lost it around the house more often than she actually used it and the €10 credit it came with was still there when she started secondary school.

The day you can pay for a phone and the bills associated with it, under your own steam is the day you should have a phone.

I wouldn’t have a problem with getting my daughter a phone when she starts secondary school as long as she buys her own credit from her pocket money and doesn’t use it in class. I agree with people saying it’s great to be able to contact your kids and vice versa but I don’t think a child in primary school needs a top of the line phone that has access to the Internet. You can buy phones that you programme two numbers into and they’re the only number they can call, which is more than enough for a primary school child seeing as how they see they’re friends in school anyway

If they want a phone give em a phone but let em buy their own credit!

Bullying happens regardless of whether children have phones or not. It’s a non-issue, as far as I’m concerned. For me, I would be most concerned with the fact that mobile phones are no longer solely being used to make calls and texts to friends and parents – but also to browse the internet. Most phones these days, even those that aren’t “smart”, have we-browsing capabilities.

I would be very concerned with giving a child, especially one under the age of 13, unrestricted access to the internet. I would say this more than I would have, say 10 years ago. We’re living in the age of Porn 2.0, where you can stream as much explicit content as you like, from YouTube copycats.

Children can be cruel to one another, but that’s part of growing up, and for the most part can be managed with the help of parents, teachers and councillors. But the amount of sexual, violent and downright vile content out there on the internet is a much more serious problem. I would be very concerned if a young child would see things that he or she was not fully prepared psychologically to deal with, since it is difficult to come to terms with the darker sides of human nature.

I was given my first phone going into secondary school to keep in touch with the people from my primary school and to foster friendships in my new school, you don’t need one before that!

The first question should be, why would they need one in the first place? They see their friends in school everyday anyway.

Giving your child a phone for emergency reasons is a silly excuse. If you don’t know where your child is or they arent in the company of responsible adults, then the parent has a problem.

I think a more interesting question would be how old should you be before you own a smart-phone.

There are two sides to allowing a kid have a mobile, really. I suppose depending on a number of factors such as background etc. parents have to decide what is best for the child. In my own experience, I would have said between 15 and 18, but that’s just when I take into account what is going on in the immediate surroundings. Different for everybody I reckon. Personally, I think Facebook introduces a whole lot more dangers for under-18s.

Young children should always be with a contactable adult so I don’t understand the need for mobile phones.

Things could have been different if Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells had mobile telephones. May they both RIP.

Bullying will happen whether they have a phone or not.

I don’t see a problem with mobile phones and children per se… I would be more worried about the radiation or whatever it is, from phones always being so close to the ear. (If they get used to holding it away from the head or have it on speaker then that would be much better).

Getting kids phone/technology smart early is not a bad thing. Disruption to class because of them texting may be. However if a six year old could ring home because Dad crashed the car and was unconscious – what would be said of children and phones then.

Phones are expensive and credit is an added expense. It could teach children responsibility if they had to spend pocket money on credit – assuming any child gets pocket money these days.

Once you can use one and are taught any of the risks I don’t see the problem.I was handed a computer as soon as I proved I was capable of using one. I was 9.

I think that having an extra phone that can be loaned out – the way later a car is loaned out – teaching that it’s not for everyday use – might be a way. Only if the teenager is going somewhere – out of the parents control (!!) like a disco or party or on an organised trip the phone can be pre-programmed to call emergency and family/teacher numbers only.

I’m always amazed at the people who only see the downside to a child having a mobile.

They are an amazing safety device that allows you to let your child have more freedom without as much worry.

In saying that, if you are someone who is afraid to let your child out of your sight, then a mobile is probably not for them.

IMO, Kids need to be out in the world by themselves, otherwise they will not be independent. The world is a lot safer (stranger-danger wise) than it was when most of us were kids and I don’t know about you but I was without a contactable/responsible adult many time between the ages of 6-10.

I am 15 and I got my first phone aged 11, but it was the most basic type, secondhand, black and white display, and only could text and call, no such thing as the internet. Right now I have the Samsung Tocco Lite, which can access the internet but I personally choose not to unless I really need to. The internet is slow, unreliable and doesn’t load well, so it’s not too much of a problem, really. But I do think giving an 11 year old a smart phone, ie, a blackberry or one of those which have direct access to facebook via a button is not a good idea. But I remember, I was one of the last to get a phone in my class, and I felt left out in a way as people could not get in contact with me as easily because I wasn’t allowed to give out my landline number.

When I was at secondary school I always had a coin on me to phone. There were phone boxes everywhere and at school we could ask to use the payphone on the rare occasion. I definitly phoned home more than once in the year, after school to ask why no one had collected me, or why I was late, or where I was. These phone boxes have gone.

All I can say is wait until your kid goes missing, even for 15 minutes, then all your valid reasons for them not having a phone go out the window. Don’t be so shortsighted as to think mobiles are just for talking and texting. My kids have had phones since they were 6, by my choice, not theirs. Technology and communications are a part of kids’ lives now from birth. Adults better get used to it.

I didn’t have a mobile phone until I started college in mid 90s. What’s wrong with just knowing were your kid is without having to give them a phone.

Quite a lot of kids have phones in Japan. They have 2 or 3 buttons for their their parents and home and not much of a display. They don’t need anything else

In fairness, times have moved on since I was a teenager and I’m only 29! I bought my first phone when I was 18. I had no real need for one until then but I can understand why parents feel the need to equip their kids with a phone at an early age. Peace of mind is probably the real reason. That being said I wouldn’t be inclined to give a young child access to, say, a smart phone. A basic, run of the mill phone should suffice.

as soon as they can talk give them a phone never too early to be safe.

Who cares, its just a phone.

First to vote! Scary!