The great phone debate. My 13yo is asking for one because literally every single kid in her grade has one. We live in Boston and honestly it does seem like an outlier not to have one at this age. But I also remember getting my first phone at like 16 and being fine. What's the consensus here? When did you cave, and do you regret it?
We waited until 14 for our oldest and honestly it felt right at that age. 13 feels too young to me but every kid is different. The peer pressure at that age is real though.
Yeah the 'everyone has one' argument is tough to counter. I ended up getting one for my 13yo with the agreement that I pick it up at 8pm on school nights. Compromise worked better than just saying no.
The FOMO is real at that age but also their brains aren't ready for constant access to social media. Just being honest.
Wait until they're asking to borrow your car for rides. The phone is just the beginning my friend.
If you do get her one, look into iPhone parental controls. They're actually pretty robust compared to Android if that matters to you.
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I let mine have one at 12 but with heavy restrictions. Screen time limits, app blockers, the whole deal. It's not about having the phone, it's about how they use it.