The Wall Street Journal has an interesting poll going on. It asks "At what stage of life is it appropriate for kids to get cellphones?"


As of 10:52 am EST, 1577 people have voted:
High School - 48%
Middle School - 27%
Elementary School - 7%
Not at all - 19%

Some have opined that cellphones could be distracting for teenagers. Others couldn't understand why the generation of today have to have a cellphone when in the past, people lived even without one. And a lot can see the practicality of having one for safety reasons. Safety, though, sometimes mean "keeping track of what their children are doing".

How I voted?

Well I chose elementary school. But then again, I am a fairly new mother who is a bit on the paranoid side. If it was up to me, I would have probably given my son a cellphone when he first entered childcare at 7 months. But, my husband vetoed all my arguments. He was right, my son would have probably drowned the phone with saliva on the first day.

Seriously... Yes, I would give my child a cellphone once he is old enough to know how to use. But before I do that, he would have to understand that it's use is only for emergencies. And with the technology available today, it is possible to program which calls (from particular phone numbers) can be received or made.

And no, I wouldn't use it to track my child's social life, either. I'd rather that my child trusts me later to tell me about these things. I would never snoop around and nag him.

A cellphone will just be an option for my child to have, should something go wrong and he needs Mommy and Daddy.

Would you give yours a cellphone, too?