Moms Talk: When Should You Buy Your Child a Cell Phone?

Moms Talk is a new feature on Eagan Patch that is part of a new initiative to reach out to moms and families. Eagan Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in the Eagan area.

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council will take your questions, give advice and share solutions. Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local schools, pedestrian safety, nutrition, work-life balance and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.  

Moms Talk will also be the place to drop in for a talk about the latest parenting hot topic. So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today.

Here's our discussion topic:

Until only recently, it was a luxury for a child to own and use a cell phone and often times, only rich, spoiled children were afforded that luxury. Nowadays, even very young children are carrying cell phones. When should you purchase your child a cell phone?

Here are two things parents should take into consideration, according to GreatSchools.org:

1) The pros and cons of security...positive side: kiddie cell phones with parental controls, camera phones could come in handy if a child were ever abducted, and negative side: many phones come with web browsing capabilities and parents will not be able to monitor their children's Internet whereabouts.

2) Cost...phones can get expensive with web capabilites, as well as minute usage, text messaging and picture messaging.

Now, here are some other questions to consider: Will your child only  be allowed to use it in an emergency? Can they use it to call their friends or is it just communication between you and your child? Where and when can they take it with them?

Please take a moment to weigh in on this debate in the comments below.