What Age Should A Kid Get A Phone?

If you’re a parent of a middle schooler who doesn't have their own phone—you may both feel like you're alone in the world. After all, it seems like kids are getting phones earlier than ever before! The good news is—you're not alone. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 75% of parents surveyed say 12 is the absolute minimum age before they'd even consider getting their child a phone¹.

The truth is, there's no magic age when it comes to buying your child their own device, since every kid and every family is different. Let's start with two simple questions² to help gauge whether your child may be ready for a device of their own—and go from there.

Is your child mature enough? For example, if you have a 12 year old who is very responsible, mindful and tends to follow the rules—they could probably handle a phone better than, say, a 14 year old who is a little more careless, forgetful or reckless. You know your child better than anyone! So, be sure to ask yourself this question as part of your decision-making process.
Is your child always losing and/or breaking things? We all have that one family member who constantly loses things like toys, sneakers, backpacks, lunchboxes, calculators, musical instruments and so on. Or maybe they break their eyeglasses weekly—or haphazardly handle your phone when you let them use it. These are signs that they may not be ready to care for a device of their own.

These aren't the only two considerations, however. Even if your kid is a bit immature and does tend to lose or break things, there may other benefits to having a phone that override these issues. For example, if you feel a phone would help your child:

Study or complete school assignments more efficiently
Stay better connected with you
Remain safer in emergencies
Have more access to friends and social activities
Learn about rules and responsibility

If you do decide it’s time to get your child their own phone, be sure to take advantage of all the free tools that can help you keep them safer. For example, T-Mobile offers parents and guardians several options, including:

Web Guard. Want to limit your child from viewing certain content online? Web Guard is a free service that you can add to select lines on your account to help restrict kids from accessing adult content when connected to our network. (Note: it doesn’t restrict content when browsing over Wi-Fi or when accessing content via an app, and it won’t block instant messaging (IM), email, and text messages.)

Kids’ Line privacy settings. This feature lets you tell us that a line on your account is for a child under the age of 16. Once activated, we won’t use data from that line for advertising, and we’ll opt the line out of receiving marketing communications from T-Mobile.

FamilyMode and Safe & Found. FamilyMode and Safe & Found are two solutions that let you manage and control kids’ online activities and screen time across your family’s compatible devices. Here are a few things you can do:

Control when and where your family can access the internet
Use live tracking and location history (FamilyMode 3.2 only)
Create profiles for your family
Set web browsing filters and manage history
View locations and set a Safety Area that lets you know when your child arrives or leaves a specific area
Send rewards for good behavior

If you do decide to get a cell phone for your child, there are a lot of budget-friendly options available! Here are a few we like for tweens and teens:

Nokia G310 5G. Stylish, durable and easy on the wallet, this device features a large 6.6-inch HD+ display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 480+ 5G mobile platform, up-to three days of battery life, a triple-rear 50MP camera with AI enhancements, solid audio and playback sound, 128GB of storage, plus it's a Nokia QuickFix phone—which makes DIY phone repairs an actual thing! It's a great option for budget-conscious parents.

REVVL 6x 5G. The big 6.52-inch HD+ display, triple camera, powerful battery and 5G capabilities make this phone a great choice for doing homework, working on school projects, or just downloading games and videos. It's got a fast, reliable processor on deck, expandable memory up to 2TB, and a 4,500mAh battery to keep your kids powered up—all at an amazing price.

TCL 30 XE 5G. This phone gives you a lot of bang for your buck, thanks to the 6.52-inch HD+ display, 5G connectivity, 64GB of expandable internal storage, 13MP AI-powered main camera, 8MP front camera and a powerful 4,500mAh battery with up to 25 hours of talk time.

TCL Flip Go. If you want your kid to stay connected but don’t want them to access online content, this phone is the perfect no-frills choice. It has 4G LTE connectivity, a 2MP video-capable camera, two colorful displays (2.8-inch internal and 1.44-inch external), dedicated shortcut keys for contacts and messages, a powerful speaker with noise cancelation and HD voice, plus it has a headphone jack with Bluetooth capabilities, as well. Of course, you could also give them your old phone and upgrade to a shiny, new device of your very own. Still not sure if you're ready to get your child a phone?

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