I had no set age but figured I'd wait until they actually "need" them. Until the age of 13, my oldest was always in the presence of an adult, whether at school, camp, sports, activities, etc. Sure, it is a convenience, but I didn't feel like forking out the money if it was really necessary. In 7th grade, I started getting pressured by her because nearly all of her friends had them. By Christmas that year, she was one of about 3 kids in her class of 90 at school that did not have a phone. By spring, she was going through a bit of a rough patch socially (darn girls, what a tough age!) Much of her social circle's communication (well, basically ALL) was occurring via text and she was not only feeling left out, but actually was being left out. Her self esteem really being affected. Dh and I discussed it and after much annoyance at the feeling of "giving in" we got her a cell phone about two months before her 13th birthday. By the time she got her cheap phone, the majority of her friends had already graduated to iPhones. Don't even get me started on that subject! She is now 14, entering high school and all of her friends have them. I have come to realize now at her age, though, it is a nice comfort to me that she now has a phone because she now goes places with her friends (without parents). It's convenient for me in terms of getting in touch with her for logistical reasons. My son, who just finished 6th grade and turns 13 in five months is one of very few kids in his grade that doesn't have a phone. And there are plenty of kids in his grade that already have iPhones. Blows my mind. So, I guess I would say 12/13 is probably the typical age, but really, it should be what you are comfortable with, not what other people are doing. I don't imagine that my son will have the same social issues as my dd simply b/c his friendships don't operate the same way (let's face it, girls can be very *itchy to each other, especially in the early teen years!). Most of his friends do have cellphones but half the time, the parents have taken them away as punishment, or they've forgotten to bring it with them, etc. So for now, it's a non-issue with him and I don't imagine he'll get one anytime soon.

Now that I have more time.. My old neighbor & his lady friend had trac fones. He either had me do the minutes on both phones or went to Radio Shack because it was the only place that would do it for him. The last time I put minutes on his cell phone; it was pretty involved. He had to purchase the card then scratch it off & reading the numbers on the scratch off were a pain; then having to enter it into the phone. We have verizon; I'm not sure what type of pay as you go phones they have but they're expensive to do it that way. Last time I looked it was $30 a month plus minutes charge. I know people that do other pay as you go; Boost; virgin mobile & they are cheaper; especially if she's not going to use it much. I have never seen the one "elderly" phone in person but the pictures look good. The problem she may have is learning to use the address book or having to see the numbers to enter them in. If she can see the numbers; she may not see the screen. My 46 year old eyes are starting to have problems lol One thing to consider would be a case that she can wear around her neck; get her into the habit of having it with her in case she ever falls getting the mail or where ever because my neighbor did fall going into his house; I don't know how he managed to get up & climb 6 steps to call 911. Of course he'd just brought his trac fone into the house & put it on the table; then went outside to finish unloading his car.

Good information, thanks. This has reinforced what I've known. Just thought that perhaps, they had improved it somehow. You also brought out a good point about "go phones". A couple of days ago, I called AT & T. The agent took a look at my account and was trying to pursuade me to get this special package deal. I told him that I did not want to pay more services. I wanted to keep what I have, a home phone and internet service (DSL). He assured me that I will get all that and plus more for less. You know how it is, when it's too good to be true, check it again and again! So, I asked him, do I keep my landline phone and the Pro speed DSL? He replied: "Yes! You get the whole digital package with the home phone and an even faster internet service and plus more options on your phone. And the saving is about $5 per month". Ha! I caught him saying digital. I questioned him again but soon I realized that he didn't understood the term "landline". So, I asked him is my phone going to be digital? He replied: "Yes", and I replied back: "No thanks" which he kept telling me "but it's the same!". I explained to him, digital works only with power, no power, no digital. He now realized what I have been trying to verify the past 20 minutes. He continued with the sale pitch: "but when power is out, we have a 4 hour back up system which gives you plenty of time to save your information on your computer and turn it off safely". "Huh?... what?... only 4 hours?!". I continued to explain to him that when power is off, my landline phone works above and beyond the call of duty. Last hurricane, our power was cut off for 3 days. My landline phone was working all along. I need it in case of emergency! He finally understood and gave up on the sale (^_^). During the London bombing years ago, I learned how useless cellular phones were. I warned my family and friend and to keep their landline phone and purchase a $10 corded phone to use in power outage incidents. Lo and behold, it happened. During hurricane Ike, cellular phone wasn't accessible to the public. Everybody thought that the lines were busy and the cause of why they couldn't get through. Certainly, that wasn't the case at all. Cellular phone line was reserved to Homeland Security communication only. However, the public could use text (data) 24/7 and cellular line was open at night between 9 pm - 6 am. Funny how it was, I was only able to get in touch with family & friends that still had the landline phones. Those that didn't learned their lesson. Cellular phone is nice and convenient to have but in case of emergency, it's just not dependable.

"the child may very well not ask to speak to his mom because he knows there is a rule that he can only speak to her once a day around bedtime" Nope, not the case. Unlike BM, my DH is the caring and rational parent who has his son's best interest at heart. He would never, EVER tell SS "you are only allowed to talk to your mom once a day."" SS just gets busy living with US and doesn't seem to think of talking to mom. Much like when he is with BM, he doesn't call DH except in the evening, close to bedtime I think Marie you are attributing qualities your 11 year old DD has, and comparing them to a 7 year old boy. Sorry, but boys don't seem to like to "chat" on the phone as much as girls do. I can already see that diff. between my DD and SS. Also, a 7 yr old is really not "into" talking on the phone much yet. Maybe when SS gets older, he will want to talk to BM or his dad more often---but for now, it is simply not an issue. I think you are giving the BM in my situation way too much credit here. She is not the caring, "involved" parent you are describing. I could go on and on about the times she has continually NOT put her child first. She with-held visitation for THREE WEEKS last summer because she was pissy w/my DH for taking her to court. DH talked to SS on the phone throughout the weeks sporadically, and SS sobbed one of the times, crying that he wasn't "allowed" to see dad. AWFUL. Many times now when his mom calls now he asks his dad if BM is fighting. Slowly but surely, he is begining to see his mom is WACKY. It's to the point that SS tries to listen in on DH's phone convos b/c he thinks BM is causing problems. Last week, BM called him, and at the end, she asked SS to put his dad on the phone, and SS said "no because I'm afraid you're going to get mad at him." He knows. This woman is irrational and insane. She sent her current DH to the hospital last winter b/c she got drunk, and ripped the phone off the wall, and chucked it at his head---he had to get stitches. The year before last, she was fighting w/her DH, and I guess he stormed out of the house, and IN FRONT OF HER SON AND HER STEPDAUGHTER, she took a KNIFE to the blow-up Frosty the Snowman in their front yard. SS "laughs" about it occasionally, but DH and I both know it's a defense mechanism. Talk about terrifying for a child---to see a parent that out of control. Last Christmas Eve--it was DH's night, but BM begged him to let her have SS until Christmas morning. DH consented. Well, guess what SS did that night? He spent the evening w/his stepdad at his stepdad's parents' house while BM stayed home gettgin plastered. She called my DH and me a gazillion times, sobbing about how she wanted a divorce, hated her life, etc. Nice, huh? You can sit there all you want and say that she is a caring, involved mother. Yeah, she loves her son, I will give you that--but she is an alcoholic with serious mental issues. We will do what we have to do to protect OUR FAMILY from her behavior and her antics. A direct line of communication to SS is not needed and actually, is very detrimental to our family. And, truth be told, to SS. DH wishes BM had LESS influence over him than she already does. Unfortunately, until she really screws up, joint custody will continue---but that does not mean BM needs to be in constant communication w/their son on his father's time. The woman has some serious issues, and everyone knows it---the former GAL, the current GAL, the judge, our attorney, and heck, even BM's own family knows it. We have a letter ON FILE in our court case from BM's cousin stating that she has a serious drinking problem. If we ever go to trial, this cousin will testify on our behalf.