unfortunately cell phones have cause a lot of accidents, and the one thing i hate to see as i did one day in a restaurant a family of a mother and father and 2 kids not on the phone, not looking at each other, and not having a stimulant conversation as i would have with my family. I feel that cell phones have taken away or social ability to communicate, and in some way is damaging our brains.

No one really needs a cell phone. Kids can get one when they can afford to buy the phone and pay the monthly bill.

Edited to add that mother couldn't have paid me to accept a cell phone as a kid or teenager. There's something so creepy about the way families spy on each other these days.

My middle and high schoolers both do. It is how people communicate now ( social media not talking on it). I am present on their online accounts but keep my distance. I think it is important for them to build social structures within their peers. We also enjoy sending each other memes and having real life conversations about mutual social media friends. Being proficient and up to date in social media is necessary for full participation in society and I'd rather they learn it while I still have some control.

A phone will become a theft target,as in Adults are experiencing,anything of value,is fair game to thugs of all ages.... Possible when the child is 14 or older, not to 8 years old kids.....

Necessary no. We know that because before cell phones children didn't have them and got through life okay. Of course for safety purposes it's nice if they should get into any kind of trouble to be able to call for help, so in that respect it's nice for them to have one. If they're old enough to know how to use the phone, they're old enough to have one. Do they need a souped-up iPhone computer etc etc of course not.

Children should have a cellphone at about age eight or nine.... That's when they are becoming a little independent and need a phone in case of an emergency.... But I don't think the phone should have internet capabilities until about 14 or 15 yrs old, and then with mucho supervision...

Welcome to the 21st century where devices are the norm. As to when children should get them it’s more a matter of why they should get them. There are a lot of children out there raising themselves as parents work one,two, and three jobs to maintain. If a child doesn’t have a phone, how can it call if something goes wrong? How many homes have land lines?

Absolutely necessary? No. Useful? Yes. Cell phones are so ubiquitous that other means of calling home have nearly vanished. Phones also make it possible to track a child, when tracking is engaged. Age - going to vary by what parents want and a child's level of responsibility. I would say around middle school when kids are more likely to be left alone or with friends only.