Moms Talk (And Dads, Too): Child's First Cell Phone

Moms Talk is a new feature on Westminster Patch that is part of a new initiative on our Patch sites to reach out to moms and families. We invite you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers, fathers and their families right here in Westminster and Carroll County.

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms (and Dads) Council take your questions, give advice and share solutions, by offering their answers in the article and continuing the conversation in the comments, with you.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies 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. Do you know of local moms raising their children in the Tiger Mother's way and is it the best way? Where can we get information on local flu shot clinics for children? How do we talk to our children about the Tucson shootings? How can we help our children's schools weather their budget cutbacks?

So grab a cup of coffee or tea and settle in as we start the conversation today with a question all parents face: "At what age should a child receive their first cell phone?"

"Having two sons, (our heir and a spare, just like The Royals) I get to experience everything twice, yet each situation manages to be different.

When our older son, now 18, was in elementary school, he begged endlessly for a cell phone. We even have a picture of him begging. It was constant! We hemmed and hawed thinking it was a silly luxury he didn't need. We only live two blocks from school and kept a firm track on his whereabouts. (I'm a stay-at-home-mom so this was fairly easy.) By the time junior high rolled around, the pressure was on, and we finally relented in 8th grade. We knew once he started high school his social life would depend on it.

Surviving that, when our younger son entered junior high, the choice was easier and he got a cell phone for his 13th birthday. Texting has become so prolific, a kid can feel very out of it if he or she can't communicate this way. Thirteen felt very right for us, but given the crazy schedules and social lives of kids today it's easy to see why parents "give in" earlier."

—By Cindy McDowell Abrahamson, mother of two (ages 13 and 18).