We added our daughter to our cell phone plan when she turned twelve. She is in middle school and plays sports and is involved in other activities. I am very strict about the usage of the phone and my daughter rarely talks on the phone to her friends it's mainly texting. Our plan has unlimited text messaging and this is the way our family communicates during the day. We avoid long phone conversations at work and directly get our point across. Another reason we added the phone was so we could disconnect the home phone. Our home phone was a waste of money since everyone calls our cell phones. Our daughter needed a phone because she is home for about one hour after school with her nine year old brother. Problems can come up like; not having a key on one of the coldest days of winter.

I think if your child respects you and knows their boundaries they will use their phone wisely. The phone my daughter received was free from our carrier. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles and when she's old enough to get a part-time job she can purchase a nicer phone. I've never received a high phone bill because of her.

Now my sister-in-law purchased phones for her 8 and 10 year old children both are at home with their mother or at their karate lessons with her. I think in their situation they do not need a cell phone.