Cell Phones and Kids: What to Do!

By Monicasmommusings @mom2natkatcj
I always said that my children would not get a cell phone until they could pay for it themselves. After all I managed to survive my entire childhood without one. Then last year my oldest started middle school and I began to think of all the scenarios where she would need to reach me and there wouldn't be a phone available. Because lets face it, pay phones are a thing of the past now. Something that you could once find on every street corner is no more.
We decided it was time!
So we got my daughter a bare bones phone that is only to be used to call us and with our permission she can make other phone calls. My daughter is a pretty responsible kid so I knew she wouldn't rack up one of those $1000 bills that you always hear kids doing these days. We just added a phone to our plan and that was that.
Will we be so lucky with the next child?
While my oldest daughter has been really good for the most part with her phone and following our rules her younger sister is hot on her heels and asking for a phone. She won't be getting one until she's entering middle school at the earliest though which is another year and a half away, but I can see her not following our rules with the phone as much. Not so much to be deceptive, but just because she is more carefree than her sister. Things go missing and she doesn't care. She is currently missing a data stick and has been for a few weeks. I have searched everywhere but her room so I'm pretty sure it's in there, but she has no desire to find it. So for her just adding a phone to our plan and expecting her to handle things the same way her sister has might not be the best parenting decision of my life. Lucky for me I have this great guide to a kids first cell phone to help me make that choice when the time comes. Surely that will help me figure out the best phone for my carefree child!
When will you get your child her first cell phone? Do you think you'll use any of the plans featured in that article?