My 2 Cents: How Young Is Too Young For A Cell Phone?

It's the talk every parent dreads.

We've had it four times.

"Mom and dad, when can I have a cell phone?"

We waited until our first born was a teenager to give in, but it seemed to get a little bit younger with each child as cell phones became more prevalent in our world.

For the most part, our kids got cheap cell phones in seventh or eighth grade. I don't know if that was right or wrong. It was just what worked for us.

Now, some carriers, like Sprint, are marketing cell phones, such as their WeGo, to kids as young as five.

Kindergartners and first graders are going to school with cell phones.

Parents explain it as providing both them and the child with security, knowing they can communicate with each other in case of an emergency.

Like forgetting their turtle for show and tell?

Cheap shot, I know, but if you get a cell phone for a kindergartner, isn't it really just a long tether from school to home where a helicopter parent refuses to let their five year old step out into the world supervised by another adult.

That's a big part of growing up, even for five year olds.

Time will tell, but I suspect that "phoned up" five year olds are really just another boomerang generation in training.

I ask you... Should five year olds have phones? What's the right age?