At What Age Should a Kid Get Their Own Phone?

Parents face a long list of decisions while raising kids. When to give them a phone is a big one. Fortunately, there’s a lot of expert advice to draw on, and a variety of devices and plans families can use to suit their own needs.  

What age should a kid get a phone?  

You’ll find a lot advice out there stating an exact age, such as “no smartphones until 14” or “no phones till 12.” There’s also the popular 3-6-9-12 advice: No screens before age 3, no personal game devices before age 6, no unsupervised internet browsing before 9, and no social media before age 12.  

But the right age for a first phone for a child is highly individual and revolves around three things:  

• The type of device and access it allows. 

• Family communication needs. 

• The child’s maturity level. 

Here’s how to walk through the choices and pick what’s right for your individual child. 

Types of devices for kids 

First, know your device options. You’re not limited to simply “smartphone or no smartphone.” Here’s a menu of choices: 

First phones for kids 

These devices offer a safer environment for younger kids so parents don’t have to hand their child a smartphone with wide-open access. First phones for kids typically feature talk and text, often with parental control of the contact list, and location tracking so parents know where kids are. They also limit or entirely bar access to internet browsers, app downloads, and social media.  

For example, the Yello! phone was created by parents at TextNow as a safe first phone for kids 5-12. Only parent-approved contacts can talk and text with the child. GPS tracking shows real-time location. There’s no internet or social media, and only basic apps like a calculator and a few simple games parents can turn on or off.  

Smartwatches for kids 

These can be useful for kids likely to lose or forget to carry a phone, or who are young enough to need simplified communication options. The watches typically allow voice calls or texting, often with communication helpers like voice-to-text or simplified replies.  

Look for location tracking plus extras like focus or silent mode scheduling. Some kids smartwatches include simple games, such as Gabb Watch, while others are more stripped-down to avoid distractions, like Bark Watch.  

Smartphones for teens and parental controls 

Teens or even responsible tweens may need the greater functionality of a smartphone. A useful compromise might be a smartphone with parental controls that include limits on screentime, location tracking, remote disabling of internet access, etc.  

Several carriers have parental control options you can add to your family phone plan, including AT&T Secure Family, T-Mobile Family Mode, and Verizon Family. Others are built into popular operating systems (Apple Screen Time, Google Family) or are a downloadable app (Bark, Qustodio, and others).  

What are your family’s communication needs?  

Consider getting your child’s first phone or other device when they begin school, around 5 to 6 years old. That’s when they start spending more time away from you, perhaps taking the bus, heading to after-school care, or going to play dates or sports after school ends. Earlier than that, kids typically are in a more closely supervised daycare or preschool setting, where caregivers handle communication with parents.  

Also think about the type of communication you want: Do you want voice conversations? Is your child able to text? Will basic GPS tracking serve your needs, or do you want alerts when your child arrives at or leaves set locations like home and school?  

A smartwatch may be the answer for the youngest kids who need help with simple communication and a device they’re less likely to lose. A first phone is the better solution if you want both talk & text plus voicemail, when kids are able to keep track of a device, and when they’re ready for more functionality like simple games or the ability to take pictures.  

As the child gets older, you’ll likely want to transition to a smartphone that will allow apps needed for school or sports. Parental controls can be layered on using apps, phone-plan restrictions, or operating system-level family controls. The long-term goal for teens, though, is to gradually add access while coaching them on responsible phone use and how to stay safe online. 

What’s your child’s maturity level?  

Maturity means different things at different stages of your child’s life. Here’s a framework for thinking it through:  

Elementary school: A kindergartener has vastly different needs and abilities to manage a device than a 5^th-grader will have. Consider these aspects:  

• Physical coordination: Does your child need something with easy controls for little fingers? Can they manipulate a phone without dropping it, or would a smartwatch make more sense?  

• Communication style: Pre-readers need voice communication, while older elementary kids may want to text exclusively rather than call.  

• Responsibility level: How well does your child follow family rules? Are they good about not losing personal belongings?  

• Safety and tracking needs: At this age, real-time location tracking is key.  

• Access limits: Experts strongly advise no access to the internet or social media before age 10 (at the earliest). 

Middle school: When kids widen their social circle and become more independent, the conversation becomes more about balancing family rules with peer group influence. Schoolwork and sports likely will necessitate internet access and app access. However, social media access should wait till 13 according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Consider:  

• Responsibility level: How well does your child resist peer pressure? Do they tend to follow family rules even when unsupervised? Are they able to use a device without losing, dropping, or damaging it?  

• Academics and time management: Is your child able to self-manage homework and other responsibilities, or are they easily distracted?  

• Personality: Kids who are easily influenced, self-critical, or impulsive may need more time to develop while sheltered from social media. A parent-managed contact list paired with talk & text only allows social access while avoiding algorithmic feeds. 

High school: Most experts acknowledge it’s difficult to avoid wider access and smartphone use by high school. These years are a great time to give full access while you can still coach your child on phone use, internet safety, social media dangers, and more.  

• Responsibility level: Can your teen manage their own screen time and avoid pitfalls like staying up late scrolling?  

• Openness to coaching: Teens still need an adult voice to help them understand dangers, but if they aren’t receptive you might want parental controls to serve as guardrails. 

• Mental health: No matter how resilient your teen, experts warn that extended exposure to screen time and social media are correlated with emotional distress and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Parents and teens alike can take advantage of expert resources like the information offered by the National Alliance on Mental Illness.  

Start slow and let access evolve

It makes sense to start with minimal access for young kids' communication needs. That could mean a smartwatch made for the littlest kids first, followed by a Yello! phone for elementary students. It just depends on when your child is ready to carry a phone and able to use the basic talk and text features to keep in touch with family.

Later, as kids become more responsible and ready to manage reasonable rules, you can switch to something with more access. With tweens and teens, data usage can be a temptation. There's a number of phone plans for teens and kids that help keep data use and costs reasonable, such as the TextNow Free Plan with flexible data add-ons.

FAQs about first phones