The answer to that question is that it depends on how smart they are… Kidding. No, but really… how do you know when your kids are ready? My girls had prepaid cell phones briefly when they were 7. They were not ready. As smart as they were, they just did not have a need for a phone, but Daddy got them as birthday gifts. But, Mommy and Daddy drove them everywhere. And they only called myself, Dad, Grandma, Granny, and Granddaddy.

Now, at almost age 10 I think that they would get a lot more use out of a smartphone than they did before. Over the past couple of years each has had one of my old iPhones. They use them around the house on Wi-Fi to stream Pandora, watch YouTube videos and play games. They have learned a bit about what it means to take care of one, and since they use it with parental controls enabled, they know that their are limits, as evidenced in this post and video.

How do you know if your kids are ready?

Are your kids responsible with their toys? Do they take care of them? Or does everything end up broken? If they break everything they probably are not ready. LOL! But, if they do a good job, then consider the following questions:

• Do your kids attend after school activities at or away from their school?
• Do your kids take public transportation or a school bus to school?
• Do your kids walk to and from school?
• Are your kids old enough to attend sleepovers at friend’s homes?
• Are your kids old enough to go to parties or outings with friends?