buy a cell phone for a 9 year old kid, what is the best 1st time kids cell phone

There is no proven scientific fact that cell phones cause brain cancer. Do your research, don't just believe myths.

But yes, I do agree that getting your child a cell phone is a good idea. When I was younger, I was in the band, and we'd go on trips and such, and my mom bought me a cell phone so she'd know I was okay, when to pick me up, etc. And even though I'm an adult now, I still look back on it as a great idea. When I first got my driver's license, I was supposed to text her when I got to my destination so she knew I wouldn't have been involved in an accident.

Look at what your carrier provides. I personally haven't given my 10 year old one yet but my niece got her first one at 11 (she is now 15)because of bussing issues where they live. My advice would be to look into the parental controls you can place on the phone. That provides security for your child. No one but who you allow can call their phone and they can only call who you allow.

Best mobile phone service for kids is kajeet. Free parental controls and separate wallets for parent and kid to ensure they can always call emergency numbers you set up, but can limit calls and texts to their friends. No phone bill surprises! I have both my kids on it and pay less than $10/mo. each for them to talk and text.

Get the trac phone, but get the one with double lifetime min.Then buy a 60 min card and you'll have 120 min for 3 months . Just reload before the 3 months are up and you keep the unused mins.My son was 10 when I got that for him and I think it was a good decision. Plus he cant rack up your phone bill. Really ,check this phone out.

[Deleted by Amazon on Dec 23, 2009 7:42:55 AM PST]

I'm really honestly not trying to disuade you here at all. But it's funny to me that when I was 9 almost 20 years ago I walked a mile to and from school, in a sketchy neigborhood, and a phone wasn't even an option. I'd sometimes go out and play all day. I lived with my mom and she worked. The cell phone wasn't even an option then and now it's a neccesity. Again, I don't think it's a bad idea. If I could have had one back then and it was affordable that would've been great.

You can get a full featured cell phone or a kids phone. If you go full featured look up durability. The 2 phones I've had that have been the best for that are the LG Chocolate and the Palm Centro. I'm on Verizon, but I'm sure other phone companies have the same or similar phones.

A kids phone may be a good choice, they ussually have 4 speed dials they can program and an emergency button that calls 911.

Another thing you might think about, if your kid has a good memory and you want to help him develop it is one of the phones w/o a phonebook in it so that he has to dial the numbers maualy, but if his memory isn't good already I'd avoid that.

Anyway, hope this is at all helpful.

I know this thread is kind of old, but to anyone trying to decide to get a child a cell phone I recommend going through a carrier and getting one with a GPS feature. This is not the GPS navigation as with many of the newer smart phones, but a basic GPS transmitter. I think most carriers have applications which can be added ala carte which will allow you to track location of the phone (and the child), which can be very comforting/helpful. Decisions on whether to get a child a phone or not rest solely with parents/guardians, and each case will have different factors which influence that decision. I think any discussion in this thread containing personal opinions about whether kids should have phones is misdirected and not helpful for answering the original poster's question. That said, if there is a concern about losing/damaging the phone a common workaround is phone insurance. However, if you are using a carrier who is using SIMM cards (like AT&T, others) you may have some options for finding unlocked phones on Ebay (or Amazon) if your child's phone becomes broken or damaged which you could swap the card into. Finally, there used to be a phone available called the FireFly which had (I think) 3 buttons on it marked with icons for Mommy, Daddy and an emergency number. The numbers were programmed by an adult, and I have heard of kids as young as 6 using these. I don't know if they still make it, but seemed like a neat idea. Good luck on your decisions.

Wow that person before was kind of rude. I agree though I think its okay for a 9 year old to have a cell phone. In fact my 8 year old is getting a cell phone for Christmas this year, but as the others say a prepaid cell phone is the way to go. That way you can control how long they talk on the phone, and if they lose or break it, it wasn't much to replace it! LOL What I'm going to do is instead of my children working for cash dollars by doing chores, I'm going to tell them if they want more minutes on their phones then they have to get their chores done.
I had an incident last year with one of my daughters friends calling my house, at 8, at that time, this little boy threatened to kill my husband, because we wouldn't let her talk on the phone, because he wouldn't stop calling. In one night he called 30 times. NO JOKE!! So i told them that they are not allowed to give out my number any more, and that is why they are going to get a cell phone. They can give that number out to their friends LOL
Good Luck, and don't listen to the previous post, you are the mother of your child, and you know what is best for your kid. I've seen 6 year old with cell phones, its just the new way of life, and a good way for a child to learn responsibilities.

Motorola C290 Refurbished Prepaid Phone (Kajeet)

Check out the Kajeet phones! I am getting 2. 1 for my 12 year old & 1 for my 9 year old. They are both getting the one in the link here. They have an unlimited text & 60 minute plan for 15 bucks a month. plus you control who they talk to, what $ they use & so on.

A Kajeet phone is designed for kids and also has GPS tracking. You can get one directly from Kajeet or through Amazon. The best deal is a Samsung SGH-M300 Refurbished Prepaid Phone for Kids with 1 Year of GPS, Red (Kajeet).

It is ridiculous to get these young kids cell phones.

My advise as to what you need for a kid's cellphone (ignore the idiots):
1) make it a flip phone. No accidental dialing. No need to "lock" the phone to avoid butt-dialing.

2) keep it as small as possible. With a kid that age, if they can carry it in their pocket, then they are more likely to have it with them. Kid's pockets are SMALL and the phone needs to fit all the way it in. This was my #1 qualification for my daughter's first phone, and BOY, did it make a difference. Where her friends phones had to be carried in the hand or in a purse, hers was always just slipped into her front pocket.

3) keep it simple. The less features the phone has, the better. They don't need, at this age, easy texting capabilities, internet access, etc. Having a rudimentary camera is pretty nice, and most flip phones have one.

4) keep it cheap. The chances of it being lost or damaged are high at this age, so purchase accordingly.

5) consider a hand-me-down or get a used phone from a friend. If it will work with your service and functions fine, this is a great way to go. Friends and family members are always upgrading their phones, and don't know what to do with the old ones. My daughter's first phone was my husbands old, well-used Nokia flip phone. Worked great for her for a year and I didn't have to worry about it getting scratched up or dropped!

I think that, at this age, the most important qualities are that is is a flip phone and that it is small.

Check out boost mobile's prepaid or pay as you go deals which don't need contracts. They have good sturdy phones which may not be fancy but serve the purpose just fine. Just make sure area has the coverage. Hope this helps.

To those people who don't like the idea of a grade-school kid having a cell phone I say,

FINE.

You do that with YOUR kid. For me, having my very busy 9 year old have a phone was essential. If I dropped her off at her dance studio and anything was forgotten or if any plans were changed, then she could contact me right away without getting into the office. When she finished with swimming practice, she could call me on the way into the showers and I would leave to pick her up. At her pool at night, a landline is not available. If I was shopping at Costco and she and her friend wanted to browse the books and videos rather than get the fruits and veggies, I could call or text her when I was ready to check out.

For us, her having a cell phone was not only convenient, but essential. But you live YOUR life in the manner that works for you, and I'll do the same.

Do not buy a Sprint phone from Amazon. If you have to pay a security deposit you are screwed due to the fact that there is not anyone to pay it to. Sprint will not take it because there is no account set up because you have to have the cell phone in hand when activating a 3rd party cell phone. I have spent the last two days on the phone with sprint and amazon trying to get this figured out, and i have come to find that amazons wireless people are not even phone accessible through their phone system. There is no support for this through any of them, and you will get the run around from sprint, and surprisingly http://amazon.com.

a nine year mold should have a phone because of all the rapist out there like 2 of my teachers are rapist

kids dont need a phone unless they can pay for it!!!!!

You should check out Verizon wireless prepaid phones they have nice ones plus they have really good service. Or you could go with Sprint( no prepaid sorry) they have the Family Locater service. Hope this was helpful! Good Luck!

I'm looking up Firefly for my 5 yr old (GPS enabled for my sanity) - but I was wondering if you have found a phone for your 9 yr old and have any suggestions for me?

Thanks!

Before buying go online to Environmental Working Group site and look up phones with the least radiation. Link:
http://www.ewg.org/project/2009cellphone/get-a-safer-phone.php

[Deleted by the author on Mar 4, 2010 9:04:13 PM PST]

If you need to get your child a cell phone, I'd recommend getting the cheapest prepaid unit you can find, usually a Tracfone or Net 10. Otherwise you may end up with an astronomical monthly bill. I see too many young teens walking the mall talking endlessly on a cell phone to a friend walking a few feet behind them. They have phones only for the "cool" factor.

I agree with the need to be able to easily communicate between parent and child, but any child under 16 should only have a phone cell phone which can dial the parents and 911. I believe a few of these phones do exist, and the GPS tracking feature others have mentioned is a good idea as well.

I'm sure many liberals will disagree with this vehemently as they pretty much think kids should be left to run wild and do whatever. 9 and 10 years is NOT old enough to be left alone at home, even for an hour. (13 should probably be the absolute minimum and only for a short time.) If something happens you may be (and certainly should be) held accountable as a parent for failing to supervise your children.

Even teens don't need to be endlessly blathering on the phone to their friends about nothing. This may be convenient for many parents because it frees them from the need to spend time with their kids, but it's almost certainly counter productive to your child.

Pre-paid are always best for young first time phone users. That way you can teach them responsibility without worrying too much should they lose it or it gets stolen. Neither of which happened when my Dad bought my son's first phone when he was in the second grade. My son is 12 now and is, as of last month, finally on our plan. He's had three phones, not do to loss but upgrades. He now has one of the new touch screen's and I and my Dad are a bit envious. Thankfully, since we are all on my Mom's corporate account we can upgrade our phones for free (and not just at the two year mark, either), We are going to upgrade to touch screens as well.
I, too, thought it was silly for youngsters to have their own cells, but my son has needed to use it because of getting out of school for minimum days (and my Dad forgot/or wasn't told) or to go over a friends house/or stay late playing at school (when he was younger). Also, when he was younger and playing at the park, if he went too far, I'd call him, or went to the bathroom and takes to long. You never know...I like knowing my son's phone has a tracking and I can keep in contact with him because he's a cell phone owner...