Lisa LaGrou from The Oakland County Moms blog interviews Michelle Gilbert, PR manager for Verizon Wireless in Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky, about kids getting cell phones.
Previously, I had written a column on a cell phone trial with my nine year old son. Verizon loaned us a cell phone and I wrote about the experience and what is was like for my son to have his own cell phone for a month.
Many questions arose during this “experiment,” so I decided to interview Michelle Gilbert, Public Relations Manager of Verizon Wireless. I have known Michelle for about 4 years now and I appreciate her taking the time to answer the following questions:
Oakland County Moms: Kids are getting cell phones earlier and earlier these days. What age do you find is appropriate for a child to get his first phone?
Michelle Gilbert: I think it varies by family and by child. My daughter, for example, has a friend whose mother works full time and is single. She wants to be able to get in touch with her daughter – and for her daughter to be able to contact her – anytime, so her daughter carries a cell phone. This 8-year-old is very mature and responsible, particularly for her age.
In our stores, we definitely see parents coming in and getting their children as young as 8 or 9 cell phones; however, it’s more common to see parents adding their kids to their family share plan during the middle school years.
Read the rest of the interview here.
