The great cell phone debate....

How old is old enough for your child to have a cell phone? I don't know the answer to this but I will tell you that my children have had them since they were about 8. My daughter who is only 10 now put her cell phone to great use tonight and I thank God she had one! It was one of those crazy evenings where my husband was at work late, my son at a boy scout meeting and I had to go to PTA. I left my daughter with the neighbors figuring my husband would be home before I was to get her. A small miss communication turned into a frantic call from my 10 year old saying that she came home to find the door locked and nobody home. I stayed on the phone with her as I darted out of the PTA meeting and drove well beyond the speed limit to get to her. She was standing at the front door in pitch darkness except for one small porch light. We hugged and cried and vowed to never let it happen again! The old fashioned way of preparedness is to hide a spare key. Well we do have one hidden, but in all that darkness she was too afraid to go get it - and I can't blame her. If she hadn't had her phone, I would hope that she would have run back to the neighbors and banged on their door. But the fact is - that she did have one and I could come to her aid. A cheap little pre-paid phone gave us both a little comfort in an othwise very scary night!