Once your kids are old enough to get around by themselves -- taking the bus, walking home from school, going to friends' houses -- having a cell phone makes sense. Younger kids may clamor for one, but these are expensive devices, not toys, and they require some maturity and a sense of responsibility to ensure they don't get dropped from a backpack, put through the rinse cycle (we know, we've been there) or become the instrument of inappropriate text messages or images. Before you get your kids a phone, check out our cell phone contract. 

Cell phones have become a "must-have" for kids, and sometimes kids are using them in ways that are not always obvious to parents. If you answer "yes" to most of the following questions, it may be time to get a cell phone for your children.

• Are your kids pretty independent?
• Do your children need to be in touch for safety reasons?
• Would having easy access to friends benefit them for social reasons?
• Do you think they'll use a cell phone responsibly - for example, not texting during class or disturbing others with their phone conversations?
• Can they adhere to limits you set for minutes talked and apps downloaded?
• Will they use the text, photo and video functions responsibly and not as a way to embarrass or harass others?

• Ask yourself: Do they really need a phone? If you decide that they do, ask yourself what kind of phone they need. For very young children, there are phones that you can program with just a few important phone numbers. For older elementary school kids, you might want to choose a phone that allows for calls but not texting or instant messaging (IM).
• Make sure young kids understand the rules. If your kids have phones, be sure to program everyone's numbers into the phone so that the name of the person calling is displayed. Tell your kids not to answer calls from numbers they don't know. Have rules regarding how long they can be on the phone, what phones are used for, and when the phone should be off. You may want to check the time or length of calls to make sure they are within your established boundaries.

• Make sure you have the right plan for calls or texts. Phone plans range in minutes and texts allowed. If you allow your preteens to text, get a plan with unlimited texting or you'll face huge bills.
• Explain that cell phones are expensive and that "extras" cost money. You may be billed for ring tones, sports updates or Web access.
• Establish guidelines for use with your kids. No phone in class, phone turned off at night and no phone at the dinner table are a few common ones.
• Make sure your kids are using phones appropriately. That means no rude or sexy texts, no embarrassing photos or videos. Monitoring messages sent and received is not a terrible idea (although your children will probably think so).
• Talk about cyberbullying. Tell your kids to come to you if anything like that happens.
• Tell your children that sexual talk of any kind is not allowed. Kids often jokingly use sexual language and sexually aggressive speech. Yet, on a cell phone, a message can be instantly forwarded out of context to anyone, and kids can get into serious trouble.
• Establish real consequences for violations of your rules. Like taking away the phone for a week!

• No texting or talking while driving. Ever. Distracted driving is the #1 killer of teens. It's also illegal in a growing number of states.
• Make sure they pick up your call. Many teens treat incoming calls from Mom and Dad as a nuisance. As long as you are paying the bills, make a rule: They have to answer when you call - unless they're behind the wheel.
• Have them review each month's bill. Let them see precisely how many minutes they are spending on the phone or texting.
• Make sure you anticipate increased phone use. By the time your children get to high school, the phone is ringing all the time. Make sure their phone plan allows for this extra time, and establish limits so they get a break from being "always on."
• Draw boundaries. No phone at the dinner table, in the car, in a restaurant. Remind your teens that they have only a couple of years left at home to have annoying conversations with you face to face!