[FlashedBlaze]

I got my first BB at 12 lol =] . I am 16 right now but I use it alot for school. Revising essays and looking up information. If I get an E-Mail from school, I can check up on it. And I pay for my whole bill.

[Artemis68]

I agree with Jakrip. There is no set age for a kid to get a BB. Some may be mature enough at the age of 12 and some may be 35 and unable to handle it! LOL. It just differs from person to person.

I got my BB when I was 18. I've had smartphones since then though. Works great for college. Smartphones have been especially handy in high school (and in middle school I used a PDA!). I see nothing wrong with having one at a young age. I used (and use) mine to be productive and I pay the extra costs of having a BB.

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[18th letter]

I got my first cell phone when I was a freshman in college, and the only thing this phone could do was make phone calls. If I have kids they will get one in their late teen, although I suspect in the future we will see younger and younger kids who have cell phones. I wouldn't be suprised if 1st graders are required to have a cell in the future.

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[Wholesalestunna]

My cousin got a pearl at 10 years old.. yes 10.

[1Fish2FishRedFishBlueFish]

I waited until I was 18 to get my first BB. The phone was in MY name, and I was responsible for paying the bill. I was taught a cell phone is a luxury, not a necessity.

[o0stryxs0o]

I got my first blackberry when I was 20 Had a sidekick when I was 18. My sidekick was a like a childs blackberry in all honesty. I would let me kid get a sidekick type phone when they were 16. They would pay data for it even though I didn't but I should have had to. I would let them get a blackberry between 18 and 20 it's helped me stay organized in college a ton and it would definitely help them too I believe.

[JohnBrodish]

i wouldn't give my child a blackberry at all. i would let them get one themselves if they feel they need it. blackberry's are business phones. no child needs a business phone unless they got a hectic schedule or something. i would just give me them a simple phone that texts, calls, and has some media features.

[b_girl]

My 10 yr old takes better care of his electronics than I do so I would not have a problem getting him one as a teenager....if he cared at all about being on the phone that is!! I think it depends on the child really, you might have a 16 yr old who is responsible and likes to email and all that so it would be ok, but then you also have those kids that just aren't capable of taking care of ANYTHING let alone a phone that costs what a blackberry does. I gave my son an old slider so that he could call me when hes not at home if he needs to but if i had my old pearl i would have given him that for sure!!

[BoldinGA]

I would not get my child a phone of any kind until they need it, which will probably be 17 when they start driving, then I will get them a dumbphone. I am speaking hypothetically considering I have no children. As for a Blackberry, I would not pay for my child's Blackberry. They will have to get a job.

[WilyMo]

I would not get my child a phone of any kind until they need it, which will probably be 17 when they start driving, then I will get them a dumbphone. I am speaking hypothetically considering I have no children. As for a Blackberry, I would not pay for my child's Blackberry. They will have to get a job.

I totally agree, a cell phone when they NEED it; and I won't feel the need to pay the extra 30 a month for a BB.

[KLH001]

I've often ask myself this question, too. I have 4 kids, with the oldest being 13. I got her first phone when she was 7 years old. I did that because she got lost on the bus one afternoon. Her phone was a firefly so I programmed all the numbers. Since she is 13 now, I'm wondering if I should get her a blackberry. She used to use my old sidekick 3 but now how a nokia music express phone.

[DaPhoneking]

My 10 yr old takes better care of his electronics than I do so I would not have a problem getting him one as a teenager....if he cared at all about being on the phone that is!! I think it depends on the child really, you might have a 16 yr old who is responsible and likes to email and all that so it would be ok, but then you also have those kids that just aren't capable of taking care of ANYTHING let alone a phone that costs what a blackberry does. I gave my son an old slider so that he could call me when hes not at home if he needs to but if i had my old pearl i would have given him that for sure!!

Tell that to my son.

I'm going to say 15 months old, since every time I either am on or lay my BB down, my son makes a beeline for it. The other day he kept saying "cheese!" for like 20 minutes, which I thought meant he wanted me to take his picture. When I told my fiancee this she said he wanted the phone. There is NO WAY I'll let him grab a hold of my 8900!!!

Then again, there's always an 8100...

[dlgus]

I have a son, he's only three but I'm going to use my niece, who's 14, as an example. She was about 12 when she first started on prepaid because she would be at school and my sister would be at work. My sister wanted to make sure she was okay. Prepaid didn't work out since she would waste all her minutes quickly. We got tired of putting money on the phone so my sister added her to her Verizon account. My niece ended up with a very expensive dumbphone($300). Ran up the minutes and text. Then lost like three of those. No more phone for her for a few weeks. All of sudden, she wants a SideKick so they get her a used Kick LX from '07 or something. Guess what, she calls uncle(me) and asks me to hook it up for her since I was with TMO. I spoke to her about it and I granted her wish. She had it for abour half a year, stepped on it and broke the screen so the phone was crap. Guess what she has now, a brand new Sidekick LX 2009 with 3G because I got it for her a few days ago. I even got her a netbook last Christmas. Talking about being a spoil kid huh. I have another niece coming into this world in a week or so. Is she going to want a Sidekick LX 2025 with 10G? LMAO Note: She's a good kid. Does good in school so she deserves it. I told her "when you grow a bit older, you're gonna have to come to other side to the Blackberry world". She said "yeah, yeah". She loves that new Kick. So a good age for a Blackberry is when they show responsibility, whether they're 20 or in their early 30s. I got my first Berry a few months ago and I'm in my early 30s.

She may be a good kid, but hardly responsible. OTOH, why should she be, with an entire family to support her in being irresponsible?

[dlgus]

ROTFLMAO--and exactly WHO (or is that whom)would 'require' a first grader to have a cell phone? I am so, so, SO glad that my kid is grown.

[Nuck3Lz]

When they're old enough to have a job and pay for their own Blackberry, then they can have one haha.

[Vyxnn]

I would not get my child a phone of any kind until they need it, which will probably be 17 when they start driving, then I will get them a dumbphone. I am speaking hypothetically considering I have no children. As for a Blackberry, I would not pay for my child's Blackberry. They will have to get a job.

Your child will need a phone A LOT earlier than 17.

I got mine first phone my 14th birthday, when I was a freshman in high school. It was pretty much necessary. So many things come up when you're in HS, practices rescheduled/canceled, buses running late, forget your homework at home (yes it happens), need a ride, finals rescheduled, last minute plans to go to a friends. I mean sure yeah they can borrow their friends, but you'd be surprised how many *** holes wont lend their phone because they can't stop texting long enough.

Plus there's the safety factor. When I was 16 I went bowling with my bf at the time and while we were in the car waiting for the rest of our friends to show up, this man started bludgeoning the crap out of this lady. I immediately called the cops. They were able to arrest the guy and take the lady to the hospital. When I was around 15, I went on a date and as he was driving me home it got so foggy we couldn't see the road ahead, so we pulled over and called my dad and had him meet us and pick me up.

Trust me. In this day in age, cell phones provide so much safety and comfort.

I'm not saying got out and buy the a BB Storm and let em have at it. But once they hit ~12 get them a simple phone.

[Vyxnn]

I have a son, he's only three but I'm going to use my niece, who's 14, as an example. She was about 12 when she first started on prepaid because she would be at school and my sister would be at work. My sister wanted to make sure she was okay. Prepaid didn't work out since she would waste all her minutes quickly. We got tired of putting money on the phone so my sister added her to her Verizon account. My niece ended up with a very expensive dumbphone($300). Ran up the minutes and text. Then lost like three of those. No more phone for her for a few weeks. All of sudden, she wants a SideKick so they get her a used Kick LX from '07 or something. Guess what, she calls uncle(me) and asks me to hook it up for her since I was with TMO. I spoke to her about it and I granted her wish. She had it for abour half a year, stepped on it and broke the screen so the phone was crap. Guess what she has now, a brand new Sidekick LX 2009 with 3G because I got it for her a few days ago. I even got her a netbook last Christmas. Talking about being a spoil kid huh. I have another niece coming into this world in a week or so. Is she going to want a Sidekick LX 2025 with 10G? LMAO Note: She's a good kid. Does good in school so she deserves it. I told her "when you grow a bit older, you're gonna have to come to other side to the Blackberry world". She said "yeah, yeah". She loves that new Kick. So a good age for a Blackberry is when they show responsibility, whether they're 20 or in their early 30s. I got my first Berry a few months ago and I'm in my early 30s.

I don't care what kind of grades she makes. She's irresponsible. She stepped on her phone??? I'm 17 and I've paid for every phone I've gotten, except for my first which was a gift. I've NEVER broken a phone like that. And if I did. My parents would NEVER replace it. Let her do with out for lets say a few months and see how she feels. And make her pay for her own electronics.

Nothing gives a teen a greater sense of pride and responsibility than paying for their own things. I mean yeah parents still need to help pay for their child's necessities, but as they get older you need to teach them responsibility for money.

Oh an P.S. it's "She does WELL in school," not "She does good."

If she does that "good" she'd be able to text you and tell you that, but then again, she's probably dancing on top her phone at the minute.

[sig220]

Man has lived for 50000 yrs without a cell phone, and all of a sudden they need them at 13? I DONT THINK SO!! My kid can get one after he gets out of High School if he pays for it himself. No way in **** our my kids going to be able to get away with the crap that people can do with these phones nowadays! And if they are living at home always texting, I am gonna put in on an anvil and its going to have an immediate appointment with a hammer!

[cadsystems]

By the time my daughter is old enough to type, data/sms/mms will be free or under a family plan. Or at least thats my hopes. Kind of like mifi but for blackberry.

[simplycomplex]

.....Ive thought about getting my son one when he's a senior in high school..especially since he'll be doing stuff to prepare for start college...

[devGOD]

a bb is overkill for anyone under 18yo without a job or a real use for it. you can get email and text on pretty much any standard phone. what kid needs a secure business phone? thats like buying a 15yo kid a ferrari as his/her first car... WHY?

a lot of people are missing the point of the BB... txt, mms, email, can be done on any new phone out right now. the BB is a secure business phone, its overkill for a kid. you're paying extra for a BB data plan for a kid to txt,mms,email when he/she can do that on a standard plan. what it comes down to is just wanting to show off and pretend you're cooler than everyone... when the kid down the block probably has an iphone which is also over kill for a kill but perfect for parents who like to give there kids what ever they want.

[NoahFecks]

Man has lived for 50000 yrs without a cell phone, and all of a sudden they need them at 13? I DONT THINK SO!! My kid can get one after he gets out of High School if he pays for it himself. No way in **** our my kids going to be able to get away with the crap that people can do with these phones nowadays! And if they are living at home always texting, I am gonna put in on an anvil and its going to have an immediate appointment with a hammer!

Exactly! Kids don't need cell phones, period. It's funny seeing all these parents trying to make excuses for why their child would need one at some certain age, but the fact is that our generation and every generation before us survived growing up without cell phones. No matter how you spin it or what excuses you can come up with, a cell phone is simply a convenience, no way a necessity, and definitely not something a child or teenager needs to have.

****, there are plenty of grown adults out there that don't deserve to have a cell phone (i.e. - all the idiots that talk on the phone while driving), why should kids who are even less responsible have one?

[Clavs1]

I'm a horrible gift giver so I'd probably show up at a baby shower with a BB and be like "this **** is awesome! teach your kid when he comes out so maybe when he's 18 he can work for BB and come up with new better ideas!" gotta think in our future if we want this company to last forever, eh? heheheh

[dlgus]

Exactly! Kids don't need cell phones, period. It's funny seeing all these parents trying to make excuses for why their child would need one at some certain age, but the fact is that our generation and every generation before us survived growing up without cell phones. No matter how you spin it or what excuses you can come up with, a cell phone is simply a convenience, no way a necessity, and definitely not something a child or teenager needs to have.

****, there are plenty of grown adults out there that don't deserve to have a cell phone (i.e. - all the idiots that talk on the phone while driving), why should kids who are even less responsible have one?

Ok, but in truth, when I was growing up, there were payphones EVERYWHERE--I can't remember the last time I saw one on the street.

That said, I didn't get my kid a phone till he was 16, but only because he had a car and was out and about and I needed to be able to reach him and vice versa. And even at that it was a virgin mobile pay as you go phone.

He's 25 now, and can afford his own phone--he doesn't see the POINT of 'smart phones'

[coolguy78240]

my co-workers kids have cell phones. the 13 yearold has a flip phone with calling and text but helps pay the bill with her babysitting money, the 8 year old twins have that fire fly thing only lets them call 911 and mom and dad. me personally i would start at about 10-12 kids are a lot more technilogically advanced than we were when we where 12 thats when i got my first 8bit nintendo.,