CIO Q&A: When is it appropriate to give a child a cell phone?

Daily, I see first hand the impact, both good and bad, that cell phones have with our students. Typically, I start seeing cell phones in kids hands around 3rd grade, sometimes in even lower grades. We allow students to have devices with them at school but each school and teacher has control and direction to set their own policy on how these devices may or may not be used in the classroom or halls pursuant to our District's Acceptable Use Policy. Some students have a basic flip phone, others have a smartphone. Some schools utilize smartphones, supplemented with district issued devices, especially with older students, as part of technology integration into their lessons. Whether students are allowed to use their devices only for emergency communications with their parents, for research while at school, as a "clicker" or "response" device to provide instant feedback to the teacher, or for other STEM or Technology projects in class, the question is always asked, when is it appropriate for my child to have a cell phone? Ultimately, I believe it is up to the parent on when their child should have a cell phone but, the determination should not be based on the age of the child but the child's actually maturity level. In today's Digital Age, students are accessing technology devices as soon as they start developing the fine motor skills to do so. To help ensure students develop the necessary skills and knowledge to utilize resources in the digital age appropriately and effectively, we infuse digital citizenship lessons into the students daily work, currently at targeted grade levels. However, we are working to push these lessons down to even younger audiences to help teach and educate students on the proper use of technology in the digital age. In addition, students are in a controlled environment while at school with additional security and filtering protocols that may not be present while at home or off the school's network. Many agree that there's no magic age to give a kid a smartphone. Common Sense Media , a nonprofit focused on kids and technology, says rather than considering the age of a child, focus on maturity. Some questions to consider are: Are they responsible with their belongings?. Will they follow rules around phone use?. Would having easy access to friends benefit them for social reasons?. And do kids need to be in touch for safety reasons? If so, will an old-fashioned flip phone do the trick?.