You can do family sharing on the iPhone and set a certain time it’ll shut down and turn on. You can also make it so he can contact certain people during the time. You can put a time limit on the apps he is using and make it so he needs your approval to download apps
My son 9 and has a phone
You could always get her a prepaid one for emergencies or what not
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Famisafe App. Worth every penny. And I highly suggest a Droid device over apple for a first phone.
I use life 360 I can track my sin there is also a sos if he hits that me and my mom are notified and we are calling 911. He has iPhone so I can also block apps and websites and lock him out of phone during school and bed so he can only call text me not play on web or YouTube
Get him a phone & put family link on it. We used life 360 for awhile. It told me my son was in lake Michigan. Then he couldn’t respond to my desperate texts & calls because he was driving. I’ll never use it again. With family link you can block apps, limit phone time etc.
All of our children (3) have had phones around the age of 12.
My oldest(now 28) got his at 12, then my daughter(now 25) got hers early cause well, she was spoiled, so, 2 years later she got one at 10, and then the youngest just got one for his 8th bday as we were tired of sharing ours so he could play the few games he enjoyed at the time. And he has been using iPad, or chrome books since going into pre-k, so he is very familiar with technology, for a child…
We have the family share plan on our lines so we can easily see where he is if he is out without either of us.
I do check his msgs, and call logs to see who he chats with, but he uses it mostly for communication with his older siblings, his bio-dad who lives in another state, and of me. And he plays game, fortnite, roblox, mobile call of duty, and a few others …
Family link is what we use to control phones and tablets at our house. Our 10 yo has a phone with service. Life 360 is a great tracking app. We use that also.
There is a watch that they make for kids, the can make calls on and only to certain people…
Life 360 gives you peace of mind!
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It depends on your son’s maturity. There needs to be rules and consequences . You need to follow through with the consequences. Also “yes” there are apps to track him, monitor apps, parental controls. Good luck!
Mint Mobile. Cheap and reliable. 12 is old enough to be responsible as long as you set clear expectations and follow through.
My 8 year old got a pbone amd i downloaded an app called family link its free it lets you see their location and lets you put block on apps and it will let set up how long they are alpowed on the phone then it locks until either you inlock it or the next day. I have his phone set up to were i have to approve what he downloads from my phone
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Family link best app controls phone times apps and locations
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I use life 360 with my daughter
Gabb phone! Perfect for young teens
My daughter got one when she was 9 only because I didn’t want her dad using the excuse of not talking to them because he had to call my phone. She is now 11 I have the family link app on our cells. I can track her and see everything she does I shut the phone down at a certain time and it comes back on at a certain time. I can monitor how much phone use she does and I have to approve anything she downloads.
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Family link is the app you need
Google family, family link and add them as a monitored familymember… we have set up our sons tablet with it, it can be set to turn off at certain times or shut off WiFi, we can track its location and he can’t install apps without permission from either us saying yes to the msg that will pop up on our linked device or putting in a password. U can change the settings and turn these things on and off. It will also link things like YouTube premium, and any other shared google apps to all family members u can have upto 5 or 6 but they don’t all have to be monitored.
There are apps you can download so all his texts go to your phone so you can see what his friends say and what he says back
If you get him a phone be ready for no more interaction with the kid because his nose will always be in the phone.They are a curse. Maybe you will be able to check up on him but he will able to access a lot of things you don’t want him to
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my daughter is 13 an has had a phone since she was old enough to read an spell that way i know i have a way to contact her at all times! i trust her so i did not put anything on her like a tracking thing or anything on her phone cuz that’s invading her privacy but i do look at it once a week just to check n make sure she is not doing anything wrong, if u would have to put anything like that on ur kids phone then ur invading there space an privacy, sit down with them an explain to them the dos n donts an if u find something u don’t approve of then they will lose there phone privileges! i just think it’s wrong to do that! it be like having ur parents put it on ur phone then looking to see what they r doing or what they are talking bout ect ect! if there is enough trust between u n the child then there is no need for it!
I would say it really depends on if he’s responsible enough to have one or not, which will be your call. If you do start out with a simple flip phone that doesn’t support the internet. 
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Google Family link! It’s amazing.
My kids have gabb phones and my 6 year old has the gabb watch. 11 year old and 8 year old have the gabb phone which looks like a smart phone with no apps. They can talk and text and you can decide if you want picture texts or not on the plan. It has a GPS tracker. And not that expensive. For all 3 together I pay $80 a month.
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iPhone has tons of parental features and location sharing and FaceTime are great for these things. Tons ways to tweak and limit your kids usage of apps and makes you feel safe you aren’t just giving them free reign of the internet. You can control as much or as little as you want to. It’s great.
My son is 10 and has a phone. We live in a very small town so he’s out on his bike with his friends all the time. I got him an iPhone so that I can use find my iPhone to track him at all times! He is only allowed his phone when he’s going out and when he has his limited “electronic time”, the rest of the time it stays with me.
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My 10yr old has has 1
Life 360 is an app download it on his phone and yours and then you will know exactly where he is at at all times
Safe lagoon is the app I use for my teens
I bought the Moochies watch for my daughter who’s 7yo. I control everything on her watch and it doesn’t have internet access, so she’s not able to get on anything she’s not supposed to. It has a GPS tracker, texting, video chat, and normal calling capabilities. I opted for the watch over the phone because I’m able to control it more as my daughter is still young. Nobody can call her unless they’re added as a contact, and only I can add or delete contacts from my phone. Same goes for her calling others, they have to be a contact. My daughter loves her watch, and it’s nice to have when myself or my parents aren’t with her so I know she’s safe.
It depends on the child
My kids been having a phone at ten
I got my 10 year old a phone and put Google’s family link app on it. It gives me total control of my son’s phone. I can set limits, bedtime limits, lock/unlock it whenever I want, track the phone etc. It does allow phone calls when locked but that’s it, it won’t allow any games, Internet etc. You can also block apps like social media
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And we have life 360
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Yes its a good idea. There are alot of parental operations for parents to use.
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My kids all had a phone at 8. They all love their phones but it was more for me because of that very reason. That’s when I started to leave them at sports practices, birthday parties, cousins houses, friends for play dates. So it put my mind at ease and it’s a good lever for behavior/geades/chores etc.
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Depends on the child honestly. My stepson is 13 and has had a phone for a few years. He has an iPhone and his location is on so his location can be tracked at all times and is aware how to use SOS if needed. My youngest son doesn’t have a phone (6) but he has a tracking device. He’s special needs, I bought him the TRACKI device and it’s great. Purchased on Amazon. A lot of apps, phones and tracking devices these days for peace of mind with great parental control.
my grand daughter has a phone she got it last year, You can track it when she gets it, I think is is good for them to have, so she can checkin,
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Life 360 tracks where they are
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We got our 11 year old a phone when he started 6th grade and started walking to/from school. We got him a basic flip phone on our phone plan. It doesn’t do the cool stuff that a smart phone does but it does the job. It also didn’t cost much so if he looses it or breaks it, it’s not that big of a deal.
I’ve never used this as I only have a 2 year old, but I’ve heard good things about this one!
Life 360 and yes at this age y’all would benefit from a phone . Just teach him how to be safe with social media 
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I got mine a phone at 12. There are no pay phones anymore, they need a phone.
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Mine is 11 she has one but she also walks by herself to school and gets off one hour before were home so we have her a phone but I have parental control over it and it gets plugged in at night in our room. I feel safer and we have a GPS app on it so we can see where she is it’s honestly been the best for us 
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I dunno about iphone but i know that with Android you can link your childs phone to yours and control it with parental control (family link) and you can shut down all apps and internet also you can set how many hours per day and it will shut down after there tome is up ect…
You can also get a app called life360 where you can see there location at all times.
I think getting a phone at 12 is okay but in a controlled manner
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For safety reasons sure. That’s what age I get my kids phones because they like to stay overnight at friends and because in this crazy world I like to know that I have contact with them at all times
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Family link and it is also free
I use family link and it’s awesome. You can set bedtimes so his phone locks at a certain time( you have the ability to unlock it or add bonus minutes at any time) it also has really good and accurate GPS so I can track him. You can add or remove permissions for apps and stuff. Also if you get him a phone and it’s a smart phone be sure to create accounts for him with his accurate birthday and it will adjust what he can and can’t do on the phone. Now nothing is perfect bur Google does a really good job keeping inappropriate things off my son’s phone. FYI my son is 11 and has had a phone since he was 9
We also use life360 for the entire family but that is just a location tracking app but it’s also very accurate and we love it
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We use family link. Has gps and parent controls. I can even lock my daughters phone so that she can only make calls to 911 and predesignated numbers of our choosing!
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Family link lets u have access to all their apps and location.
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My 12 year old has had one since she was 8, divorced parents so made me more comfortable. And we all have life 360, I really like that app.
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Ugg I’ve got my 9 year old two cuz I like him to have it when he is not with me, with my parents, his dad, ect, n he has lost both 
I want to get him the phone watch thing but feel like it’s too soon to pay for it for him when he literally had his last phone a couple weeks before losing it
Depends on how responsable he is.
I have an 18 and 15 year old and they have a flip phone. They’re not responsible enough for a smart phone. They don’t go anywhere either unless it’s to their dad’s.
My 14 year old has had a phone for about 2 years. Hes really good with it. Hes never had it replaced, as hes really careful with it and has never broken it. We got it so he could be connected to his friends, and us when hes not home.
Family link. You can track his location and he won’t be able to turn it off without your PIN, he can’t download anything without your PIN. Super super safe. My six year old has it on all of his devices.
Verizon has the family app, you can see where he is and block certain content. I’m pretty sure you can also set a “bedtime” for when you don’t want him staying up all night on his phone. I personally make my kids turn in all devices at bed time so they actually sleep. It works well.
I liked life 360 until my sons learned how to disable it. They are 20 and 17. My oldest still lives at home but drives to Durham everyday for work. I told him it was for safety reasons but. Maybe I am being too overprotective.
My son is 8 and getting one this year. Not a smartphone just an old fashion track phone.
My daughter 10 have kid watch , u can call , text , u can track , put how they can call and who can call them, safe zone , it got sos button to call main person
mm guardian it lets u track text and location u can turn it on and off u can locked the phone from anywhere and the only person they can call during it being locked is you and 911
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My kids have phones and all is well, I’m able to contact them when I need to, track their location with Life360, Verizon has a service that lets you control what they can and can’t access for the most part, and I check their phones regularly to make sure they aren’t being sneaky or anything.
Life 360 app!!! My kids and us all have it. You can track every step plus if they drive you can see how fast they are driving.
Part of getting a phone for your kids is saying that you trust them with it and to set boundaries on what is acceptable and what isn’t acceptable.
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Depends on the phone you get him but yes there are app for both iPhone and android to child lock it and to track them
My 14 and 11 year old has had one for years. I love being able to get hold of them. You can limit things too
no don’t mine is 14 yrs old and his doing perfectly fine without a phone
If he’s doing things away from you then i think it’s good to have a way to contact him but at that age personally I would just get him a dummy phone and not a smart phone with any kind of social media available. Just so much data and research supporting that it is not good for kids to have that mess constantly available.
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This is the new way of keeping an eye on your kid with everyone having a very busy life he needs a phone
The Gmail account let’s you set it on there phone with parental control where you can control from your gmail account.
Family link will the the life of you! Best app! You can track their location, will need your approval for any app downloads, you can lock their phone from your own phone, you can see what apps they’re using and how long theure on them, you can limit their daily phone time, you can put a sleep schedule and so much more! All through your own phone. (And they can’t delete the app only you can.
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I wood you can all get a free government phone
I say you should do what you feel is right as a parent. Not everyone is going to agree with your choices all the time. If getting him a phone helps you feel more secure…I say do it.
Yes. Do it. He’s old enough. Plus it makes it easier and safer to pick them up, communicate with friends etc. Plus now you will have something to hold over his head lol. They will do anything for the phone! Good luck
We got our 12year old a phone. He lost it the first week. I have a niece who’s had a phone since she was 11 and is very responsible with it. I think this all depends on what you think your child can maturly handle. Every kid is different.
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My kids get phones at 9. Not everyone agrees but we have a busy life. They have practices and after school activities and need to have a way to contact me. When I was a kid my cell phone saved me because the school didn’t always let me call home when I needed to, but I could always send a text from my phone to alert my parents I needed them. Same for my kids. They can call or text me at any point during the day, if needed. Google allows you to control and monitor everything on their phones… We also use Family link. You can control everything on their phones all the way down to it turning off at a certain time. You can see their location etc. There are several programs you can essentially “clone” their phones and receive everything they send or receive. There really isn’t a way to hide anything on there if you know where to look. So I don’t worry too much.
He needs a phone. And get life 360
I think its fine and google family link is wonderful i can limit what time hes allowed on it how many hours hes on it and every app he uses i see when he downloads something i cab even limit how long hes on certain apps. I can always see where it is and i can get it to play a noise when he misplaces it
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12 year old keeps begging. But he keeps loosing his homework or forgetting it. So the answer is no. He also won’t have 1 till he is 16 driving and grades go way up from fs. No I don’t expect straight A’s but I do expect higher that a D. So far he screams to immature. There isn’t a place he can go without contact information. If he proves he can turn it around by his birthday I will look into something that has no internet. No more than 5 people he can call that I program in. At night phones get turned in at 830. No exceptions. Overkill yes but he has gotten in trouble way more than 2 times on the internet. More than that on leaving without permission. It’s just not safe for him to have unlimited access to everything
I was about 12 (15 years ago 
) when I got my first phone. My dad got me a prepaid phone with limits on it and had to show him I was responsible before getting a better phone.I got my first plan phone in 9th grade. I plan on doing the same with my kids. Maybe Just make sure to monitor and try and limit who he can contact.
I think Verizon has a plan for kids that limits how many contacts they can have among other security features. At 12 I feel they do need a phone but only for emergency and to call me to check in.
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We have the Verizon family app in my daughter’s phone tracks location shows you what apps she uses and can only call or message numbers that have been approved
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Gabb wireless is a phone that you could look into. It’s unlimited talk and text smart phone but doesn’t have the internet. Works perfect for my girl.
iPhone has shared location and I believe parental controls!
iPhone has shared location for sure and I believe parental controls!
Life360 is a good app shows you where that at to the tee with address an all
Yes they all have phones at that age u cannot let him be the only 1 without 1
Google family link has everything you need free of charge…
My son is 14 an still hasn’t gotten a phone until he can show me he can not only earn it but deserves it by showing me he’s responsible enough. Kids these days don’t care an do the dumbest stuff an it gets them in trouble in the long run.
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Won’t be long after getting him a phone and you will be asking what to do with what your kid keeps looking at on his phone.
My kids won’t have a phone until they start working.
Phones now you can search anything and it’s awful what kids are looking at.
I get that my kid may find things on other kids phone but it will not be from a phone I am providing.
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My 9 year old has a phone (for reasons I don’t have to explain to anyone), and we have our phones set to where our location is shared at all times between me, her, and her step dad!
We also have her phone set up to where it automatically goes into downtime at 9pm during the week, and 10pm during the weekends. Meaning in, after those times her phone is basically useless.
We also have parental blocks on several different apps on her phone, and I have screen mirroring with her two. So when we FT she can share her screen with me and I can see what she is doing.
I definitely recommend iPhone!
I use FamiSafe on my 13 year old’s phone. The parental controls come complete with being able to shut down any app and/or all of the phone’s devices with a simple option on parent’s phone; parent has option of limiting time on child’s phone; there’s real time location; geo-fencing capabilities; warns you if there’s inappropriate words and the conversation or pics being sent; you can set up the driving part so you know how fast they are driving (or their driver is driving- that can be a real eye opener!); etc.,. Plus it keeps a running tab of the week’s app’s totals, and amount of time spent daily and weekly,. etc.,.
I’ve had it on my daughter’s phone since July, and I highly recommend it!
I pay a yearly cost of $60.