Every family is different, but the questions to ask are the same.

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 out of a backpack, put through the rinse cycle in the washing machine (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 tips.