June 30, 2026 • 7 mins
We asked... you answered! Are kids growing up too fast? What age do you give children a cell phone?
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So back in my day, sounding like a very old person,
childhood was awesome. But parents nowadays feel their kids are
growing up too fast.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
And some are saying twice as fast. With the internet,
I believe absolutely. It may even be faster than that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I mean, the exposure to what kids are seeing nowadays
is insane.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
I can't even imagine.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah. Back in the day, I had to learn all
that crazy stuff, especially about like birds and the bees
on the bus. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
That's where I got all my info.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
You know where my Amazon shopping was? Where? The Sears catalog.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Oh, man, especially the toy one that would come out
before Christmas.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
We would have that thing dog-eared, flagged, circled, initialed for
each kid.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
So about two-thirds of parents say a single year with
their child goes by as fast as two years, according
to a new survey. So a lot of this is
the way parents feel. about their kids aging very quickly.
It finds nearly all parents, like 91% of them agree
that time seems to move faster as their kids get older.
(01:15):
So overall, I mean, that is obvious. I mean, we
feel like we're getting older as time goes on. And
as someone who has had two kids that are grown
out of the house, that is absolutely true. As years
seem to fly by, almost 80% of moms and dads
feel that they only have a limited time left to
travel with their kids. So as I dig deeper into
(01:38):
this story, it's more about how the parents feel about
their kids growing up. But I think there's a whole
nother story with what you and I touched on is
these kids are growing up too fast just with exposure.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
I mean, like I said, you have to actually leave
the house and be around other kids that would tell
you things. Instead of just whatever's in their little hands.
I have friends that have six and seven-year-old kids with
cell phones, not just iPads, but like actual cell phones.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Like, who's calling you at six years old? I know.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
That's the big conversation with parents is when does your
kid get a cell phone? What do you think the
magic number is? 888-599-1079. Or hit us up on the Talkback.
If you're streaming iHeartRadio, it's the red microphone. And as
we're in summer, having a good time, looking back, 8
(02:33):
in 10 parents wish they'd taken more vacation with their
kids when they were younger. So there's some wise advice
for parents. If you have younger kids and you're thinking...
Do we take that cool vacation or do we save
a few bucks?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
These parents, according to them, take the vacation. That's right.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
I'm telling you, especially after the big bummer summer my
family's having, you take the vacation now, not later.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Do it while you're healthy. Do it while everyone's together now.
There you go.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Okay, David, we are getting lots of responses about.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
What age to Do kids get cell phones now?
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Parents feel their kids are growing up twice as fast.
And Meredith and I were saying a lot of that
has to be because of cell phones and their faces
in screens as opposed to doing stuff with parents.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Kelly says all three of her boys, 15. Whoa.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Mandy says her boys won't get them till 16. Whitney
says sixth grade and fifth grade as Christmas presents, but
they both are in multiple sports where you need to
be able to communicate pickups and drop offs.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
Yeah. I have a teacher friend, Casey, who says point
of view as a teacher. Kids can have cell phones before.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
High school, but don't let them have full Internet access. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
The Internet is the scary part.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
And Barbara says the age is getting younger and younger
because of play dates and safety reasons.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
They all also agree.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Most kids have an iPad or a tablet where you
can message earlier in life, but then that cell phone
is about between 12 and 16.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Gotcha.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Well, let's go to the phones here. More response. We
appreciate it this morning.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Hey. Hey, Paul. How's it going, buddy?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
What's up, Paul? How you doing, man?
Speaker 4 (04:20):
I used to be a school bus driver two years
ago for Hillsborough County, and yes, those second graders, first
graders have cell phones in case something happens. Mom and
your daddy need to get a hold of them.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
They better be those basic cell phones that do one
or two things.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Like a jitterbug?
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Those kids cannot have access to what I'm seeing.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
They were iPhones.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
iPhones. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Unless that child is picking up milk on the way
home from school, what do they need a cell phone for?
Speaker 1 (04:50):
And how did we survive it?
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Exactly man telephone line on the string bell on the
mom in the backyard.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
That's right on your name oh man well thank you
so much.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Thank you paul you guys have an awesome day.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
See ya well thank you for the feedback this is
fascinating you want to jump in on our talkback line
if you're streaming iheart real easy to do hit the
red mic oh and while you're there check out the
radio station contest it's insane we see stuff we didn't
even know was happening That's right.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
But just keep in mind, we still have that 250K
giveaway going on.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
And your next keyword is at eight o'clock. So you
could win. Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Going back real quick to the conversation about when is
too early for kids to get that cell phone.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
I mean, I have no idea. My kids are grown
out of the house and I've heard mixed opinions on
when kids should get the cell phone.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I'm pretty shocked by the poll I took with my girlfriends,
how late they're giving their kids cell phones.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
I'm happy for it. I just assumed it would be younger.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
The average age is about 14, 15, right in that area.
Unless your kids have a lot of sports going on,
and then they feel like they need to be able
to get a hold of them about pickups and drop-offs.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
That's tough with peer pressure. I'll tell you that. But
I'll tell you what's worse is online bullying.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Hmm.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
You know, kids aren't prepared for that at an early age.
So it's a tough, tough question. And we have Judy
on the line here. Talk back in because she was
streaming us on iHeartRadio. Please talk back.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Hey, David, Meredith, this is Judy from Northport. I am
a school bus driver, and you would actually be surprised
at what those kids use those iPhones for, share what's.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
On there, and in the back of the bus, they
do nothing but.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
Pass porno on those phones.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Seen it many a times, written many of them up.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Cell phones is not a good thing. I would recommend
high school and high school only.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
I do know there are certain restrictions you can put
on cell phones. You can even keep from downloading apps.
So man, it's a tough question.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
When my niece was young, she didn't have her own
email address for the app store. So she couldn't She
had to have her parents' password for the app store.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
So that's how they stopped her from getting whatever social.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
I got to say, when we do this experiment with
these questions, bus drivers, when it comes to kids, and
depending on the age, they're a great source of info.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
They are.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I mean, thank you so much, guys.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
David and Meredith.
So back in my day, sounding like a very old person,
childhood was awesome. But parents nowadays feel their kids are
growing up too fast.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
And some are saying twice as fast. With the internet,
I believe absolutely. It may even be faster than that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I mean, the exposure to what kids are seeing nowadays
is insane.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
I can't even imagine.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah. Back in the day, I had to learn all
that crazy stuff, especially about like birds and the bees
on the bus. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
That's where I got all my info.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
You know where my Amazon shopping was? Where? The Sears catalog.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Oh, man, especially the toy one that would come out
before Christmas.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
We would have that thing dog-eared, flagged, circled, initialed for
each kid.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
So about two-thirds of parents say a single year with
their child goes by as fast as two years, according
to a new survey. So a lot of this is
the way parents feel. about their kids aging very quickly.
It finds nearly all parents, like 91% of them agree
that time seems to move faster as their kids get older.
(01:15):
So overall, I mean, that is obvious. I mean, we
feel like we're getting older as time goes on. And
as someone who has had two kids that are grown
out of the house, that is absolutely true. As years
seem to fly by, almost 80% of moms and dads
feel that they only have a limited time left to
travel with their kids. So as I dig deeper into
(01:38):
this story, it's more about how the parents feel about
their kids growing up. But I think there's a whole
nother story with what you and I touched on is
these kids are growing up too fast just with exposure.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
I mean, like I said, you have to actually leave
the house and be around other kids that would tell
you things. Instead of just whatever's in their little hands.
I have friends that have six and seven-year-old kids with
cell phones, not just iPads, but like actual cell phones.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Like, who's calling you at six years old? I know.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
That's the big conversation with parents is when does your
kid get a cell phone? What do you think the
magic number is? 888-599-1079. Or hit us up on the Talkback.
If you're streaming iHeartRadio, it's the red microphone. And as
we're in summer, having a good time, looking back, 8
(02:33):
in 10 parents wish they'd taken more vacation with their
kids when they were younger. So there's some wise advice
for parents. If you have younger kids and you're thinking...
Do we take that cool vacation or do we save
a few bucks?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
These parents, according to them, take the vacation. That's right.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
I'm telling you, especially after the big bummer summer my
family's having, you take the vacation now, not later.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Do it while you're healthy. Do it while everyone's together now.
There you go.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Okay, David, we are getting lots of responses about.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
What age to Do kids get cell phones now?
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Parents feel their kids are growing up twice as fast.
And Meredith and I were saying a lot of that
has to be because of cell phones and their faces
in screens as opposed to doing stuff with parents.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Kelly says all three of her boys, 15. Whoa.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Mandy says her boys won't get them till 16. Whitney
says sixth grade and fifth grade as Christmas presents, but
they both are in multiple sports where you need to
be able to communicate pickups and drop offs.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
Yeah. I have a teacher friend, Casey, who says point
of view as a teacher. Kids can have cell phones before.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
High school, but don't let them have full Internet access. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
The Internet is the scary part.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
And Barbara says the age is getting younger and younger
because of play dates and safety reasons.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
They all also agree.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Most kids have an iPad or a tablet where you
can message earlier in life, but then that cell phone
is about between 12 and 16.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Gotcha.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Well, let's go to the phones here. More response. We
appreciate it this morning.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Hey. Hey, Paul. How's it going, buddy?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
What's up, Paul? How you doing, man?
Speaker 4 (04:20):
I used to be a school bus driver two years
ago for Hillsborough County, and yes, those second graders, first
graders have cell phones in case something happens. Mom and
your daddy need to get a hold of them.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
They better be those basic cell phones that do one
or two things.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Like a jitterbug?
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Those kids cannot have access to what I'm seeing.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
They were iPhones.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
iPhones. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Unless that child is picking up milk on the way
home from school, what do they need a cell phone for?
Speaker 1 (04:50):
And how did we survive it?
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Exactly man telephone line on the string bell on the
mom in the backyard.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
That's right on your name oh man well thank you
so much.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Thank you paul you guys have an awesome day.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
See ya well thank you for the feedback this is
fascinating you want to jump in on our talkback line
if you're streaming iheart real easy to do hit the
red mic oh and while you're there check out the
radio station contest it's insane we see stuff we didn't
even know was happening That's right.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
But just keep in mind, we still have that 250K
giveaway going on.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
And your next keyword is at eight o'clock. So you
could win. Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Going back real quick to the conversation about when is
too early for kids to get that cell phone.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
I mean, I have no idea. My kids are grown
out of the house and I've heard mixed opinions on
when kids should get the cell phone.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I'm pretty shocked by the poll I took with my girlfriends,
how late they're giving their kids cell phones.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
I'm happy for it. I just assumed it would be younger.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
The average age is about 14, 15, right in that area.
Unless your kids have a lot of sports going on,
and then they feel like they need to be able
to get a hold of them about pickups and drop-offs.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
That's tough with peer pressure. I'll tell you that. But
I'll tell you what's worse is online bullying.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Hmm.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
You know, kids aren't prepared for that at an early age.
So it's a tough, tough question. And we have Judy
on the line here. Talk back in because she was
streaming us on iHeartRadio. Please talk back.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Hey, David, Meredith, this is Judy from Northport. I am
a school bus driver, and you would actually be surprised
at what those kids use those iPhones for, share what's.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
On there, and in the back of the bus, they
do nothing but.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
Pass porno on those phones.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Seen it many a times, written many of them up.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Cell phones is not a good thing. I would recommend
high school and high school only.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
I do know there are certain restrictions you can put
on cell phones. You can even keep from downloading apps.
So man, it's a tough question.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
When my niece was young, she didn't have her own
email address for the app store. So she couldn't She
had to have her parents' password for the app store.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
So that's how they stopped her from getting whatever social.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
I got to say, when we do this experiment with
these questions, bus drivers, when it comes to kids, and
depending on the age, they're a great source of info.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
They are.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I mean, thank you so much, guys.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
David and Meredith.
David & Meredith in the Morning News
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