NEW ALBANY AND TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - Like some of her friends at school, 10-year-old Maggie Moore wanted a phone.
She asked her parents about it, who decided if she could save and pay for one out of her allowance, Maggie could get a phone that allows her to talk or text only.
Now that Maggie has one, she's eyeing a smartphone down the road.
Maggie Moore said, "I want one of those right now but I don't want to pay for it. That's probably not going to happen until I get a job."
And that's just fine with her parents who say Maggie is responsible, but not old enough to have the unlimited access that comes with her own smartphone.
Maggie's dad, Lance Moore, said, "She knows her limits on this. We knew that she can't go too far on this phone. With the smartphone, that opens a whole new window."
Maggie's brother, 8-year-old Jake, doesn't have a phone at all.
That doesn't mean he's not already thinking about his own phone.
Jake Moore said, "When my friends get one, I can call them. I want one because I want to text too."
In the meantime, Jake uses his iPad to play games off the internet.
He only does this with a parent close by.
The Family Resource Center in Tupelo is one group that works with parents and families on a wide-range of subjects, including internet safety.
Experts here can't recommend the right or wrong time a child should have their own phone.
Marie Steele with The Family Resource Center said, "It would depend on the maturity and communication between the family and the child. It depends on if you have an open relationship with your child where they speak and talk to you, willingly let you look through their phone. They still need monitored either way."
Center officials sometimes counsel families who say they want their young children to have a phone.
Sheila Davis with The Family Resource Center said, "Sometimes families are separated or divorced. They want to have that connection to their child without having to go through that other parent. But teaching responsibility to a child at that age is big. We just have to put some boundaries on it."
Meantime at the Moore house, boundaries on the phone and computer are enforced.
The children's mom, Alison, says it works for both the parents and the children in this household.
Alison Moore said, "What I like about it is that we don't have a home phone anymore. A lot of times when I need to get in touch with my husband, he doesn't always answer his phone if he's not in the room with it or it's on silent. That gives me another line I can call and hopefully get somebody to answer. That's what I like about having an extra phone in the house."
In the meantime, Jake will keep wishing for a phone until he's older.
Maggie will use the one she bought with her own money.
Maggie Moore said, "I'm going to hold out until I get a job!"
By then, her parents say, she'll likely be ready for a smartphone of her own.
