What to know before buying your kid a cell phone

By Jacque Wilson
CNN

(CNN) -- He was gone. Kristi and Claudio Lai turned around for just one minute and their son had disappeared at Sea World.

Cell phones in schools can lead to classroom distractions, text-message cheating and inappropriate photographs.

After frantically searching the park, they found him 15 minutes later on a jungle gym. That was when the Simi Valley, California, couple knew they wanted to get Giancarlo a GPS-equipped cell phone very soon.

Their son is 3 years old.

Cell phones are rare in preschool, but as parents fill their child's backpack this month with pens, pencils and other supplies, some may be wondering whether a wireless phone is a necessary back-to-school accessory.

More and more children are showing up at school each August with cell phones, and the Center on Media and Child Health Web site states that 54 percent of 8- to 12-year-olds will have a cell phone in the next three years.

For many parents, a cell phone's convenience and the peace of mind it offers -- being able to reach your child at any time, anywhere -- is hard to argue against. But should every kid have a cell phone? And how young is too young?

Here are some issues parents should consider before buying their child a cell phone for the upcoming year.

Cost

When Kathy Carter's 10-year-old son Jordan first got his cell phone, he downloaded 3 million songs and games. At least that's what it looked like to the Teaneck, New Jersey, mother when she got the phone bill.