Photo:  Andres Rueda, Flickr

My kids have been asking when they can have cell phones. They are 6 and 9 years old, and wow, this topic is so off my radar, I can’t even begin to consider arming them with something so extravagant. I don’t think I had a cell phone until I was married — do they really need one any earlier?

Then there are credit cards. They haven’t asked about these yet, but there’s some chit-chat out there about when it’s appropriate for kids to pack some plastic. Take a look, consider all the angles and tell us what you think.