PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — As students gear up to head back to the classroom for the new school year, more families are faced with a parenting decision: When is the right time to give their child a cellphone?
WATCH: WPTV reporter Brooke Chau listens to parents across Palm Beach County, examining how they chose while also asking what experts recommend
"I gave my child a phone in 5th grade, that was a promise in our house," Boca Raton mother Charman Postel said. "It was the worst mistake. I felt that when I got on the phone, it was a little too early."
As three parents sit down with WPTV in an open conversation about cellphones, social media and screen time, they share the advice they have for parents who are currently making these decisions in their households.
Postel is a mother of four and shares what she wishes she knew as her 19-year-old son was getting older.
"Just because tech is ready doesn't mean that our children are ready," Postel said. "I wish I had taken that advice."
Another mother says she agrees that 5th grade could be too early, which is why she has different rules and expectations for her three daughters.
"I didn't give my kids phones until they went to high school and I was really in the minority," Lani Goodrich said. "My youngest daughter is 12, I know there are group chats and things she's not a part of because of it."
Alternatively, a father in Jupiter talks about raising his now adult children and the need for a cellphone to a certain extent.
"Phones are necessities, especially if you have children in athletics," Geoffery Prichard said. "We monitored what was on the phones, but we started one of them at 6 years old in case of weather emergencies during sports."
Prichard includes the limited access the phone had, but also adds that the safety element was important for his family.
As students return to the classroom, parents return to their routines, but the phone conversation isn't just about technology.
Erinn Beck is a licensed Mental Health Counselor and says children ages 14-15 are more likely to be ready to take on the responsibility of having a cellphone, but wants parents to remember no child is the same.
"Delay, delay, delay as long as possible," Beck said. "If you can wait, kind of around that high school age, that would be a more appropriate time."
Beck adds that giving a child a phone doesn't mean giving them access to everything.
For these parents, the decision for cellphones and screen time is about setting boundaries, preparing their children for what's next.