Choosing a Child's First Smartphone [telecom]

Back in 1956 teens were tying up the family phone so much that LIFE magazine ran an article about it. It included a pictorial (begins on pg 102) of one family where the daughter was always on the phone:

In 1960, Bell advertised extension phones (pg 15) for a teen's room:

This ad (pg 96) from 1961 recommends, "A Princess Phone of her own means privacy for a teen-ager, peace and quiet for parents..."

In the 1970s, Bell pushed second lines for teenagers, and even had a package deal. I remember my parents being shocked by that--they came from the days where just having a telephone line was a luxury, let alone having two lines.

However, Bell was targeting high school age kids. Today's carriers are targeting elementary school age kids. Plus, these phones are not cheap bare bones phones for use in emergencies, but rather sophisticated and _expensive_ high-end units. Even with packages, buying a high-end phone plus an accompanying voice and data plan isn't cheap for several kids.