'Is she mad'? - Parents react to Charlotte Church's refusal to let her teenage children have mobile phones

Parents have been sharing the age they think youngsters should have mobile phones.

As with many issues in the world of parenting, the age that mums and dads think is the right one for kids to have their own phone is a divisive one.

The discussion was sparked by singer Charlotte Church's refusal to let her 14-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son have one.

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In an interview on Kate Garraway's Life Stories, she said: "I'm quite stuck in the mud about my kids having a phone. They're like 'come on we're teenagers now, everybody's got a phone'. That's something I'm pretty immovable on."

After the presenter suggested her actions were 'quite controlling', she replied: "It's not controlling. My viewpoint, and it's not just my viewpoint, it's where all the science is leading to, tech addition, addiction to your smart phone even from a physical point.

"They've got a phone at their dad's, so they do have access to that world, but young people need to have some headspace to be bored some of the time as well."

We asked parents on our Manchester Family Facebook page about the issue and were inundated with comments.

Many said they gave their child a phone in Year 6 or 7 when they started walking to school alone, including Nicola Croft, who said: "My children had them in year 6 when they started walking home from school on their own in case anything happened they could ring me or if in danger the police."

And Louise Watson, who said: "When my kids started high school they had a phone. They suddenly have this new found independence and in this day and age it is important they can be contactable and be able to contact.

"I grew up in the 80/90s and my parents