Standing in the kitchen of her South Portland home, eight-year old Piper Morse picks up a phone to call a friend.

"Hi Carly. Whatcha doin?" Piper asks.

The two have a lot to discuss: soccer game scores, an upcoming bake sale, and the latest on the social scene.

"I'll see you at the party," Piper says.

The conversation may be typical for a third grader, but the phone connection is not. Piper is cradling a white plastic handset to her ear. It's connected by a long spiral cord to a base with a push-button dial pad. It's just...a phone.

"I like it because you don't have to look on a screen and there's buttons," Piper says.

By the age of eight, nearly a quarter of U.S. children own a cell phone — and most are smartphones with apps and internet access. For many parents, giving a child th

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