Microsoft founder Bill Gates has opened up about being a parent，stating that 13 is an appropriate age for a child’s first cell phone. The 57yearold，fatherofthree，revealed on The Today Show that his children Jennifer and Rory were not allowed phones until their 13th birthday and his youngest daughter Phoebe is still waiting for one. “We’ve chosen in our family that it’s 13 where you get a phone，” the selfmade billionaire explained. He said as a result his children often return home from school complaining，“All the other kids have one.I’m the only one without one.It’s so embarrassing.” Asked if he keeps passwords to his son and daughters’ email and Facebook accounts，Mr Gates said that he doesn’t for Jennifer,16，who he describes as “independent”．He admitted that monitoring online activity is “a very tricky issue for parents now”． Despite their vast wealth Mr and Mrs Gates，who live in Lake Medina，have said they want to give their children as normal an upbringing as possible. It was previously reported that their youngsters have to complete household chores and are given a modest amount of pocket money. And in 2010 Mr Gates said that he intends to give most of his $61 billion fortune away rather than hand it down.“That wouldn’t be good either for my kids or society，” he said. Also during the Today interview with host Matt Lauer，Mr Gates，who stepped down from Microsoft in 2008 to concentrate on philanthropy，said that helping others gives him the same excitement as creating software. “What you really feel is what you’ve achieved.If a piece of software gets out there and lots of people love it—it lets them get their work done in better ways—that’s exciting，” he explained. 小题1:Bill Gates will not let his children own a cell phone________.
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