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 57-year-old, father-of-three, revealed on the Today Show that his children Jennifer and Rory were not allowed phones until their thirteenth 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 self-made billionaire explained.     He said as a result his children often return home from school complaining: "All the other kids have it.I'm the only one without it, and 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 is sue for parents now."     Despite their vast wealth Mr and Mrs Gates, who live in Lake Medina, just outside Seattle, Washington, 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 smount of pocket money.     And in 2010 Mr Cates said that he intends to give most of his $ 61 billion fortune away rather than hand it down." _ 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 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. Bill Gates will not let his children own a cell phone   _  .
until they reach the age of 13 if they don't really need one unless they do some housework before they become independent