Microsoft founder Bill Gates has opened up about being a parent， stating that 13 is an appropriate age for a childs first cell phone.

The 57-year-old， father-of-three revealed on the Today show that his children Jennifer and Rory were not allowed to own phones until their thirteenth birthday and his youngest daughter Phoebe is still waiting for one.

“Weve chosen in our family that its 13 when you get a phone，” the self-made billionaire explained.

He said as a result his brood often return home from school complaining， “All the other kids have it. Im the only one without it. Its so embarrassing.”

Asked if he keeps passwords to his son and daughters email and Facebook accounts， Mr Gates said that he doesnt 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， 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 amount of pocket money.

And in 2010 Mr Gates said that he intended to give most of his $61 billion fortune away rather than handed it down. “That wouldnt 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 philan-thropy， said that helping others gives him same buzz as creating software.

“What you really feel is what youve 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—thats exciting，” he explained.

Bill Gates was previously the richest man in the world， but he got shifted down a spot in 2010 after he decided to give away $28 billion to good causes.

微軟公司創(chuàng)始人比爾·蓋茨近日坦露了他的為父之道，他認(rèn)為13歲是孩子擁有第一部手機(jī)的合適年齡。

作為三個(gè)孩子的父親，今年57歲的比爾·蓋茨在《今日秀》節(jié)目上透露，他的長(zhǎng)女珍妮弗和長(zhǎng)子羅里直到他們13歲生日那天才獲準(zhǔn)擁有自己的第一部手機(jī)，而他最小的女兒菲比仍在等待之中。

這個(gè)白手起家的億萬(wàn)富翁解釋道：“我們家的規(guī)定是直到13歲你才能擁有手機(jī)?！?/p>

蓋茨說(shuō)，由于這項(xiàng)規(guī)定，孩子們從學(xué)校回家后常抱怨說(shuō)：“其他孩子都有手機(jī)，我是唯一一個(gè)沒(méi)有手機(jī)的人，這太令人尷尬了。”

當(dāng)被問(wèn)及是否保存兒女郵箱和臉譜網(wǎng)賬號(hào)的密碼時(shí)，蓋茨先生說(shuō)他并沒(méi)有保存16歲長(zhǎng)女珍妮弗的賬號(hào)密碼，因?yàn)樗X(jué)得她已經(jīng)“獨(dú)立”了。蓋茨承認(rèn)監(jiān)督子女的線(xiàn)上活動(dòng)“對(duì)于現(xiàn)在的父母來(lái)說(shuō)是一件非常棘手的事”。

蓋茨一家住在華盛頓州西雅圖市外的麥地那湖附近，盡管蓋茨夫婦擁有巨額財(cái)產(chǎn)，但他們表示想盡可能讓自己的孩子像普通人一樣成長(zhǎng)。

先前有報(bào)道說(shuō)，蓋茨的三個(gè)小孩子在家中要承擔(dān)家務(wù)，并且零花錢(qián)也不多。

2010年蓋茨先生曾提到他打算把他610億美元財(cái)產(chǎn)中的大部分捐贈(zèng)出去而不是留給自己的孩子。蓋茨說(shuō)，“留遺產(chǎn)既不利于孩子，也不利于社會(huì)”。

蓋茨于2008年從微軟公司辭職并專(zhuān)注于慈善事業(yè)。在《今日秀》的訪(fǎng)談中，他還告訴主持人馬特·勞厄爾說(shuō)，幫助他人和創(chuàng)造軟件一樣讓他活力十足。

蓋茨解釋道：“你內(nèi)心的真實(shí)感受就是你的成就。如果一款新開(kāi)發(fā)出來(lái)的軟件受到許多人的喜愛(ài)——讓他們更好地完成工作——將是一件令人興奮的事?！?/p>

比爾·蓋茨之前曾是全世界最富有的人，不過(guò)他在2010年決定把280億美元的資產(chǎn)捐贈(zèng)給慈善事業(yè)后，他便失去了首富寶座，在全球富豪榜上排行第二。