Children and cell phones

[Treasure Chest]

Lmao. Wait til you have kids, you'll be singing a different tune.

My oldest is turning 14 in two weeks and will be a freshman in the fall. There are no plans to get him a phone. I may be reevaluating the idea after swimming practice starts later this summer, but as it currently stands, he can have a phone when he starts driving.

[bcoop]

My oldest is turning 14 in two weeks and will be a freshman in the fall. There are no plans to get him a phone. I may be reevaluating the idea after swimming practice starts later this summer, but as it currently stands, he can have a phone when he starts driving.

One of your kids was playing on the phone the night I came to yalls house, you fibber!! Robert took it away from him while I was there!

I will also add, I think the acceptable age depends entirely on the child and their maturity.

[Sleeper]

I'm all with 12 and older, maybe even 11.

If they do get a phone it will be a pre paid unit, or they will pay the bill. They see them as throw away items.

[diablo rojo]

My oldest got hers at 11 (14 now) when she started walking to/from school. She calls when she gets to school and now if she comes home and nobody is there. She has had 3 phones. Ironically, her first one got run over by a new Mustang in '10 on a dealer lot. We have T-Mobile and take full advantage of the parental controls. She can only call or text who/when we allow. She "pays" for her bill with specific chores around the house and has had her ability to text stripped completely as punishment on occasion.

Our 9 year old got one in November when her father moved to Salt Lake so that she could talk to him when she wanted....again with the same restrictions.

I see cell phones as useful tools when governed properly. Comes down to the parent and their desire to....well, parent.

[Treasure Chest]

One of your kids was playing on the phone the night I came to yalls house, you fibber!! Robert took it away from him while I was there!

I will also add, I think the acceptable age depends entirely on the child and their maturity.

That was Robert's old Razr that didn't have service. He used it for the games and the camera and thought he was hot shit. Grace had my old gen 1 iPhone that barely held a charge and couldn't be updated. She used it for angry birds and the iPod that only had about 20 songs on it.

[Chopped54]

Seriously?

I went back and forth on the phone or iPod. All he does is play games, but this way he can use it as a phone if needed. I feel better when he is with other family members, or friends that I can get in touch with him, or with the MobileMe I know where he is.....

[Geor!]

My oldest got hers at 11 (14 now) when she started walking to/from school. She calls when she gets to school and now if she comes home and nobody is there. She has had 3 phones. Ironically, her first one got run over by a new Mustang in '10 on a dealer lot. We have T-Mobile and take full advantage of the parental controls. She can only call or text who/when we allow. She "pays" for her bill with specific chores around the house and has had her ability to text stripped completely as punishment on occasion.

Our 9 year old got one in November when her father moved to Salt Lake so that she could talk to him when she wanted....again with the same restrictions.

I see cell phones as useful tools when governed properly. Comes down to the parent and their desire to....well, parent.

Step 1: disable camera.

[diablo rojo]

Step 1: disable camera.

I don't mind if they take pictures....I have disabled picture messages (texts) though.

[A+]

I told.my.kids they can have a phone.when.they can pay for one. If I did buy one for them, it would be one of those little kid phones that has like 2 or 3 buttons on it and can only call me and 911....or something like that

[Geor!]

I don't mind if they take pictures....I have disabled picture messages (texts) though.

Or that.

[STANGGT40]

i waited until my daughter was 15, to get her a phone, and i really should've waited a little longer. in my opinion, it can't be good for them to text all day, using bad grammar, etc, before they've learned proper grammar. once they have at least 2-3 years of high school english under their belt, then i guess it's ok...you're still exposing them to bad habits, bad grammar, etc, but at least they've learned a good amount of proper grammar by then. my son is 10 months old, and i'm sure that he'll be bugging me for a phone by the time he hits kindergarten...i'm surprised that they're not born with an iphone, these days!

[GrayStangGT]

16 and every kid should have to start with a Nokia 3310

[SVT Lurch]

16 and every kid should have to start with a Nokia 3310

That's exactly what I did. That exact phone came within a week of my driver's license.

[diablo rojo]

That's exactly what I did. That exact phone came within a week of my driver's license.

I miss the old school worms game.

[red95gts]

Don't confuse your kid "needing" a cell phone with your kid "wanting" a cell phone. My two oldest have cell phones because they WANT cell phones and they managed to behave well enough to earn them. When they aren't grounded from them for pulling some typical 10-14 y/o bullshit, that is.

The only time I could see a kid "needing" a cell is when they will be home alone for an extended period of time and there is no landline.