QOTD: Does Your Child Have a Cell Phone? Why?

[bustapr]

If I had a kid, no, if I had a teenager that goes out with friends and goes to parties, Id give him,/her a normal cell phone. A smartphone would be a big distraction from studies and family. If the teen wants to use the net, they can use it at home on a computer, but for all I know, phones are only useful for calling.

 

[lauxenburg]

13-14 years old is about reasonable. If your kid is more social maybe a little bit earlier. 11-12 is about as low as I find okay.

 

[lauxenburg]

[citation][nom]bustapr[/nom]If I had a kid, no, if I had a teenager that goes out with friends and goes to parties, Id give him,/her a normal cell phone. A smartphone would be a big distraction from studies and family. If the teen wants to use the net, they can use it at home on a computer, but for all I know, phones are only useful for calling.[/citation]

Using your phone for Web access is in a way just a gimmick. Look at any smartphone. They promise you can watch all of your movies, view your photos, and all sorts of stuff....but it's all on on a 3-4 inch screen or smaller.

Yes it is highly convenient, but come on. My 25mbps Down /25mbps Up FiOS connection costs all of $35 a month. And if I wanted to have 3G I have to pay $30.

 

[viometrix]

my son is 9 yrs old and has a cell phone. he doesnt use it too much. i am a divorced single parent with full custody. his mother when she has him plays games with his head and prevents communication, so i made sure he has a voice, which a judge agreed with and ordered if she touches the phone she is in contempt of court.

i do not believe all children should have cell phones, but situationas and maturity are a factor for or against. also all kids cell phones should have chaperone capalities, and your child should be instructed that in a kid nknapping situation do not use the phone, only hit the laert button so police can track it before even you know there is a problem.

 

[rollerdisco]

I feel that when my daughter is 8-10 we will add a line to our family plan, since it is only 10 bucks to add, and share the minutes (of which i have a ton extra every month). BUT we also do not have a land line, because that is dumb. So it will stay home when at school, and with the parents at night, but when going to friends houses (since many people are throwing out land lines too) she will take it with her.

It also give you something to take away for punishment, or give more rights to as rewards.

 

[tokenz]

[citation][nom]scione[/nom]Hm, I can say that I am 15 and I dont have a cellphone, although all of my friends do. It is a major inconvenience for me as im usually always out, lol. Its to bad that my parents wouldnt agree to buy me a phone until I can pay the bill myself.[/citation]

So then quit going out all the time and get a job.

 

[flachet]

My kids will have cell phones when I decide they are mature enough to have them. If that is 11, or 12 or what have you then that is when it will be. The age isn't the issue for me, its the maturity.

Yes, I will be footing the bill for the phone.

 

[elbert]

Have to say my child will never have a cell phone. Given the USA is the only country in the world not requiring cancer warnings. Younger children are more likely to get cancer. I think the whole cell phone causing cancer will shortly be proven or disproved. I pray kids don't pay the price due to parents blind faith.

Wonder if Maine bill ever passed requiring the cancer warning. San Francisco is also seeking cancer warning.

 

[70camaross396]

Hm, I can say that I am 15 and I dont have a cellphone, although all of my friends do. It is a major inconvenience for me as im usually always out, lol. Its to bad that my parents wouldnt agree to buy me a phone until I can pay the bill myself.


your parrents are doing the right thing. Its good for you. I had to by everything myself. I had stricked parents that believe you were only entitled to Food, Shelter and an Education. I was working odd jobs, and mowing lawns every week at age 11. I bought my first car at 14. a year younger than you. I paid $250 for it and it was a oldmobile Delta 88. 4 tons of the finest steel Detroit ever rolled out. i coundt drive it for two years, but it was still mine. my dad wasnt happy about it, but it was mine. my point is get a job, become self relient, and get your own phone and pay your own bills, you will be a better off in the long run.

My sister always thought our parents were too hard on us. she gives her kids everything they want and lets them do whatever they want. they dont respect her, and they are always in trouble. he oldest boy got an Iphone of his 15th birthday a couple of years ago, the next month she had a bill for $1100 dollars, he was texting his girl friend, who was on vacation with her mom in thailand! he will be graduating next year, and wont be going to collage because his grades suck and he can't get a scollarship or grant. they can't afford to pay for him to go to collage, so he is looking having to get an entry level job, and he probably will never make it to collage.

so your parrents are doing the right thing. you will thank them latter on in life, even it it sucks right now.

 

[screaminyj]

just stay child free and you don't have to worry about such minutiae.

 

[killerclick]

[citation][nom]screaminyj[/nom]just stay child free and you don't have to worry about such minutiae.[/citation]

Yes, and you'll be the first of your ancestors going back a 500 million years who failed to reproduce.

 

[killerclick]

[citation][nom]lo_vaquero[/nom]Even though it may not seem like it, you'll thank them in the long run.[/citation]

Lol @ kids thanking their parents for screwing up their social life. My mom wouldn't let me stay out past 10 p.m. and now she's ill and I stuck her in the cheapest most run down nursing home I could find. That'll also happen to parents who don't buy cellphones for their kids.

 

[bliq]

I think we gave my son a cell at around 6 so we could call and tell him to walk from his classroom to the pick up area so my wife didn't have to unload our baby from the car seat to pick him up. so initially, it was a selfish thing, something we happily paid $10 a month for the convenience. Now that he's 12, he's gone from a LC C130 to a Razr and now a LG Xenon. He's never abused our minutes, and he's pretty responsibly, never permanently losing his phone. I think our daughter who's 6 now, may get a phone in a year or two. I bought an unlocked firefly for $5 last year so that I could give it to her.

 

[Gin Fushicho]

There is always disabling most of the features on the phone via the company if you buy your kid a phone.

 

[Guest]

Well, I'm 16, I've used my parent's cellphone only a handful of times and I don't know how to text. I don't see what the point is, when I could buy a gtx480 for the same amount as my friends (or parents!) spend on their phones. I think that we don't even really need cellphones as teenagers until we can actually pay our own bills etc.

 

[Guest]

not one parent worried about the level of accessibility or "freedom" a phone provides? They seem to provide an avenue to a variety of unacceptable behaviors that may have been averted in the past when children did not have phones... Hey, we're drinking beer at John's, come over! Hey, send me pictures of yourself! Hey, want some pot! A lot less likely to happen on the home phone...especially the sexting

 

[kezix_69]

My 11 year old daughter has a cell phone because it's cheap and I can get ahold of her whenever! She has no internet and can text. Good thing it is unlimited texting because she had some 9,000 text messages a month for a bit. She hardly texts nowadays.

 

[michaelahess]

I'm still here after some admittedly stupid acts as a teen. Never had, nor needed a cell phone.

If my kids can afford one, they can have one. In no way am I buying them one. And I don't just mean adding them to my plan for $10.

I don't have internet or texting on my phone or my wifes. Until the cell companies stop raping people I won't give them any more money than I need to.

 

[graydon77222]

I am 18 and I didn't get a cell phone till last year when I turned 17 because I was required to pay the bill. I think it is better for parents to make there kids pay fro their phones because then you learn to appreciate having to pay the bills yourself which teaches you values you will need later in life. Just having things handed to you I think is a crime that parents shouldn't undertake as the kids will have no respect for you and will expect everything in life to be easy. Oh boy will there life go to the shitter when they actually have to do things for themselves.

 

[extremepcs]

My kids are 13, 11, and 7. No cell for any of them, and will not be until they get jobs and pay for them. I see kids as young as 6 with phones... insane. They should only be talking to Big Bird on their Sesame Street phone at that age!

 

[Bluescreendeath]

[citation][nom]hibyprime[/nom]I'm of the camp that it's not a bad thing for a 12-13 year old to have a cellphone, provided you set 'budget' limits - meaning you can call 5 minutes during the day and 30 mins at night, and a limit of 5-10 texts a day or whatever.A cellphone for a kid is only bad if the parents don't be parents, just like everything else.[/citation]

You're deluding yourself if you think 12-13 year olds have what is commonly known as "self control."

 

[matt87_50]

I am currently on this deal, where its prepaid, $30, credit lasts 6 months but you get free calls to a pre selected 5 numbers on the same carrier. I think that would be perfect for a kid. make it so they can only call numbers you select for free, then tell em they can't spend all of their credit.

 

[jitpublisher]

Children do not need cell phones, period. Teens, yeah okay. I go along with a phone is a handy thing for a teenager say 14 or older to have. They do not need it, but it would be handy. My niece came to visit a couple of years ago, she was 12, with a phone. We went to the beach, she walked all day, never lifting her head at all, texting. We went to Mt Saint Helens, she spent the whole day walking around texting. We went to Mt Rainier State Park, she spent the whole day walking around and texting. On and on for a week. We would go out to eat, her phone was on the table right next to her plate, or in her lap, so she could read her texts while she was eating. Utter nonsense. I wanted to grab that stupid phone and stomp it into tiny little pieces by the end of the week.

 

[kelemvor4]

[citation][nom]elbert[/nom]I think the whole cell phone causing cancer will shortly be proven or disproved. I pray kids don't pay the price due to parents blind faith.Wonder if Maine bill ever passed requiring the cancer warning. San Francisco is also seeking cancer warning.[/citation]

Didn't you see the detailed study done by the WHO? They DO cause cancer most definitely.

 

[JOSHSKORN]

A cell phone is like a car. Both are responsibilities. Both incur costs. Cell phones monthly, and cars, well, as much as you use them. There's gas and then general maintenance. As far as I'm concerned, when I have kids, they can't have either one until they're old enough to pay for it themselves. In terms of a cell phone, that is ALL I will get them. Not a smart phone/iphone/etc. Just a basic cell phone to keep open two-way communication between mom and dad while they're away. When they turn 18, they can get whatever cell phone they want. By then, they're old enough to know better. Too many underaged teens are 'sexting'. This also goes for getting my kid a computer/laptop. It won't have a built-in camera. It opens the door for pervs and eventually dehumanizes children.