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

[proxy711]

Personally age 15 or 16 is right about the time i would give my child a cell phone. Before that only if it was for safety reasons.

 

[Alvin Smith]

My Daughter is now 17 ... She has had her own cell phone since she was eight years old.
She has always been very responsible and ALMOST NEVER asks us for ANYthing. She had/has ALWAYS had straight "A"s on her report cards and NEVER slouched on her chores or family obligations ... but that was ALL she wanted, that x-mas ... and ...
She was/is also very social and popular and spent more weekends at sleep-overs, than at home ... She also travelled all over Texas, the USA, and Europe, with the Austin Girl's Choir. I was driving her to 3 birthday paries every week and ... you get the picture ... It was the only real way that we could keep up with her and coordinate with her.
We got her a pre-paid VIRGIN Slider and, throughout her youth, we rewarded her acheivements with the only two things she wanted ... pre-paid phone cards and i-Tunes Gift Cards !! (SUCh A DEAL !! ).
There has never been any mis-conduct, or abuse, THAT WE KNOW OF.

= Alvin =

 

[simple_inhibition]

Ill tell my child the same thing my dad told me 9 years ago. "when you are old enough to have a job, then you are old enough to pay for your phone." I was 16

 

[sactownbwoy]

My son is only 5 months old right now so who knows what will be around in 8+ years. If he were 8 now he wouldn't have a cell phone. I don't see the reason a child at that age should have one. When I was younger I biked/walked to school, friends house everywhere and I lived in a "bad" part of town.

The reliance on cell phones to do your parenting is alarming. Teach your children some sense and they won't need a cell phone.

 

[dEAne]

About 12 but you have set the rules for them. I remember I was 14 and on the portable phone (not cellphone) and I had an accident. That's why cellphone for me is not too cool even to grown ups.

 

[liquidchild]

what is with all this "as soon as they can afford one" talk? What parent makes a child work a dead end job just to get some petty item they want? Kids are suppose to do 2 things before 18... go to school and play sports/band/dance, etc... I did not work a day in my life before I was 22, and it got a me a full ride to a private school and a degree. What has cooking burgers at 15 ever done for a kid, other then set his standards low? Before you guys whine that it teaching "work ethic", wrap you mind around this...mentally handicapped people can flip burgers, and we are lagging far behind other countries in math and science. Give the kid what they want but take it away if they bring you a C.

 

[sagansrun]

Bahh, I would rather insert a GPS chip under their skin until they're 18.

 

[bildo123]

Sure, they can have a phone, if they pay out of their own pocket like I did.

 

[tommysch]

[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]

Get a job and quit whining.

 

[Guest]

Better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it.
My kids were raised to be responsible young people so I have no problem paying for their phone. Do I expect the occasional crank call complaint or expense of a new ring tone? Sure, I remember when I was a kid.

 

[elbert]

[citation][nom]kelemvor4[/nom]Didn't you see the detailed study done by the WHO? They DO cause cancer most definitely.[/citation]
Yes I read the WHO study. If there is even a chance cell phones cause cancer I and my child will never own one. This is why I think its so odd that many children have them. I cant see how other parent even with the slightest thought of a cancer risk would buy one.

 

[Guest]

Our son did not have his own cell until he was 18. He had no interest in it, and there was no pressing need. We got him one the summer before he left for university, and he soon found that texting was really handy, so it became relevant. We have a plan, so calls home are cheap.

 

[loomis86]

A firefly phone is a dumb idea imo. That's not a phone and a kid won't have any incentive to keep in on him/her. It will get lost or left at home and that defeats the whole purpose. The best option is the "communal house phone" that a kid is allowed to have on his/her person for special occaisions...ie weekend outings, after school events, etc. The kid's friends will learn real fast it is a communal house phone and they won't be as likely to clog up the line with useless crap.

 

[madass]

Am 16. Don't have a cell. Don't want one. Why? What'll I do with it?

 

[titdoctor]

when all these kids have brain cancer in 10 years. it will be sad. Fk cellphones. Government has been lieing and telling you they are safe. They actually microwave your brain!

 

[gumbedamit]

There are several problems with children having cell phones.
Parents stop being parents and allow the phone to be their childs babysitter, not being at the movies when the child gets out. Do you guys know the statistics of violence associated with kids getting in to trouble leaving the movie theater and their parents not being there already. There is also NO control who calls your child and when. Are you awake at 3am when your 15yr old daughter gets a call from a 40yr old pervert she gave her number to on some chat site. Kids walking down the street,phone stuck to their ear not paying any attention as to what is around them, talk about saftey, somone could snatch them and they not even realize. Between texting and talking on the phone, teens lose their ability to interact with LIVE people. I saw an episode of Twilight Zone once where the human race stopped procreating because everything had become virtual. Human existance hinged on these 2 teens who were glued to their computer screens in a virtual world not wanting to actually meet, hmmm. Think about it?

 

[tommysch]

[citation][nom]elbert[/nom]Yes I read the WHO study. If there is even a chance cell phones cause cancer I and my child will never own one. This is why I think its so odd that many children have them. I cant see how other parent even with the slightest thought of a cancer risk would buy one.[/citation]

Natural selection at work!! Isnt it beautiful?

 

[Guest]

My son got his own phone when he was 8 years old. He stayed with hand-me-down phones until he was 13, when he got a phone that more fit his needs (texting). For me, I like the idea of my son having a GPS phone hidden on his person at all times, just in case of something really bad happened.

I also like the idea that my young child could contact me at any time. I got a call from the school playground one day, my son had something happened that triggered an allergic reaction. When that happened he was to go to the school nurse. The teacher on the playground wouldn't let my son go for some reason, dispute the note that was on file with the school that said that was the procedure. I know other children have died in similar situations. This turned out to be nothing, but it was good we were able to clear it up quickly, just in case.

It comes down to this, I want to have the extra security of constant, immediate communication with my son. Now that he is an older teen, I want the same exact thing, though for totally different reasons. Some might call young kids with phone spoiled, I called mine safe.

 

[sirscottland]

I gave one to my 8 year old so I can talk directly to her without calling the mother or evil grandma. Plus she has 24 hour link with me. I'm not one for kids having a phone except in certain situations.

 

[reix2x]

uhm.. i have my first cell phone at 17 years old XD but i think 15 years old its a good age to have a very very cheap cellphone.

 

[elbert]

[citation][nom]TommySch[/nom]Natural selection at work!! Isnt it beautiful?[/citation]
Kind of like saying the Hiroshima bomb was natural selection. There is nothing natural about cell phones.

 

[czar1020]

My kid will get one when they start driving, and only because they are getting a POS to drive. When they can pay for the overcharged bill also is when they can get one.

 

[user 18]

Cellphones should be based on both maturity and need. I don't think that anyone 13 or under needs a phone because most schools don't allow them to be turned on during the day. Once someone reaches high school and are involved in sports or other activities, a phone becomes more important. If they are trying to ask for a pickup or get in touch with parents after an accident on the football field, a cell phone can make that much easier. That said, if I was giving my children phones, I would only pay for talk directed at me or my spouse. Talk with friends could be done on MSN, on a home phone or in person, and if they want to do it on the cell, they will have to pay for it.

 

[snurp85]

I bought my first cell phone when when I was 20 (im 25 now), and the driving force behind it was because I was leaving the country for a few months. Now i must admit that I cannot live without it.

However, I feel that a kid should have their own phone once they get to college. Reason being, if you give them a phone when they start driving then they are sure to be talk/texting while driving and teenage drivers are scary enough as they are. And if they are any younger than that there really is no reason they would need it because they will either be at a friends house (with parents who you can call), or at a mall or theater where you drop them off and pick them back up from. There really is no need.

I have seen 6 year olds with cell phones and i think its just absurd. kids these days assume that they have the right to all current technology when this just isnt the case.

 

[cookies]

If it wasn't for my employer paying for my Palm Pre, I'd still just have my home VOIP line and a work line. I have three kids - 9, 7 and 3. I agree with the childless folks saying "If I had kids...they would get one when they could pay for it."

I got along just fine in my adolescence without one, so will my kids. Personally, I think it's unhealthy for your children to be watched too closely, especially as teens when they should be learning how to live independently. Check in with me every now and again, let me know you're still breathing and doing fine, and it'll all work out.

If I could go without a work cell I would...there's something nice about not being available every time my wife wants me to be.