Kids and Cell Phones

[Lisa]

Do your kids have cell phones of their own and how old were they when they got them?

My youngest daughter's friends all have them, seriously, they are 11 and I am really not understanding, why? :idunno:

If my youngest daughter goes out with her friends and not in my company she takes my cell phone, I truly don't think she needs one of her own. Maybe someone here can enlighten me as to why she might?

Thanks for your input.

a very perplexed, Lisa

 

[jfarnsworth]

Do your kids have cell phones of their own and how old were they when they got them?

No, and they won't, period.

My youngest daughter's friends all have them, seriously, they are 11 and I am really not understanding, why?

I know kids are getting them younger and younger. My oldest son & I had a problem last year about the peer pressure of having cell phones in the 5th grade? I can't go into details about that situation but it was ugly.

If my youngest daughter goes out with her friends and not in my company she takes my cell phone, I truly don't think she needs one of her own.

That's what I told my daughter I would do. And NO, they don't need them at that age.

Thanks for your input.

You got mine and I think we are both saying the same things.

 

[Cryozombie]

Its a status thing among kids. Plain and simple.

 

[arnisador]

My 11 year old desperately wants one. We loan the kids one of ours if they're out, but just to chat? They've got e-mail.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Do your kids have cell phones of their own and how old were they when they got them?

My youngest daughter's friends all have them, seriously, they are 11 and I am really not understanding, why? :idunno:

If my youngest daughter goes out with her friends and not in my company she takes my cell phone, I truly don't think she needs one of her own. Maybe someone here can enlighten me as to why she might?

Thanks for your input.

a very perplexed, Lisa

For emergencies. My brother's kids all had cell phones from the time they were old enough to take care of them. However, their time was closely monitored and they were held strictly accountable for abuses. I don't think a hard and fast rule is in order - it depends upon the children AND the area you live in. It's not so important in small towns, IMO, but in a large city where you need to track your children's whereabouts, I don't see any problem with a heavily monitored cell phone for children. They are one of those things that when you need them, you REALLY need them. Pay as you go phones are less than $100.00 a year (provided that you don't use them as chatterboxes) and that is a very small price, IMO, to keep your children in contact.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

My 11 year old desperately wants one. We loan the kids one of ours if they're out, but just to chat? They've got e-mail.

That's a great idea.

 

[arnisador]

Its a status thing among kids. Plain and simple.

Absolutely--along with the iPod and everything else.

 

[Rich Parsons]

My 17 year old niece has one. Limited talk time. To be used for her father to contact her. He is a single working father, and she is at home with his son until he gets home. Sometimes she is out with her brother shopping or getting food, and it was more convient for the father to know where she was.

As for an 11 year old, they get taken away at school for playing games or music, or text messages. Or even stolen to pay for some other kids addiction to technology.

Just my opinion on the subject.

Yet I am open to the possible safety issue, but it would have to be something explained in detail to me.

 

[Lisa]

The safety issue I understand, hence the reason she gets mine when she goes out.

A friend of mine works at a bank and she was telling me the other day how some younger kids, who are now adults have screwed with their credit rating because of their cell phone abuse and not paying the bills and going from cell phone company to cell phone company, etc. Now they have jobs, want a loan and it comes up as a big red flag.

My older 15 year old daughter really isn't that hung up on them. I know she wants to get one once she has a job and can pay for it herself. I am okay with that, as long as she doesn't abuse it, which I doubt she will cause she isn't much of a phone talker to begin with.

So, I am with you Jason... umm.. NO! has been my answer and will remain my answer until she can get a job and pay for it herself.

 

[Aikikitty]

I only got my cell phone after I got my driver's license so I could call for help if something happened. I don't use it much and never when driving. I can't see why in the world an 11 year old would need one except maybe they think it's "cool" or feel more grown up.

 

[jdinca]

I gave them to my 14 & 15 year old boys as part of a family plan. They know quite well that it's not for chatting with friends and don't abuse it.

At 11 it's a peer pressure issue. They feel they have to have it to fit in.

 

[Lisa]

I only got my cell phone after I got my driver's license so I could call for help if something happened. I don't use it much and never when driving. I can't see why in the world an 11 year old would need one except maybe they think it's "cool" or feel more grown up.

Now that is a reason I can understand. When they start driving to call for help. That is exactly why I have no problem with my older daughter getting one once she starts working and driving. I just can't justify having one for an 11-year-old. Blows my mind.

 

[Ceicei]

My son is 13. He has a cell phone with restricted services, but he can contact me any time by text messages (I am deaf) to my pager. That way, it is easier for me to track where he is and to get him when needed. He can't just pick up a regular phone anywhere because these calls won't go through to my pager with sufficient information. We are a family involved in different activities and it is easier to to try to coordinate times between all of us.

I am glad for it though. I recall well a few years ago when none of us had cell phones/pagers, it was a challenge when we weren't able to contact each other. Sometimes family members are stranded for a while if they cannot notify of changes in schedules or transportation problems. I do not like having any of my family members stranded for extended periods of times.

There are plenty of experiences I could tell, but I digress.

- Ceicei

 

[Eternal Beginner]

We have a series of cell phones for employees that have limited phone cards attached to them. If one of our kids is going to be somewhere that we aren't actually supervising we give them one of these.

Until our kids are driving, we will say no to cell phones. Once they are out on the highways (we live outside the city) then we will probably do the same sort of arrangement as we do for our company vehicles and our staff. There will be a cell phone for the car with a prepaid limit.

 

[shesulsa]

I got my 15-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter the cheapest pay-as-you-go phones I could find for the exclusive purpose of emergencies and last-minute schedule changes (on MY part). They both understand what it's for and only one of them (the son) abides by that, but my 12 year old didn't, so it has been revoked from her possession. Now, she is a slave to my schedule and last-minute changes have no warning for her. Too bad for her.

I was glad she had one when she was in Basketball, though, because she needed to call me to say the game had been switched and I had to pick her up at a different location.

I wouldn't dream of putting her on the family plan - she'd run out the minutes in five days.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

I got my 15-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter the cheapest pay-as-you-go phones I could find for the exclusive purpose of emergencies and last-minute schedule changes (on MY part). They both understand what it's for and only one of them (the son) abides by that, but my 12 year old didn't, so it has been revoked from her possession. Now, she is a slave to my schedule and last-minute changes have no warning for her. Too bad for her.

That seems to be a better answer than a hard and fast no cell phones for minors rule - try them out on a limited plan and take it away if they abuse it.

 

[Jade Tigress]

My 15-year-old daugther just got one this year. She joined the Basketball team and the schedule is crazy. She needs a way to stay in touch and let us know when practice is over, etc. She's not a phone hound though and her time always runs out before her minutes do (tracfone). It has been a lifesaver for our family this year.

My 12-year-old son on the other hand is a total phone hound and is dying for a cell. He doesn't need one yet and won't get one until he does. He would definitely burn up the minutes chatting with friends, etc.

I think kids who spend a lot of time out at friends houses, or extracurricular activities need a way to stay in touch with their parents but other than that, as Techno pointed out, it's a status symbol.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

My 15-year-old daugther just got one this year. She joined the Basketball team and the schedule is crazy. She needs a way to stay in touch and let us know when practice is over, etc. She's not a phone hound though and her time always runs out before her minutes do (tracfone). It has been a lifesaver for our family this year.

Sounds like you use good judgement with your kids.

BTW, Tracfone is ok, but you might try Virgin Mobile instead - it is much less expensive and the phones are nicer.

 

[michaeledward]

KILL YOUR CELLPHONE! ! !

We have two land-lines and two cell phones. God do I hate the damn things. My company pays for my cell and one land line (and DSL ), else, I wouldn't have them.

My children show an incredible lack of discipline when it comes to anything with a wire on it (Television, computer, phone), so we externally impose discipline for them.

One day, after another argument, and another round of ripping the land-line phones off the wall (figuratively, not literally), I made the mistake of telling my 17 year old, that if she wanted a cell phone (I think I used the term 'God-Damned Cell Phone'), she could buy a pay-as-you-go phone, but I wasn't going to sign a contract for her.

Well, the pay as you go phone turned into a crack addiction. (crackberry, anyone?) She pays $0.50 per minute (apparently she doesn't understand the cost of things, still). And the phone, was apparently, pretty cheap. I'm not sure that, four months later, it can make outgoing calls. But, because it is so expensive, she never answers it anyhow. She check the cellphones voice mail when she can get near a land line.

My suggestion, and what I am going to do with my 15 year old, is to make sure she still has a couple of quarters with her whereever she goes. It is getting harder to find pay phones, but it still isn't impossible.

Mike

 

[Jade Tigress]

Sounds like you use good judgement with your kids.

BTW, Tracfone is ok, but you might try Virgin Mobile instead - it is much less expensive and the phones are nicer.

Thanks. I'm not familiar with Virgin Mobile. I don't particularly like tracfone but it was cheaper than adding a phone to our plan. I'll check it out. :asian: