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Kids and cell phones
This is a piece I found in the Boston Globe Magazine this morning and loved. Enjoy the read!
No Cell for You
She's 11. She can wait.
By Thomas O'Rourke | March 29, 2009
Our 11-year-old daughter enjoys researching her favorite cellphone styles and colors on the Internet. She actually believes (incorrectly) that she will soon be the proud owner of a pink Razr phone, which according to Overstock.com, is more than just a communications device. It's a statement about who you are.
Here's a statement about who she is.
She's a kid with no job and no ability to pay a phone bill. She's also a safe, hovered-over kid, with no emergencies to communicate. My reluctance to support this purchase is not just about the money, though I am cheap. Nor is it just about my annoyance at having my own phone. It has more to do with the trouble kids can get into with texting, surfing the Internet, taking and sharing photos, and generally walking through life with a phone permanently affixed to their ears.
It's not necessary and can only lead to requests for more. It's a slippery slope that follows the logic immortalized in Laura Joffe Numeroff's classic children's book If You Give a Moose a Muffin.
Here's my version. Give a girl a cellphone, she'll lose it and want an iPhone. Give her the iPhone, she'll want a matching iMac. Give her the iMac, she'll want a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren ($495,000).
This also holds true for other requests, such as: If you tell your daughter she can pierce her ears when she's 12, she'll talk you down to 11. When the ears get pierced at 11, younger sis will bargain for 10. The 11-year-old will want to pierce other body parts, get a tattoo, wear Apple Bottom jeans and the boots with the fur, and have the whole bar looking at her. Soon, she'll be dancing around a pole at a gentleman's club. It's just a bad idea.
So no, my dear, you will not be getting a cellphone soon. But I'd be happy to read you If You Give a Pig a Pancake. And if you are ever in an emergency, just ask to borrow the cellphone of anyone around you. Everyone has one. As you frequently remind me, you are the only person on the planet who doesn't.
Re: Kids and cell phones
My 13 y.o. son only just recieved a cell phone this year. It's a simple, 'candy bar' style phone: no camera, no MP3 capability, and TMs are disabled. The only out-bouond calls he can make are the ones that have been programmed into the address-book memory (PIN protected).
The rule of thumb in our home has been he'll get a phone when it serves the purposes of his mother and father.
As he is a cyber-schooled student, the number of opportunities prior to this year for him to be out and about without supervision have been few. But now that he's 13, those times will come with certain frequency.
Sure, it's 'dull', and not a whole 'lot of fun', but then it is a phone, not a toy.
http://whatsit2you.blogspot.com
Re: Kids and cell phones
My daughter is nine and has one. I have programmed the phone to only have acces to call numbers in her phone book or accept calls from those in her phone book. If they are not in her phone book then they go straight to voicemail where daddy checks and deletes. FYI - I love my daughter unconditionally and I am glad that she has it in this day and age that we live in. Too many freaks out there! I have her GPS active at all times. We talked about the usage, she is very responsible with it and it is not glued to her ear all of the time because when she is with me we do things together. I especially like it when she stays the night at a friends house, I can call her and she can call me at anytime to know that I will be there when she needs me. After seeing the movie "Taken", I have talked to my daughter about being specific in every detail, where she is at, in case of an emergency.
It is about teaching them how to use it and what it is for, not just give it to them and say "here you go", and walk away.
Re: Kids and cell phones
Right you are Douglas - Limits and consequences are the most important.
Cheers,
Toby
Re: Kids and cell phones
nice article. I think the key thing is the set the ground rules. I pay for the phone, so I set the rules. i.e. if I say no more than 300 txts per month, then when you go over, you lose your privilege. If I say no calls with people not on your contacts list, same consequence when I see the monthly statement. I don't think I'm being heavy-handed (tell me if I am), but come on, cell phones are not "necessities" in this economy
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