Originally Posted By wahooskipper According to a market research company, the "tween" market (8-12 year olds) is the next area for growth amongst wireless carriers. Already, 27 percent of children in that age group carry cell phones. Well, there is no way in h-e-double hockey sticks that my 8-12 year old will ever carry a cell phone...which will make me the scrooge father. What is the appropriate age? (Personally, I say when the kid can pay for his/her own cell phone bill...then he/she can have one.) A kid under 12 should never be anywhere that they don't have access to a phone. What is the point really? Am I just too stern?
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Actually there is a product that I am strongly considering buying for my 11 yr old boy and my 7 yr old girl. Its a cell phone but not like you think. Check this out: <a href="http://www.fireflymobile.com" target="_blank">http://www.fireflymobile.com</a> These can be purchased at Target, Walmart, and other stores. The onlysingle complaint that Consumer Reports has about it, is there is no "key lock" to prevent unwanted outgoing calls, but the phone can only call the few numbers that the parents "set" or program into the phone. It's a terrific idea for at least SOME peace of mind. We have also condidered this product: <a href="http://www.wherifywireless.com" target="_blank">http://www.wherifywireless.com</a> Which is a GPS with a cell phone built in. We previously used the wrist watch locator that this company made and it was ok, had a few bugs, but worked somewhat well. It wasn't very durable, and not at all water proof, not to mention it was very new 1st gen technology five years ago. There is a reason why we are so paranoid as parents. It goes back to an incident concerning my little girl when she was 3. I won't post it here, but if you really want to know the detail email me. I think communication with a child is a thing that technology is giving us, and pretty soon we will be able to "track" our kids effortlessly and cheaply. I know amny people would be against such... but consider this.... How is it right that I can implant a chip into the scruff of the neck of my DOG and if he gets picked up by the dog catcher, dead or alive, he can be instantly identified? Yet we cannot do this for children. How is it right that my Suburban...while it can be stolen, the OnStar system will tell police it's exact location the instant I place a hone call to OnStar telling them the vehicle has been stolen. You can run, for a few minutes, but you can't hide. Yet over 750,000 children are reported lost each year. How is that right? Well these products above are at least a start in the right direction, and there are more and more products in developement that we will see in stores over the next few years. Wouldn't it be nice if we could make our kids as difficult to "steal" as we have done for our pets and our vehicles. BUT AS FOR THE ORIGINAL POST" A regular cell phone for calling "friends"??? No way!
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I am a BIG proponent of installing chips in children. Ok, maybe not so much but the GPS tracker is a great idea. I read about some equipment you can install in your 16 year old's car that can monitor driving habits such as speed, brakeing, etc.
Originally Posted By cape cod joe I don't even have one but my Rachel,12, is pressuring me with the all my friends thing.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ I got my son his phone when he became old enough to go places after school other than straight home - sometime in middle school. Something I've found nice about it is that I can call him anytime he's out with friends and he never feels like he's being checked-up on (which he is, lol). Instant communication is so taken for granted by his generation, that it does't seem weird to him to call me every few hours to let me know what's going on, nor does it bother him to get a call from us. FYI - he's 16 in a couple of weeks.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Is there a phone every place he goes? That is the thing. I always let my folks know where I was or where I was going and I didn't have access to cell phones. If I went to a friends, I used the friend's phone. Restaurants have phones. So do movie theatres, malls, etc. I guess I'm ok with maybe around 14 or 15...but I can't think of a good reason for an 8-12 year old to carry a phone unless it is one that limits calling to emergency use or mom/dad.
Originally Posted By cape cod joe I can't think of why an adult needs one? Doctors, etc of course but all the people on the golf courses, WDW, etc. Crazy but to each his or her own.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan My son is 11 (12 next month) and has had a cell phone for over a year. It's great to be able to contact him immediately when he is at a friends house or outside with friends. As to phones in public places, they are getting harder and harder to find. It costs very little to add one line, so cost isn't a big concern. My son has never abused his cell phone, never given us a reason to doubt that it's a great thing to have. I guess I don't understand the "ain't no way in H E double hockey sticks my kid'll ever have a phone!" It's a different time than when we grew up, and my son's phone isn't so he can be "hip and edgy". It's a tool that we use as a family to make sure that there's never a reason, such as "I forgot what time it was" or "I couldn't find a phone" excuses for not letting us know where he's at. He's not using the phone to call sex lines, make drug transactions or anything like that. I don't get the paranoia or the "outrage" here. To each his own I guess.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<If I went to a friends, I used the friend's phone. Restaurants have phones. So do movie theatres, malls, etc.>> Have you tried finding a pay phone lately? With cell phones so prevalent many if not most pay phones have been removed. They no longer bring in enough revenue to cover the expense of maintaining it. As for how old... we gave our daughter a cell phone when she entered High School.
Originally Posted By PlainoLJoe Not being a parent take this for what its worth. I think it completely depends on the child. Alot of kids now a days are involved with alot of activites. Soccer, ballet, baseball, piano...etc. And many families have more than 1 kid involved in alot. How many times have you heard a parent say "Well I have to drop Scott off at soccer and than take Liz over to ballet and on the way back stop at the grocery store and than pick up Scott. After that we have to go shoe shopping than pick up Liz and go home to cook dinner" So the parent is running around and in the mean time she doesnt know that the coach didnt show up at Scott's practice and he is going to Tommys house so he isnt left at the park alone. So a quick fix in the communication breakdown is a cell phone. But really only a band-aid if Scott tends to talk on the phone alot will drive the bill up. So if the child is pretty active and responsible at 10 or 12 than hey go for it. But if your kid isnt responsible at 15 or 16 than hey, why do they need a cell phone? They will probably lose it.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 NOTE; No text message on Firefly -- As far as a cell phone for a kid that age -- my daughter plays club volleyball ( and has for 3 years now) -for a very strong 12 year old team. They practice 3 days a week 2.5 hours each practice --so I cannot be there all the time --( from 4:30 - 7:00 )- because even though I work from home, I also have people that work for me that are in the western US...so I have business calls etc. I want her to have a cell phone to contact me whenever she needs to when away for that long. Case in point, there are over 200 girls of all ages practiving at one point at the club-- we had a tornado touch down not far from where she practices and she was able to call me to tell me she was OK-- 200 kids waiting in lne for an office phone would not have been acceptable. Also at school one day a few weeks ago-- as I sat in my home office waiting for her to arrive at 3:25 as usual - she did not-- nor did the bus-- by 3:35 I started trying to reach the school - ( as obviously many others did) - only to get busy signals -- I was on a conference call from work ( which I was running) - so my options were to call my wife to leave work to drive to the school to see what had happened - or me end the business call and go myself ( not an issue for me when my child is involved) - But my cell phone rang -- it was my daughter -- a number of the school bus drivers had walked out on their jobs and she was at school and they would get a bus in 15 - 20 minutes- and the teachers were with them...without the phone - this wouldn;t have happened. I have her on a package with Cingular where she shares the family prime time minutes- and she has 200 text messages per month. She has had the phone for 6 months and never gone over any allotment...and knows the phone is for emergencies etc. She uses the text messages to 'talk' to her older sister who is away at college, and it keep them close. For me it is the best $9.99 plus tax I ever spent -- and it has taught her to be responsible.... just my 2 cents
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <I can't think of why an adult needs one? Doctors, etc of course but all the people on the golf courses, WDW, etc. Crazy but to each his or her own< Do you travel a lot on your job ? If so you would understand why they are important...I am available to my managers at all times and available to my family as well, as I spend a lot of time in places other than home.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 PlainOL Joe-- for not being a parent, you hit the nail on the head as to why my daughter has one....
Originally Posted By PlainoLJoe well as a kid I wanted a cell phone, but thinking back it would have only helped in contacting my dealer. Plus my parents at that time could have cared less where I was so that excuse went out the door as well.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I think many parents get the cell phone for "in case of emergencies" but I think it is a rare instance when that is the only reason the kids use them. At any given time in our parks it is rare to find a kid NOT on a cell phone...and I highly doubt all those kids are talking to their parents. It is more likely they are talking to each other...and they are only a football field or two apart. Again, I'm talking 8 to 12 year olds. That age group is rarely outside of parental or adult supervision. If my 10 year old plays travel soccer than there has got to be a coach or two with cell phones that I can call or my child can use in the event of an emergency.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ If they aren't using them for an emergency, so what? My son wants to talk to his friends, I tell him to go for it. My brother and I used to tie up the house phone for hours every night when we were both dating. Our phone was busy literally all night long. With the cell phone, my home phone is free whenever I want it. And it's cheaper than adding a second land line. As others have said, the right age for them to go mobile depends upon the kid. My husband works in technology. So, we've got lots of techno gadgets. I think it also varies by where you live in the country. As we all know, the culture with this and many other things varies greatly by region.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan You asked two questions in your original post, wahoo. Several of us have given you the "what's the point" answer -- you reject it. Okay. You asked if you are too stern. That's up to you to decide. You've made up your mind on this subject, and no one's going to change it. If it works for your family to forbid a child to have a cell phone, no problem. It works for mine for my son to have one. Diff'rent strokes.
Originally Posted By cape cod joe Good points Joe but my argument is we're always done well before without them. The funny thing is that I needed one at Outback one time and the waitress and everyone there had one that I could use so why do I need one. At OIA one time I borrowed one from the luggage handler to call a real estate broker who was supposed to meet me at the gate. I gave the guy 5 bucks so we both were happy.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Our daughter is 11, and has had a cellphone for about a year. She takes it with her when going to the roller rink, or dance class, or to a movie with a friend. Like Kar2oonMan wrote, it's a nice 'in case of emergency' thing to have. And the phone she has is sort of an older model, and a bit clunky. It's hardly a status symbol -- which was my intention. Sure, my daughter wants to add screensavers and ringtones, and feels she wants a flip-phone, but that's where I draw the line. Any time she decides she needs upgrades, I always ask her 'where is your cellphone?' Typically, it's under her bed, or sitting on her dresser out of power. What's your fear, wahooskipper?
