Parents, Kids and Mobile Phones

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.compete.com/EmailDownload/Wireless_Vantage.htm#1' target='_blank'>http://www.compete.com/EmailDownload/Wireless_Vantage.htm#1</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Parents say that between the age of 10 and 12 is the most appropriate time for a child to get his or her first mobile phone, according to a new study from Compete, Inc. Compete assessed interest in the new category of kid-friendly phones as well as the drivers and inhibitors of purchase. Compete findings suggest makers and marketers of kid-friendly handsets need to convince parents that the benefit of a reliable line of parent-to-child communication outweighs any discomfort in giving mobile phones to young children."</i><br /><br />Wow! 10 years old, eh? Provided that age doesn't continue to drop, I have 6 years before I need to equip my daughter with her own cellphone. Eek! I don't know that I'm ready for that. I know she won't go for those simple FireFly phones. She's going to want a totally geeked out device - like daddy's. 8O

[encece]

I don't know. My son is 6 and started kindergarten this year. My heart dropped the day he first got onto the schoolbus. It was the first time I ever sent him off on his own, other than with family. That day was a bit different. Though we brought him to school ourselves the first few days, the day he got onto the bus...he was getting on without either his mother or myself by his side. Experiencing something (his first schoolbus ride) on his own. Was he scared? Was he excited? Did he miss us? Did he think we sent him to the wolves?

Most of these feelings were my own. He was already going to daycare for years and was used to being without us. But we already trusted his caregivers. This was a new experience for US as well as him.

I think by the time he turns 7 he'll be ready for a firefly type phone. Where he could call Mommy or Daddy whenever he wants. He'll probably consider it as cool...but we'll have a tiny bit of peace-of-mind as a result.
Add a GPS to that puppy and I have almost no worries.

I don't think I need to be concerned most times....so it's for the times you can't predict.

Technology has advanced rapidly. I think the poll above is a middle ground between those who can't conform to it (probably voting 13-15 years old) and those who readily accept it (probably voting 6 or 7 years old).

I say 7 years old...but that's just a number. When he can fully understand how to use it properly, take care of it and understand the rules around it, I'd be glad to buy one for him. This year he is learning real responsibility. Responsibility for his schoolwork. To get up on time when woken and be ready for school. To take care of his books and supplies. etc. By first grade, that will be under his belt and he'll be ready for more.

Again, this would only to communicate between our family.

If we're talking about the freedom to call anyone at anytime, my opinion of the age goes up to around 10 or 11.

[encece]

Off-Topic.
These posts are what I enjoy most about SmartPhoneThoughts.

Smartphone news items are great, but THOUGHTS topics are always my favorite as they invite discussion and...ummm...thought. :D

[Mike Temporale]

Off-Topic.
These posts are what I enjoy most about SmartPhoneThoughts.

Smartphone news items are great, but THOUGHTS topics are always my favorite as they invite discussion and...ummm...thought. :D

Yeah, I wasn't sure if this was more of a news - since it is cellphone related, or off-topic - since it wasn't Smartphone related.

Decisions - decisions. :lol:

[Mike Temporale]

I think by the time he turns 7 he'll be ready for a firefly type phone. Where he could call Mommy or Daddy whenever he wants. He'll probably consider it as cool...but we'll have a tiny bit of peace-of-mind as a result.
Add a GPS to that puppy and I have almost no worries.

Should they be able to call whenever they want? Shouldn't they learn that we aren't always going to be there for them? If there's a problem at school, they should be dealing with the teachers and not phoning their parents, right? I don't know, I still have a year before my daughter starts at a real school, and we live just 3 blocks away from the school. So there is no bus ride for me to worry about.

I say 7 years old...but that's just a number. When he can fully understand how to use it properly, take care of it and understand the rules around it, I'd be glad to buy one for him. This year he is learning real responsibility. Responsibility for his schoolwork. To get up on time when woken and be ready for school. To take care of his books and supplies. etc. By first grade, that will be under his belt and he'll be ready for more.

Again, this would only to communicate between our family.

It sounds like in your situation 7 years might be good. I would just be concerned about when he thinks he can call. But this means I only have 4 years and not 6. 8O 8O

[randalllewis]

Having young school age kids in the 80's was tough enough. I am pleased I don't have to worry about it today. But there is no doubt if I had 7 to 10 year olds in 2006, they would have a Firefly type phone with them at all times. My first mobile phone was one of those bricks that was actually connected to a huge battery unit by a thick cord. I think it was an old radio phone type units with a "new" cell phone handset added. We travelled up and down I-5 in Washington a lot back then visiting relatives and that mobile unit was in the car because my kids were in the car. That was cutting edge technology back then, so there is no doubt in my mind that I'd have the same for them today if I had to.

[encece]

Like I was saying. There will be rules. I'm not tryin to raise a wimpy kid who calls his mommy &amp; daddy whenever he runs into trouble. But for the times he REALLY needs me, today's technology allows him to be just a phone call away. Who wouldn't want that?

[dh]

Our daughter is 12 and has had a cellphone for a couple of years. Because my wife and I are usually working when our daughter gets home from school and we don't have a landline, we thought the cellphone was essential.

Until recently she had a Virgin pay as you go phone but we recently changed carriers and now she has a line on our plan. We also got her a Razr phone which she and her friends think is the coolest thing.

david

[f540xs]

if i had kids, i would make them clean my room.

[Sven Johannsen]

This an intersting topic. My kids are in their mid twenties. I suppose it is time to get them cell phones ;). Actually the things weren't all that widespread when they were at the age you are talking about. Wh ten they got to High Schoolhe common belief was the kids with pagers and phones were the drug dealers. What we did do was give them one of our phones on occasions when they were going to be out for an evening, or extended, function. We expected they would be turned off, unless they were needed to call us. They were not so we could check up on them, but so they could contact us if need be.

I do have grandkids though, and wonder about what their parents will do. Hopefully they will think the same as I, or I can contain my desire to do what I think is right, against their wishes. I'm not sure what I think is right yet though. My generation survived without all those tethers, and there are a whole lot of us. My kids survived too. Times have changed though, and maybe not for the better when it comes to the safety of kids.

Good luck to all of you that have this decision to make.

[Rocco Augusto]

not to long ago i sold a RAZR and a bluetooth headset to some guy for his two 8-10 year old boys. now i think thats going a little bit overboard ;)

[encece]

Definitely overboard for younger kids...but by the time they are teens, they better be able to text and picture message or there will be hell to pay. :)

[lagsun]

Yeah, I wasn't sure if this was more of a news - since it is cellphone related, or off-topic - since it wasn't Smartphone related.

Decisions - decisions. :lol:

Mike, of course this is smartphone related :D When I decide to upgrade to the T-Mobile SDA or an i-Mate SP5 then I'll need to give my Audiovox SMT-5600 to someone. My wife won't know how to use it, but my 10 year-old son definitely will. He already has an iPod Shuffle and Sony PSP so I already know gadget geeks run in the family :D

On a more serious note, I might get my son a cellphone next year when he starts middle school, but I don't see a need for it now. It really depends on the family situation. However, kids today are so technologically sophisticated (and if you're a parent and reading this forum then your kids are probably even more so) that I can't see them wanting a Migo or Firefly. Wouldn't it just be easier (and possibly more profitable) for a carrier to sell a basic handset with some of the features disabled? Just a thought...

John

[echosmyron]

My kid will not get a cell phone until she grows up and has enough money from allowance/job/etc to pay for it and the monthly bills.

I see no reason for a 10 year old (7 year old?!) to have a cell phone. I got by fine without one when I was growing up. And I'll limit computer time and video games as well.

[encece]

Not trying to debate on how to raise kids. To each his own.
But my son was playing XBOX since he was 4. I believe it helped him learn to read and grow his puzzle solving skills.

Limits are what these things are all about. He'll have a phone for emergencies. Not for calling/texting his friends across the school all day and night.

He plays video games supervised and at certain times...when his little chores are done and homework is finished. He must also balance this between practicing reading/writing/math, arts/crafts type stuff, playing with the boatload of toys gathering dust at times.

Computer time is limited as it's next to impossible to do without full reading skills, on his own. Though we do have some excellent learning games and visit Nick.com from time to time.

We didn't have alot of things growing up. Our parents didn't have computers at all. Their parents didnt have TV. All grew up just fine. Will our kids be saying that they didnt have instant teleportation devices while they were growing up, to their kids?

In short, if people allow their kids to have certain things, they must all remember that they still need to parent their children and enforce limitations. They still need to remember what the important things are in life and focus on those. The technology is just a bonus.

[Kris Kumar]

Something for all you out there, who are interested in tracking...
http://www.catscommunication.com/

[Kris Kumar]

We didn't have alot of things growing up. Our parents didn't have computers at all. Their parents didnt have TV. All grew up just fine. Will our kids be saying that they didnt have instant teleportation devices while they were growing up, to their kids?

In short, if people allow their kids to have certain things, they must all remember that they still need to parent their children and enforce limitations. They still need to remember what the important things are in life and focus on those. The technology is just a bonus.

Well said.

[egads]

There are a lot of adults that shouldn't have phones let alone 10 year olds :D

[Mike Temporale]

Actually the things weren't all that widespread when they were at the age you are talking about. Wh ten they got to High Schoolhe common belief was the kids with pagers and phones were the drug dealers.

That was pretty much the situation when I was in high school. Then it shifted to the overly wealthy kids having them.

My generation survived without all those tethers, and there are a whole lot of us. My kids survived too. Times have changed though, and maybe not for the better when it comes to the safety of kids.

Good luck to all of you that have this decision to make.

And I think that's part of what's holding me back. I got by without, and I think I turned out fine. ;)

[Mike Temporale]

Not trying to debate on how to raise kids. To each his own.
But my son was playing XBOX since he was 4. I believe it helped him learn to read and grow his puzzle solving skills.

Funny thing... My son loves to sit beside me and play with the other controller. He isn't actually playing, but he thinks he is, and that's what counts. ;) He's 21 months now, but he's been doing that for a while. :lol:

Computer time is limited as it's next to impossible to do without full reading skills, on his own. Though we do have some excellent learning games and visit Nick.com from time to time.

My daughter, now 3.5, just loves her computer. She knows how to pull it out and boot it up, launch IE and go to her favourite sites - nickjr, treehouse, cbc kids, etc... I reformated one of my old laptops for her and it's the best thing. She always wants to spend time on it. Pretty impressive stuff. But you're right, it's all about limits, and she knows when we say that's enough, that she needs to stop playing and pack it up.

We didn't have alot of things growing up. Our parents didn't have computers at all. Their parents didnt have TV. All grew up just fine. Will our kids be saying that they didnt have instant teleportation devices while they were growing up, to their kids?

In short, if people allow their kids to have certain things, they must all remember that they still need to parent their children and enforce limitations. They still need to remember what the important things are in life and focus on those. The technology is just a bonus.

as Kris already mentioned; Well said.

[Mike Temporale]

So what about the expense of all this?

We're all talking about whether or not we would give a phone, but what about the cost. My cell bill is already over $100 CDN (that's around $75 US) a month. Add another plan for my daughter (lets leave me son out for now) plus GPS monthly locating fee = a lot of money a year. Somewhere in the area of $200+ :( Then when it's time for my son to get his own! Eek. I'm getting scared just thinking about the cost. :(

[encece]

Our parents and grandparents lived their lives without SMARTPHONES as well...and they turned out just fine! :)