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I did not vote - my 14yr old does not have a smart phone (I assume when you said iPhone, you meant any type of smart phone) I have nothing against teenagers and smart phones.
My college kid had the first smart phone in the family 5 years ago when he started college. I got one a few months ago, DH and DD still have dumb phones. The reason; I'm not going to pay for something they won't use.
When the time comes that I think that DD would use one, I would probably get it for her. Right now she can't find her dumb phone half the time and has not voiced any interest in a smart phone. DH has no desire for anything other than a phone so he can check in.
My husband and I have always had Tracfones, with our current ones early level smart phones.
When our third daughter was entering middle school we were planning on getting her a Tracfone as well. Her two older sisters are both living on their own, are both teachers and were sharing a phone plan at the time. They talked and decided to ask if they could add her to theirs so that she could have a better phone than what we were planning on providing. They would also pay for it.
And that is what we did. She got a better smart phone than our Tracfones and her sisters paid the cost for it. Over time the older two got separate plans and eventually they each got iPhones. When the iPhone 5 came out, my second daughter upgraded to that one and handed down her 4 to my now 9th grader, who is still on the oldest one's plan.
So, my 9th grader does have an iPhone, but we didn't buy her any phones and we don't pay for it. We do, however have final decision on what she gets, when she gets it and whether she gets to keep it.
All my kids have smartphones (not iPhones). They got them as birthday or holiday gifts and we pay the bill. They are 14, 16, 19. The 14 year old just got his smartphone recently. We do not have a home phone.
My daughter has had an iphone since she was 13 or so when the 3g came out. She also never had to pay for her phone. She is an awesome kid and was never a tech addict.
My he'll-then-be-nearly-14 yr old will be inheriting an iPhone 4 later this year; I'm waiting for the next release to upgrade. He's not really a phone user yet; it's more an upgrade for his iPod Touch.
We don't have a landline, so it's a sensible step for him to have a phone (his friends currently call him on my cell). And we're on T Mobile's Prepaid plan, which means his added line will only be $10 a month for unlimited calls, text and data, so the additional cost is negligible.
My daughter has had an iphone since she was 13 or so when the 3g came out. She also never had to pay for her phone. She is an awesome kid and was never a tech addict.
Okay, but what does a 13 year old need an iPhone for???? I just can't see paying extra money on a cell phone bill just to have access to email or internet on a phone, especially for a child.
I got my daughter her first cell phone when she was 9. The only reason she got it was becuase we go into Manhattan a lot and she was taking classes there. I wanted her to have the cell phone in case we somehow got separated or if I would be late in picking her up.
She's 14 now and "everyone" has an iPhone or "smartphone" and she wants one. I told her no way and that if she wants one, she can get one when she's a little older and working and she can pay the cell phone bill each month.
I don't have a "smartphone" or iPhone --- I have no need to check email or the internet while I'm out. I think if I was in a business situation where I needed immediate access to email, I would have one. Other than that, I see no need for it.
My 11YO has a Tracfone "feature phone" with Wi-Fi and a QWERTY keyboard and a camera. The Web browsing is essentially useless, and she whines that all her friends have iPhones, but until she can pay for it herself, this is all she gets. (There are no cellphone plans in our house - we all have prepaid.)
And she has to do chores to earn more minutes.
Same here. The family plan gets them plenty of minutes every month for $5 each and they actually can carry on conversations and aren't always answering some text.
They learn some self-control because they can see how many units they use up and can learn to budget their texting.
Okay, but what does a 13 year old need an iPhone for???? I just can't see paying extra money on a cell phone bill just to have access to email or internet on a phone, especially for a child.
NOBODY needs an iphone. An iphone is ALWAYS something people have because they want it. I do not know a single person who willingly limits their life to strictly what they NEED. Adults have lots of things they don't need. Nobody needs a large screeen tv. Any car that is more than just the basic model is not necessary. Nobody needs jewelery. Nobody needs computers outside of work. Nobody needs swimming pools. Nobody needs to go to the movies. Nobody needs cable tv. Nobody needs to go to live concerts. Nobody needs to go to professional sporting events. Yet-people have these things.
I don't think it makes any sense to a child to tell them that they can't have an iphone because they don't need one. If you don't want to spend the money it, fine. If you don't want them to have unfettered access to the internet, fine. If you don't want to pay for the service, fine. But it makes no sense to say they can't have one because you think they don't NEED one. Nobody needs one. It is confusing to say that they can't have something because they don't need it, when there are lots of things that they do have that they don't need.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amisi
She's 14 now and "everyone" has an iPhone or "smartphone" and she wants one. I told her no way and that if she wants one, she can get one when she's a little older and working and she can pay the cell phone bill each month.
I don't have a "smartphone" or iPhone --- I have no need to check email or the internet while I'm out. I think if I was in a business situation where I needed immediate access to email, I would have one. Other than that, I see no need for it.
I have no NEED for an iphone. Yet I have one. There are valid reasons to not give your child a smartphone but IMO not needing one is not a valid reason. I am sure there are lots of things your child has that she does not need.
I and my children have lots of things we don't "need" to me the whole "do you really need a smart phone" argument is not all that valid. Want vs. need is not exclusive to phones and really is a decision each parent/family should make on their own behalf.
Okay, but what does a 13 year old need an iPhone for???? I just can't see paying extra money on a cell phone bill just to have access to email or internet on a phone, especially for a child.
I got my daughter her first cell phone when she was 9. The only reason she got it was becuase we go into Manhattan a lot and she was taking classes there. I wanted her to have the cell phone in case we somehow got separated or if I would be late in picking her up.
She's 14 now and "everyone" has an iPhone or "smartphone" and she wants one. I told her no way and that if she wants one, she can get one when she's a little older and working and she can pay the cell phone bill each month.
I don't have a "smartphone" or iPhone --- I have no need to check email or the internet while I'm out. I think if I was in a business situation where I needed immediate access to email, I would have one. Other than that, I see no need for it.
My kids (12 & 14) do not have Iphones but many of their friends do. We have chosen to provide them with the more economical android smartphone option (Virgin Mobile) which allows them the ability to interact with social media sites, share photos, etc. along with unlimited texting and internet access, listen to music, Google play aps, etc. Their phones are a HUGE part of THEIR social experience, THEIR generation, not mine, nor my DHs. Over time, we evolved to this, after starting out with basic, pay-as-you-go type phones when they were younger. But now, as the technology has progressed and their peer group has moved on, so have their phones (which they have purchased themselves with birthday money). For a while even, my teens had smartphones and both my DH and I did not. He and I didn't need the smartphones because we and our adult peers and relatives do not interact (and still don't!) like our kids do. Eventually, I needed an upgrade and now have a basic smartphone like my teens. My DH still does not....he loves his old smaller sized Samsung with the integrated keyboard on front!
But do they NEED a smartphone? The short answer is: YES. Without it, around here, I feel certain that my kids would be left out of socializing completely with their peer group. I feel there is more of a risk (isolation, falling into the wrong crowd, loss of self esteem, etc.) in not providing them with the technology than with. I am a heavy monitor of their usage as well. Keeping a close eye on what they are doing and helping them navigate and learn the important rules of internet safety while they are young versus in HS or college is an added bonus in my view. It is not going away anytime soon....
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