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Supposedly "all" her friends have one. Can anyone here convince me that this isn't a bad idea? I'm not going for it. Am I just old school and not adapting with the times or is an 8 year old with a cell phone as ridiculous as I think it is?
Supposedly "all" her friends have one. Can anyone here convince me that this isn't a bad idea? I'm not going for it. Am I just old school and not adapting with the times or is an 8 year old with a cell phone as ridiculous as I think it is?
Who cares what her friends have, she is your child, be her parent and do what you think is best.
Our kids got pagers back before cell phones when they had a job and could afford to pay for them.
If she's going to be taking photos and videos for blogging, downloading, installing, and maybe thinking about developing apps, then go for it. It could be a good first tool for introduction into the combined world of tech media.
If she's just going to be chatting and texting her friends, then maybe wait.
Better yet, you could learn about how cell phones and tablets can be used as tools, and then go over it with her. Also learn parental controls. Buy it, lock/limit it, teach the basics, and then let her run with it.
Kids get phones at younger ages these days, its just the way it is. It doesn't have to be a smart phone. Something like 90% of 7 year olds have mobile phones in my country, its a good way to contact parents if school closes early for some reason or they want to go round a friend's house to play after school instead of coming straight home. Things like that. I'll be getting my kid a phone when she starts school for sure.
Supposedly "all" her friends have one. Can anyone here convince me that this isn't a bad idea? I'm not going for it. Am I just old school and not adapting with the times or is an 8 year old with a cell phone as ridiculous as I think it is?
Why do you have to negotiate with an 8 y.o. or convince her? She's old enough to be given an explanation of why she's not getting one and tell her that it's your choice as a parent to make that decision. Remember, someone has to be the grownup in the relationship, and by default that should be you.
the reasoning is the standard "because my friends have one"
im guessing she wouldnt accept a dumb phone...it would have to be an iphone or android that is 5x bigger than her lil hands with full internet access
if a phone was really about "emergency" a dumb phone would suffice
Is your 8 year old ever in a situation where they are not supervised by an adult?
Such as walking to school completely by themselves?
Staying home alone, without a babysitterr or a house phone?
Driving down deserted country roads, alone? (obviously not)
I really, really doubt if your child needs a phone for emergencies. If they do, than a simple "dumb" phone will be OK.
I bet that they want internet access to be able to play games, watch utube videos, surf the web, send photographs & videos to friends, and text friends during school and after you go to sleep. Do they really need to do that? Do you really want them to do that?
Last edited by germaine2626; 03-16-2015 at 06:33 AM..
Mine is a bit older than yours, and yes I bought him a cellphone. Most companies have good parent control for phones these days.... I have Verizon and it's great. I can block numbers and limit texts.. they have free filters so no naughtiness is accessible that they shouldn't be looking at. AND GPS tracking so you always know where your kid is.
OH- by the way, most public schools are also giving the kids free iPads to use at school and home. Even Elementary kids have them now. Mine has a free iPad from school and can go online/use email anytime they want. There are controls on there also, but it's about the same thing as having a cell phone. Especially if you can block texts/limit calls. Doesn't yours have one yet?
YOU are the parent, you know and understand your child's needs (vs. wants) so YOU make the decision that is best for your family. It does not matter if "every other child in their class" has it/does it, you decide for your child.
My daughter pulled the "everyone else has one" ploy when she was about that age. I called her bluff and asked for actual names. It turned out that (whatever it was) only one other child, in her class of 30, had/did what she said "everyone" had/did. She never used that ploy again.
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