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Old 12-23-2016, 06:34 AM
 
3,613 posts, read 4,089,679 times
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I was getting my hair done the other night and a stylist in the next booth over had her child call her because his ride had not shown up and was quite late. This child was at a school program and the principal was waiting with him. The mom was at work and was in the middle of a cut. Not only was her son able to call and let her know what was going on, but she was able to call the ride and find out what happened...at least this child had the principal there, who could have gotten into the school to access a phone if needed, but that is not always possible. Back in the dark ages, before cell phones, I ended up walking home, in the dark, alone, after many a sports practices because I wasn't able to get ahold of my parents or they were late picking me up and no one was around so I could use a phone to call....
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Old 12-23-2016, 06:52 AM
 
Location: City Data Land
17,156 posts, read 12,858,990 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by randomparent View Post
I once heard that it's folly to accept parenting advice from anyone who has fewer than three children or all girls. Food for thought.
Food for thought and totally wrong. I don't understand the attitude that people without kids have no clue about parenting. I have no kids. Parenting is incredibly difficult. I get it. But I can spot an abusive parent, super controlling parent, or overly lax parent from a mile away. I know which parents I should be concerned about in my work which involves dealing with a lot of kids. People who aren't parents can know how kids should be treated just as parents can. It's called instinct, and we all have it.
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Old 12-23-2016, 07:23 AM
 
Location: The analog world
17,077 posts, read 13,261,140 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks View Post
Food for thought and totally wrong. I don't understand the attitude that people without kids have no clue about parenting. I have no kids. Parenting is incredibly difficult. I get it. But I can spot an abusive parent, super controlling parent, or overly lax parent from a mile away. I know which parents I should be concerned about in my work which involves dealing with a lot of kids. People who aren't parents can know how kids should be treated just as parents can. It's called instinct, and we all have it.
It wasn't a condemnation of people without children or a denial of their ability to recognize bad situations. Please lighten up and look at the greater context in which I made the comment, which was a joke between those of us with challenging children who remind us to check our egos as parents.
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Old 12-23-2016, 07:28 AM
 
8,170 posts, read 6,001,128 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frostnip View Post
Eh, kind of. Modern smartphones are essentially tablet computers with a cell phone built in as well. They're not something different so much as something additional. One can quibble over what constitutes a "computer" nowadays, with everything using microprocessors, but there's definitely a large functionality gap between a flip phone and a smartphone, even if it's a nicer flip phone.



Did you click on the links to see their sources? I click on a few and the most recent I saw was early 2015, but some were as out of date as 2013.
Yup old data is as obsolete as his opinion....

My oldest started with a flip phone at 2. Why? Because she had an idiot for a stepfather. He had visitation court ordered. I could track his whereabouts using the gps built into the phone and paying extra for the Verizon family locator service. This came in handy when he was sitting at the bar with my 3 year old running around playing pool with other patrons. I would go pick her up.

She had the same phone up until she was 9 or 10, and she inherited my old iPhone.

People thought I was nuts for putting a phone on her but when I explained the situation it made perfect sense. I am a single mom, who has a child that has to be independent and responsible. I need to be able to reach her. The phone is her digital leash. And I can easily use the find my iPhone to locate her when needed. Peace of mind is priceless
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Old 12-23-2016, 07:28 AM
 
Location: Ohio
5,624 posts, read 6,801,647 times
Reputation: 6802
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks View Post
Food for thought and totally wrong. I don't understand the attitude that people without kids have no clue about parenting. I have no kids. Parenting is incredibly difficult. I get it. But I can spot an abusive parent, super controlling parent, or overly lax parent from a mile away. I know which parents I should be concerned about in my work which involves dealing with a lot of kids. People who aren't parents can know how kids should be treated just as parents can. It's called instinct, and we all have it.
No, you have no idea about parenting. Due to your job, you see the bad side and assume everyone is a bad parent. In your quote above you pointed out bad examples of parents. Youre trained to do so. Its not instinct, its your job as a mandated reporter. Which is not the same thing.

Last edited by Ohky0815; 12-23-2016 at 07:38 AM..
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Old 12-23-2016, 07:35 AM
 
8,170 posts, read 6,001,128 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pat Answers View Post
I read about half-way through this thread and just have to say something. Are we all getting to be a little like sheeple, each following the last fellow into the smart-phone store? The level of outright anger I read from those who have to those who don't have or don't want to have is pretty high. Whatever happened to finding your own way to do things and conduct your life?

I know, just another level of must-haves. In the 70's and 80's it was rebock tennis shoes. Gone were the no-name tennis shoes. One had to have at least some of those things just to fit in. Now it's smart phones. But what I don't get is the absolute pressure about it.

We're grandparents and use the technology we want to use. I have an expanded keyboard phone and DH has a flip phone. It works for us just fine. But my family and my grandkids make fun of us to the point where it just isn't even polite. Where is all this pressure coming from? And who says that having a smart phone makes a kid superior?

I do get the safety factor, there are no pay phones. I had to find one a couple years ago and it was $1+ of coins to make the call once I finally found one. But the peer pressure around this stuff is just obnoxious. Yes, it affects us older folk too. I really feel for these kids growing up like this. They may be learning technology, but I don't believe they're learning great communication skills.
Age is not an excuse. My parents are old and they have had iPhones for years. My mom was in line for the very first iPad and has owned many since.

My dad needed hardware the other day. I was already at Home Depot. He snapped a picture, texted me and I picked up exactly what he needed. The pic was worth a thousand words....
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Old 12-23-2016, 08:08 AM
 
3,613 posts, read 4,089,679 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LowonLuck View Post
Age is not an excuse. My parents are old and they have had iPhones for years. My mom was in line for the very first iPad and has owned many since.

My dad needed hardware the other day. I was already at Home Depot. He snapped a picture, texted me and I picked up exactly what he needed. The pic was worth a thousand words....
I agree. It took me a little convincing that a smartphone would be easier than a flip phone for my parents, but they readily adopted smartphones, Ipads and other technology and use them to keep in touch with the grandkids and their friends, GPS for road trips, Twitter and Facebook, etc. They are old enough to be great grandparents if their grandkids would oblige .

Our oldest employee was pretty afraid of using a smartphone, which we have for our employees but with a little coaching, she has come around and LOVES her smartphone as she tells me frequently. She is almost 70.
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Old 12-23-2016, 09:05 AM
 
10,226 posts, read 7,492,783 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LowonLuck View Post
Yup old data is as obsolete as his opinion....

My oldest started with a flip phone at 2. Why? Because she had an idiot for a stepfather. He had visitation court ordered. I could track his whereabouts using the gps built into the phone and paying extra for the Verizon family locator service. This came in handy when he was sitting at the bar with my 3 year old running around playing pool with other patrons. I would go pick her up.

She had the same phone up until she was 9 or 10, and she inherited my old iPhone.

People thought I was nuts for putting a phone on her but when I explained the situation it made perfect sense. I am a single mom, who has a child that has to be independent and responsible. I need to be able to reach her. The phone is her digital leash. And I can easily use the find my iPhone to locate her when needed. Peace of mind is priceless
You seem intent on arguing. No one is against cell phones for kids. No one in this thread. The OP is asking about smart phones because the kid comes home and does the "but everyone is doin' it!" routine.

Smart phones vs cell phones: My opinion is that because smart phones cost more, a cell phone is the more practical choice. A cell phone helps with a child's security and safety and for convenience for all. A smart phone only adds funsies to that and serves no practical purpose. Doesn't mean anyone is against smart phones. The OP didn't want to get the kid a smart phone...so that was the premise of the original OP.

Whatever happened to the Mom who responds to the kid's "But everyone else is doin' i!" with the standard, "If everyone else jumped off a bridge, does that mean you would, too?"

But if a family has plenty of expendable income and they want to get their kid laptops, a smartphone, or anything else, that's their choice. But the kid saying "But everyone else is doin' it!" isn't a good reason for that.

And...everyone else is not doing it, of course. That's what kids say. The stats, and common sense, show that everyone else is NOT doing it, although it may seem that way. What people really mean when they say that, IMO, is "Everyone who matters is doing it." That's what the kid means, too.

It's not a big deal, though, if a family has the money and the philosophy that the kid should have what they want. Nothing wrong with that. But the OP asked opinions. No one is attacking smart phones. Altho I saw a lot of misunderstanding of cell phones by people with smart phones...like cell phones can't take good quality pics and transmit them, can't text, etc. A smart phone IS a cell phone, with added features. A cell phone may even look like a smart phone (mine looks similar, and is a touch phone). Cell phones have come a long way, and cost less.

I'm frugal and buy based on need. I need a cell phone that has certain capabilities. I don't need a smart phone and wouldn't use the added features. Pics, texting, speedy transmission of pics, phone calls, calculator, alarm...that's all I need. If others need more, like Apple Pay, then get a smartphone.
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Old 12-23-2016, 09:30 AM
 
Location: North West Arkansas (zone 6b)
2,776 posts, read 3,214,448 times
Reputation: 3911
my kid's school does indeed ask the kids to go to websites on their phones to look at stuff on the internet.

I purchased cheap $100 smartphones unlocked (walmart/amazon) and purchased voice and text only prepaid minutes via puretalk.

I currently pay $35 per month for 4 phones in total and don't have to worry about them watching youtube videos all summer on data and getting a phone bill with $200 in overage charges like my co-worker who was already paying a $200 phone bill.
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Old 12-23-2016, 09:34 AM
 
Location: The analog world
17,077 posts, read 13,261,140 times
Reputation: 22904
Quote:
Originally Posted by gunslinger256 View Post
my kid's school does indeed ask the kids to go to websites on their phones to look at stuff on the internet.

I purchased cheap $100 smartphones unlocked (walmart/amazon) and purchased voice and text only prepaid minutes via puretalk.

I currently pay $35 per month for 4 phones in total and don't have to worry about them watching youtube videos all summer on data and getting a phone bill with $200 in overage charges like my co-worker who was already paying a $200 phone bill.
Then they have an obligation to provide an alternate way for children without personal devices to access the same information. This kind of stuff seriously pisses me off, and I have gone to battle with my own school district over the issue.
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