Really? A cell phone for a 9 year old? (accident, son, 9 yr old)
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Sometimes... they do! There have been occasions that school has been closed early, due to snowstorm, power outage, heating system problem, etc, and I didn't know it until my son got off the bus at home...a few hours early.
Well, I guess in this day and age kids need communiaction devices, they also need to drive asap with everything that goes on with family schedules and all...but they do definately need to be responsible and not think a parent is going to bail them out when they mess up!
My 18 year old had her permit to drive, but one day she drove a car w/o a licensed driver and no insurance! well she got pulled over and now shes having to bus it everywhere and has a ticket that keeps going up and up!
I told her now shes 18 I'm not paying her phone anymore so shes paying it, and she has to pay off her fines...but she did it to herself I warned her plenty of times not to do anything stupid! She definately regrets it now!
Sometimes... they do! There have been occasions that school has been closed early, due to snowstorm, power outage, heating system problem, etc, and I didn't know it until my son got off the bus at home...a few hours early.
Schools do have to suddenly shut down on occasion. We had a bomb threat situation two years ago. (It turned out to be high school kids playing a stupid prank.) The school went on lockdown, then parents were notified by one of those automated messages, then students were allowed to leave as soon as their parents arrived to pick them up. The schools would not release the students to anyone but the parents - parents or whoever was listed as their legal guardians had to sign them out - and the buses were not running. The students were not allowed to walk or ride their bikes home, even in groups. Needless to say - the phone lines were jammed and my kids and I were very thankful that they had their phones in their backpacks - their teacher's allowed the students with cell phones to call their parents. A boy in our youngest son's class who didn't have a cell phone borrowed our son's phone to call his parents.
Because of the rush of parent's to the school, too, I had a feeling that traffic and parking was going to be insane. So I parked a few blocks from the school and was able to walk and talk to my son on the phone letting him know I was on my way, and that I was close. He was really nervous during all that craziness, and I think keeping him on the phone as I was walking to get him helped calm him through the situation. He also knew exactly when I got to the school to sign him out because he was on the phone with me as I said, "OK, I'm coming through the doors now - look for me..." Kids can get really stressed in those kinds of unfamiliar and uncertain situations. Especially when you're hearing things like "bomb threat" at a time when almost every family has someone or knows of someone who is off at war, and the word "terrorist" is as common a word to our children as milk or cookies.
Granted bomb threats thankfully aren't an everyday or even every year thing! But on that day we were very thankful to have a direct line of contact with our kids. Our schools have also closed early for bad weather and once for a falsely reported attempted abduction (again - a high school kid doing a dumb thing that upset the schedules of an entire school district and its staff and families...). Each time of course an automated message has been sent out to families, but it seems like some parents just don't check their massages or something and don't get those messages until it's too late.
My god...kids having phones at all is a little over the top I think. 500$ ones..thats just a disgusting waste of money. I would not give a kid of mine a cell phone for health reasons. I really find it bothersome that parents do hand them out no matter what the price. I would put that 500$ in a savings account and take them to the bank every month to "pay the bill" in the form of a deposit so they could see what that useless crap adds up to and give it to them when they turn 18.
I can think of a lot of reasons to have a phone for your younger child. Perhaps they have a medical condition or a mental disability that requires access to a phone. Perhaps they have a joint custody situation and need to maintain contact with both parents. Perhaps the family has several children on very different schedules so the phone is needed for pickup/dropoff coordination. I could go on and on.
Bottom line is who cares why? You don't have to pay for it, and the parents think it's necessary, so... why should you care?
my oldest got her cell phone when she was 12, it was pretty basic, and we also put a block on all the internet, send/recv pic mail, and any 3rd party charges. She also knows I will take it from her periodically and check all the texts. Her having a phone has come in very handy many times and Im thankful for being able to have this extra help in making our lives a little bit safer/easier.
Now, on the flip side of the coin.....I work for a cell phone company, and I cannot tell you how many calls each and every day I get that the parents are irate because little darling has run up hundreds of dollars in overages, or the internet, or made massive amounts of purchases via 3rd party (games/ringtones/etc) and 99.99% refuse to pay for those charges!!! Ive told them we can meet them part way if they block these services (data/3rd partys) and they refuse. They will admit to knowing how to check on their childs minutes usage, but claim since their child is under 18, they shouldnt be responsible for charges. what??!! Ive had people that call in month after month after month for the exact same issues, but they refuse to pay. I had one dad tell me the other day, that yes, he knows his daughter has been using the data on her phone, for MONTHS, but he doesnt feel he should have to pay for it because she was only 14 and doesnt understand why she cant use it freely. Also, when i advsd him to block it, he refused, because that would be "restricting her rights!' HUH???
so anyhow, thats my beef, if you get your kiddo a cell phone, thats totally your choice, but please, teach them to be responsible for usage, and as the parent, be responsible for them and what they do.
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