I was standing in line at the post office a few weeks ago, and there was a mom and her daugher, who looked to be around four, in line behind me. The daughter was playing with mom's cell phone, and started whining that she wanted her own cell phone. Much to my suprise, the mom's reply was "You can have one when you're six, just like your brother."
Needless to say, this suprised the hell out of me. What, exactly, does a six-year-old do with a cell phone? As a teacher, I know I wouldn't want them in my classroom during the school day. I just can't think of any time that my six-year-old would ever be without adult supervision, that she would need a cell phone.
Since my experience at the post office, I've come across a few discussions on this topic on various discussion boards. I was shocked to learn how many parents get their young children cell phones. Many of these parents say that their kids are safer with the cell phones, or that life is just easier with the kids having their own phone. If the kid needs a ride home from school, he can just use his own phone instead of having to bother an adult.
Turns out, there are lots of cell phones that are made especially for young kids, like the Firefly. These phones can only call certain, preprogrammed numbers so kids just can't call whomever they like. I can see how these phones could be useful for children, but it should be the exception, not the rule.
The only way I would get my 6-7-8-9-10 year old kid one of these phones is if they were heavily involved in some kind of sport or activity that requried them to be away from home often. I'm talking like the kid is going to go to the Olympics someday and practices 5 nights a week, not just I take ballet once a week for an hour. That is the only way I can forsee myself ever getting a cell phone for a kid that young. Maybe I'll change my mind when Lauren gets older, I don't know. Right now, the idea just seems ridiculous.
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I agree! I was having lunch with my aunt and cousin yesterday that I hardly ever see. My cousin is 8. She said she wanted her mom to get her a cell phone. We were telling her, "Who are you going to call?" She said to her mom, "I'll call you." I don't think there's actually a need for cell phones in young kids like that. I think they just get whatever they want. That is so crazy. I think when your teenager starts driving on their own, get them a cell phone. Until then, they can use a regular phone, just like everyone else!
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