Offshoot of QOD- Cell phones

[sneakymom]

Ok I just answered Weds question of the day and I just HAD to ask this one. 

How old do you think kids need to be to have a cell phone?  Smartphone? 

Do you think it matters if you've still got a landline in the house or not? 

Just curious. 

My oldest was in 6th grade when EVERYONE started getting cell phones.  I can't tell you how mad she got when BFF got one- and she didn't.  I saw no need for it.  She wasn't driving- never went anywhere that I couldn't get her AND we had a landline. 

First cell phone she got was in 9th grade.  She was going on a trip with orchestra to Chicago, and the music teacher wanted the kids to have phones.  I was going to give her mine- and then dh and I talked about it.  Seeing that she had her permit- could potentially be driving in a year- we both felt she needed something.  So she got a "no-frills" phone ( that was 4 years ago- smartphones were just coming out)  She wasn't thrilled with it- but it worked.

Her sister got a phone right before she started high school.  We had put mom on our plan.  When my dad passed away, I didn't like her driving around in an older vehicle with no cell phone.  So we put her on ours (my sister got miffed- they were taking too long IMHO).  She was in the process of moving, and wanted to do something different with the phone.  (BIL got her an iPhone and she HATES IT, she's terminating the service when her contract is up in April).  We figured that since she'd be driving soon, and the phone was already paid for- dd could have it.  It had problems.  The battery had no life (the darn phone was over 6 years old!)

Last Christmas, dh decided to upgrade both kids to smartphones.  They were so surprised

  I kind of felt it overkill at first.  But I have to admit- I like the fact that I can text dd at school, and she is far better at answering texts than she is her phone. The youngest needed something reliable b/c she's months away from her licence.  And she's gone to a whole bunch of things this year that she's needed her phone for. 

We also got rid of our landline in Dec.  All we were getting on it was telemarketers anyways.  It's free long distance after 7 weekdays and all weekends.  And even so- we've got 700 minutes of phone time that we never use (calls to our phones and anyone else who has verizon are free)

I ask this b/c I know people who have younger children.  And one of them said that half of her child's 5th (yes 5th) grade class had cell phones.  Some even had smartphones.  Some parents justify it by saying that they don't have a landline in the house anymore- and their kid needs a phone if they aren't home.  Ok.  I guess I can understand. 

Thoughts?

Cheryl

 

[swampwitch]

We have a land line and I don't want to give it up.

Our daughter got her first cell phone when she started Middle School, grade 6. She didn't need one before that because we live close to her elementary school and from K-4 I walked her to school and picked her up (she walked by herself in grade 5).

But Middle School was a different matter - she had to take two buses to get there, transferring downtown. She was 11 when she started that commute by herself. We have a homeless problem in addition to a meth problem here, and her school was in the midst of everything, including shelters and safe needle disposal sites. The first year she got on the wrong bus twice so the phone was very helpful then.  She never had any problems otherwise but it was reassuring that she could reach us and vice versa.

 

[natalie_ca]

Ok I just answered Weds question of the day and I just HAD to ask this one. 

How old do you think kids need to be to have a cell phone?  Smartphone? 

Do you think it matters if you've still got a landline in the house or not? 

I don't think kids need to have a cell phone period!  IMHO when they are 16 or 17 years old and can work part time and pay for it themselves, if they want one then, they can have one.

So far as a land line goes, I still have one and I'm not going to be giving it up until they get rid of land lines completely.  I am not a slave to my cell phone. In fact only 3 people have my cell phone number aside from me, and I can't even remember what it is without looking it up on my phone.  I got my cell phone for my own convenience, and it is turned off most of the time when I'm not actually making a call out with it.

People know that if they want to talk to me they can call my land line. If I'm home I'll answer, if not, they can leave a message and I'll call them back.

It absolutely drives me insane to hear people talking on the phone in a restaurant, or see someone carrying their phone in their hands at the ready, or walking and texting. How did these people get along before there was such a thing as a cell phone?!

 

[Willowy]

It depends on the family's lifestyle. Some kids won't need a cell phone until they're in their later teens, some will need one sooner. I don't think a younger kid should have a smartphone, though, unless the internet part has some kind of system restriction on it.

 

[Winchester]

I agree.....it's the epitome of rudeness, IMO. If I'm out with somebody and they get on their phone, I tell them right out that if they're really busy, we can get together another time. I don't deal with them at all. I see people yakking away at the grocery store and I wonder what on earth is so darn important that it cannot wait. And if we're at a restaurant and the phone rings? We don't answer it.....we don't even look at it to see who it is. It just doesn't matter. (I can say, though, that when my dad was really sick and then with my mom, I carried my phone with me everywhere and when it rang, I always checked to see who it was; if it was my brother or sister or the nursing home, I answered it and quickly.....that was a different matter.)

Kids do not need cell phones, unless there's no land line.....and then the basic cell will do fine. That will enable them to call home if they're going to be late or if there's a problem. Other than that, there's absolutely no reason for a child to have a cell. When they're older, if they want one, they can contribute money to the plan. That's just the way it is.

 

[AbbysMom]

Some parents justify it by saying that they don't have a landline in the house anymore- and their kid needs a phone if they aren't home.  Ok.  I guess I can understand. 

I've always thought that some kids are getting them way too young, but I never thought about that some of them don't have landlines!