Cell Phones for Teens / Tweens.....

[ICF]

Based on another thread here....

Does your young teen / tween have a cell phone and if so why? This is in reference to younger, middle school aged kids, and not someone who is 15/16+ that may be in HS, have a job, be driving and the like.

I've seen in a number of threads about how people have kids that are 10, 11, 12 and such with cell phones.

I currently have a 10 1/2 yr old, finishing up 4th grade, and he doesnt have one and none of his friends do either.

Where exactly are these kids at, without an adult of some sort present, that they need their own cellphones for to call people??

 

[Rora]

I got a cell phone when I turned 11. My situation was special though..

I took the train to school everyday. It was about a 45 minute ride and the other students took the train too. However, my parents felt more comfortable giving me a phone in case of emergencies or to let them know the train would be late/ I missed the train, etc.

Personally, I wouldn't get my 11 yo a phone unless there was a special circumstance like mine. There are plenty of reasons for a child to have a phone, I assume, but I personally can find very few situations where the reasons are justified. Just an opinion.

 

[mjkacmom]

My dd13, ds12, and dd9 have cellphones. The two oldest are away from me frequently, with their friends, or at activities. Dd9 only uses hers for dance, which is at least 9 hours a week, and sometimes up to 4 hours at a time. My kids have been walking to school for years. They get dropped off for practices starting in 2nd - 3rd grade. Some are also involved in theater, which usually has no set ending time.

 

[allison443]

Based on another thread here....

Does your young teen / tween have a cell phone and if so why? This is in reference to younger, middle school aged kids, and not someone who is 15/16+ that may be in HS, have a job, be driving and the like.

I've seen in a number of threads about how people have kids that are 10, 11, 12 and such with cell phones.

I currently have a 10 1/2 yr old, finishing up 4th grade, and he doesnt have one and none of his friends do either.

Where exactly are these kids at, without an adult of some sort present, that they need their own cellphones for to call people??

Isn't it okay to sometimes buy our kids things that aren't needs, but "wants"? You seem to be saying that unless they "need" it by your definition, they shouldn't have one.

 

[Hoodie]

My sister is a middle school teacher and she has seen too many cases of harassment, bullying and even sexting among that age group to EVER make me want to give a child that age a cell phone.

 

[golfgal]

I voted yes but my kids are now in high school but our twins got their first cell phone when they were 11 because they wanted one and I saw no reason not to get them one. They have never lost a phone, gone over in minutes, had issues with friends because of texting, had lower grades because of having a cell phone, have not become unsocial because of cell phones (and actually just the opposite with our shy oldest son-his cell phone was a non-threatening way for him to break into his group of friends-I am CONVINCED that without his cell phone he wouldn't have many, if any friends).

 

[Mrs.Toad]

We originally got my dd a cell phone when she was 10 because she was coming home from school to an empty house one afternoon a week and I felt better that she had a phone on her as she walked from the bus.

Now she is 12 and old enough to walk or ride her bike to friend's houses, the ice cream shop or soccer practice without me hovering over every step, but I still feel more comfortable when she has a phone on her.

 

[Magic Mom]

Based on another thread here....

Does your young teen / tween have a cell phone and if so why? This is in reference to younger, middle school aged kids, and not someone who is 15/16+ that may be in HS, have a job, be driving and the like.

I've seen in a number of threads about how people have kids that are 10, 11, 12 and such with cell phones.

I currently have a 10 1/2 yr old, finishing up 4th grade, and he doesnt have one and none of his friends do either.

Where exactly are these kids at, without an adult of some sort present, that they need their own cellphones for to call people??

DH got one for DD(10) before he left last year to go overseas. She runs cross country and travels for that. She is with an adult, but we like her to be able to call us from the bus or her meets if we aren't there and it's unfair to expect the coaches to let the kids use their phones. We want her to have one at sleepovers so she can call us whenever she wants for whatever she wants. She has one so when she is on her horse with her friends she can call me or the barn owner if there is an emergency. She has it so Dh can talk to her when he gets to a phone even if she isn't at home or with me. And mostly she has one because she wanted it and she's a great, thoughtful, well behaved kid so we got it for her.

FWIW she doesn't have texting, just a simple phone.

 

[golfgal]

DH got one for DD(10) before he left last year to go overseas. She runs cross country and travels for that. She is with an adult, but we like her to be able to call us from the bus or her meets if we aren't there and it's unfair to expect the coaches to let the kids use their phones. We want her to have one at sleepovers so she can call us whenever she wants for whatever she wants. She has one so when she is on her horse with her friends she can call me or the barn owner if there is an emergency. She has it so Dh can talk to her when he gets to a phone even if she isn't at home or with me. And mostly she has one because she wanted it and she's a great, thoughtful, well behaved kid so we got it for her.

FWIW she doesn't have texting, just a simple phone.

This is why we first got DS17 his. We lived in an area where the closest meet was an hour away and we would go up to the school at the time we thought they would be home and more often than not would end up waiting for a half hour or more. After a couple times of doing that, we got him a phone and told him to call us when he saw the sign for our town. By the time we got to school the bus would be unloading. It worked out great.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

We originally got my dd a cell phone when she was 10 because she was coming home from school to an empty house one afternoon a week and I felt better that she had a phone on her as she walked from the bus.

Now she is 12 and old enough to walk or ride her bike to friend's houses, the ice cream shop or soccer practice without me hovering over every step, but I still feel more comfortable when she has a phone on her.

Maybe I am over protective, but even with a phone, my child would not be doing this.

All of my children have cell phones but it was more of a want for them than a real need at the time that we got them. Now that I have a teen driving, there is a need for her to have one.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Have a 10 year old and a 13 year old - both boys, both with many outside activities. Neither has a cell phone. This has never presented a problem for us.

Our 13 year old is going away to band camp this summer. We will get him a cell phone for the trip. Not sure if we will let him keep on thereafter.

 

[Acklander]

DS10 has had one for about a year. We don't have a house phone, just cell phones so this way everyone has access to a phone. It works for us.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

DS just turned 14 but he got his cell about 2 1/2 years ago when he started MS - he was 11 1/2. We live exactly a mile away from the school and he has to walk or bike and then he's home by himself for just about 2 hrs. I just felt he was a little safer having a phone on him. Texting wasn't added until last year.

 

[Minnie824]

My DD is 8 and begging me for a cell phone..so she can text too. I said, who will you text, me? None of your friends have phones. There is one girl in her 2nd grade class who has it though. I think she's too young still..maybe in a couple years. I mean, its not like shes even outside on her own, let alone away from me. I will say though, when she starts travel soccer in the fall, it'll be long practices and I'm not allowed to stay, so it may be good to have just for a use as needed type thing. We'll see.

 

[ICF]

Isn't it okay to sometimes buy our kids things that aren't needs, but "wants"? You seem to be saying that unless they "need" it by your definition, they shouldn't have one.

sure, you're their parent and and such you can deprive or spoil them of whatever you want.

However, this isnt an issue of buying them a $10 toy from Target to make them happy.

A cell phone (especially in today's world of cell phones) is usually both a high $ item and one that comes with likely comes with internet access and the ability to text. Either of those things can open them up to a whole world that IMO they really dont need to be having such easy to access to.

For people that have kids that need them due to practices and the like, do they run at random times? Here practice / scout meetings and the like run from a start time to and end time. They typically dont run long or end early by more than a few mins and we know up front if they are going to end at 7 / 7:30 or whatever.

 

[golfgal]

Maybe I am over protective, but even with a phone, my child would not be doing this.

All of my children have cell phones but it was more of a want for them than a real need at the time that we got them. Now that I have a teen driving, there is a need for her to have one.

Our kids were riding bikes to friends' houses by 1st grade, across town by 3rd grade (with someone, not alone) and by 5th grade could pretty much go wherever they wanted in town, walk to movies, the store, etc. I would rather my children learn how to be independent then worry about a possible abduction that will with 99.9% certainly NEVER happen.

 

[Magic Mom]

sure, you're their parent and and such you can deprive or spoil them of whatever you want.

However, this isnt an issue of buying them a $10 toy from Target to make them happy.

A cell phone (especially in today's world of cell phones) is usually both a high $ item and one that comes with likely comes with internet access and the ability to text. Either of those things can open them up to a whole world that IMO they really dont need to be having such easy to access to.

For people that have kids that need them due to practices and the like, do they run at random times? Here practice / scout meetings and the like run from a start time to and end time. They typically dont run long or end early by more than a few mins and we know up front if they are going to end at 7 / 7:30 or whatever.

The same thing can be said for the XBox, Wii, or Playstation3. Those are incredibly more expensive than DD's phone has been, but those seem to be acceptable luxury gifts. My frinds son has an XBox and plays online with complete strangers.

 

[ICF]

DS10 has had one for about a year. We don't have a house phone, just cell phones so this way everyone has access to a phone. It works for us.

this would be an issue where I could see it's a good thing.

I hadn't considered (guess we're just old fashion) of not having a 'normal' landline phone in the house and a child being home by themselves without access to a phone in case of emergency.

 

[clutter]

My dd just turned 13 and has a cell.

Texting is a primary way of communicating at this age. In fact, as my dd gets older, I get more and more texts from other moms. Just about every month, another mom drops phoning and texts instead. This past winter, her basketball coach texted the team about changes in schedules. (Ok, that didn't work out too well, but that's because she forgot about the fact that texting the child doesn't mean that the parent knows to drive the kid there. My dd missed two re-scheduled games, as did a couple other girls, before the parents asked her to text us, not them! )

My dd was home sick yesterday and was able to text classmates (she HATES talking on the phone with a passion and always has) to catch up on assignments.

 

[jen0610]

Where exactly are these kids at, without an adult of some sort present, that they need their own cellphones for to call people??

While she isn't without an adult being present, I don't always stay for the 2 hr softball or soccor practice. And it is very possible for it to start pouring down rain at the softball field, but not be raining a bit at our house or the store, that is less then 10 minutes away. It's not up to her coach to burn his minutes up letting 14 kids call their parents and say come get me, we are calling it quites early. She has a phone to do that with.

She has also been know to call me while she is at practice and ask, can so and so come over or go over to their house. Again not up to the coach to let her use their phone and burn up their minutes.

She has been know to call and let us know that they are sitting on a broken down school bus and she's not going to be home in time to get X done before she gets picked up to go to dance.

She has it more as a benefit to reach me or DH when needed, then a tool to talk to her friends.