teens WITHOUT cell phones, email

[Disneyadore]

Of topic. Waving at you and is it also beautiful weather in Heidelberg?

 

[NHdisneylover]

Of topic. Waving at you and is it also beautiful weather in Heidelberg?

Hi Yes it is gorgeous--making up for our terrible summer with a lovely start to fall.
Where are you today?

 

[Disneyadore]

Hi Yes it is gorgeous--making up for our terrible summer with a lovely start to fall.
Where are you today?

Hamm, heading to Duisburg. Had a MRI yesterday and will hear tomorrow if my breast cancer has returned.
Due to the complexity I'm now getting treatment in Germany in Aachen at the university hospital.
Looking outside I love the weather and the sunshine on my face.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Oh I am sorry about the medical stress I will send MANY good thoughts your way today and tomorrow in the hopes that it is not cancer. I hate waiting--one good thing over here is that they get the results to you pretty quickly at least.
My daughter thinks she wants to go to University in Aachen. I have not heard about their hospital system though.

OP--sorry to have veered so far of course.

 

[Disneyadore]

Oh I am sorry about the medical stress I will send MANY good thoughts your way today and tomorrow in the hopes that it is not cancer. I hate waiting--one good thing over here is that they get the results to you pretty quickly at least.
My daughter thinks she wants to go to University in Aachen. I have not heard about their hospital system though.

OP--sorry to have veered so far of course.

Thank you and you're daughter will love Aachen. Its a GREAT city.

Back on topic.
I alway wonder when and if the cell phones would be provided by the government those people against it would be also complaining.

We have a law stating some things like a freezer,television,refrigerator, and yes cell phones belong to the basic things that a person needs. So when somebody has no money to pay for one or all of these things you just get them for free.

 

[mhsjax]

Of course you have no idea what I mean. That is always the answer of those parents that tell there children use there friends/teachers/ strangers cell phone when there is a problem.
We have seen thousands of parents here that were furious when there children were denied the use of cell phones from there friends when they needed to get in contact whit there parents.

Thousands, really?. I don't even know 1 thousand people much less thousands.

 

[mhsjax]

My 10 year old daughter was one of the LAST kids in her 5th grade class to get a cell phone---I don't know where you all live but here it is very common for almost all 10 year olds to have cells! As far as email addesses my daughter has one of those too- her teacher emails her through that email address--why would I want to have to read the email, go get her and have her come and answer it on my computer and my account? She also writes back and forth to 2 of her teachers that she had in the grade school she went to last year on her own email.
And as far as the cell phone goes- I LOVE LOVE LOVE that she has one and carrys it... she will call or text when she rides her bike to a friends house and gets where she is going. If she goes to the park she will call when she gets there and when she is leaving for home. If she and a friend get dropped off at the movies she will call when its over to get picked up etc.....that cell phone is as much for me as it is for her! If drama club practice is running late at school she will call me to pick her up at 5 rather than 4 so I don't have to sit there for an hour waiting...its great!!!

Our teachers here don't want the kids e-mail, they want the parents. That way they can get info out to the parents and not necessarily the kids. I think the teachers would be nuts to have the kids e mail. They deal with enough. They put all of their work on their websites and the kids check it, but as far as communication, they do it with the parents.

For what it is worth, my kids do have cells and facebook (but NEVER use it) They still actually call each other to make plans, they don't text to make plans and they don't facebook to make plans either. Pretty much all you see on Face Book here are silly comments and Farmville and other such non sense. But I do love the cell, DS and DD can call me when they get to where they are going, and I can call them if I need to without calling the home number. Although the parents don't care if you call their home, we are all very good friends with out kids friends and we call to talk anyway, so nu biggie.

 

[Disneyadore]

Thousands, really?. I don't even know 1 thousand people much less thousands.

Maybe you should try and read more over here and other American boards.
Its a common complaint that those who don't like to buy a cell phone let alone pay for a plan just rely on others to cover the problems of their children when they need a cell phone.
Why didn't friend X ,mother Y ,teacher Z refuse to let my child use their cell phone to contact me when he/ she needed a ride home?
Its just all about money."A cell phone is a wonderful thing as long as others pay the bill and let my child use it for free". Common practice just read.

 

[RitaZ.]

So am I raising a freak of nature or what? I really don't see a need for him to have a cell phone, let alone text. He doesn't care if he has email. He gets done what he needs to, he's just not available 24/7 to people. I guess I don't get what is wrong with that? He's a high school freshman, not an on call physican or anything??

My oldest child was exactly the same way. We got him a cell phone is 8th grade and he rarely used it. He just wasn't interested. However, that all changed in high school.

 

[luvsJack]

I would assume the need/no need for a cell would all depend on your family's situation and what you allow your child to do.

Dd got a phone when she was 10. We do not have a land line, her father drives a truck and is required to have with him, so she can't use his. And when he is gone, mine is the only phone in the house so giving her mine would be pointless.

She was in dance at the time, show choir now--in both places she needed a cell to let me know when to pick her up (no phone available for their use). At 11 we let her and friends start going to the skating rink without a parent staying with them--no phone available so she needed a cell to call if she needed us. At 12 she and friends are allowed to go to the movies (we drop off and pick up) where there is no phone and I will take them to the mall and sit in the food court with coffee while they "shop", again a cell gives us the ability to communicate. There will also be school dances, birthday parties, etc. with no phones readily available if she needs us.

If your child never goes anywhere without you, is never is a place that doesn't have a land line or pay phone or some other way for your child to call you (and that doesn't include borrowing some other child's cell) OR if the ability to use a parent's phone for the night will ALWAYS be an option--your child doesn't need one.

Again, it is all depending on your family's circumstances.

I will add though, most kid's activities, clubs, groups, etc do communicate through text. If my child didn't have a phone, I would at least have text on my phone so that I could respond to coaches, leaders, etc. and so that she could get texts from her friends.

 

[mhsjax]

Maybe you should try and read more over here and other American boards.
Its a common complaint that those who don't like to buy a cell phone let alone pay for a plan just rely on others to cover the problems of their children when they need a cell phone.
Why didn't friend X ,mother Y ,teacher Z refuse to let my child use their cell phone to contact me when he/ she needed a ride home?
Its just all about money."A cell phone is a wonderful thing as long as others pay the bill and let my child use it for free". Common practice just read.

I do and did read. I realize that some people think it is ok the let their kids borrow, I was just commenting and the fact that I personally don't "know" thousand of people. And I don't think I have seen thousands here either. I do see this debate all the time, and it is getting so old, but I didn't realize thousands was the number we were looking at.

 

[allison443]

I don't understand the reason why a child without a car to drive and a license to do so needs a cell phone. I didn't get a cell phone until I had a car and my license when I was 16. I was required to work for the family business during the weekend in order to keep my cell phone every week, and to earn the money to pay the bill, I had 500 minutes a month, and I was limited to 250 texts a month. I was also required to work so I could put gas in my car to get to and from school, and to and from dance class three days a week. So in retrospect kids can go without a cell phone. Until a child has other responsibilities other than doing school work, house chores, and riding in a car to and from activities I don't see a need for any child to have a cell phone.

My kids went out to places without adults (with a group of friends) well before they got their driver's licenses (which is age 17 here.) Example, the mall, movies, going out to eat, walking around downtown, a local park to play basketball, etc.
I also don't attend their hours of sports practices. So they are on their own quite a bit and the phone is a way we stay in touch if there is a change in plans, they need to be picked up, etc.
I also don't make my kids pay for their own cell phone. Can't you understand that people may do things differently than your family did with you? Neither way is right or wrong, just different and what each family has decided works for them.

 

[mhsjax]

I would assume the need/no need for a cell would all depend on your family's situation and what you allow your child to do.

Dd got a phone when she was 10. We do not have a land line, her father drives a truck and is required to have with him, so she can't use his. And when he is gone, mine is the only phone in the house so giving her mine would be pointless.

She was in dance at the time, show choir now--in both places she needed a cell to let me know when to pick her up (no phone available for their use). At 11 we let her and friends start going to the skating rink without a parent staying with them--no phone available so she needed a cell to call if she needed us. At 12 she and friends are allowed to go to the movies (we drop off and pick up) where there is no phone and I will take them to the mall and sit in the food court with coffee while they "shop", again a cell gives us the ability to communicate. There will also be school dances, birthday parties, etc. with no phones readily available if she needs us.

If your child never goes anywhere without you, is never is a place that doesn't have a land line or pay phone or some other way for your child to call you (and that doesn't include borrowing some other child's cell) OR if the ability to use a parent's phone for the night will ALWAYS be an option--your child doesn't need one.

Again, it is all depending on your family's circumstances.

I will add though, most kid's activities, clubs, groups, etc do communicate through text. If my child didn't have a phone, I would at least have text on my phone so that I could respond to coaches, leaders, etc. and so that she could get texts from her friends.

My kids do have phones and text, but we must be living in an alternate universe, none of my kids activites use texting for anything, they do e mail but not text. I think I like where I live more and more. I hate texting, JMHO. /thank goodness my kids aren't that fond of it either. But they do love their phones, and so do I. It makes it so much easier to get in touch with them if I need to or if they need me.

 

[Tinijocaro]

seriously? 10 year olds? I don't think I'm that far out of the loop (DD is 10, I'm a girl scout leader and Sunday school director, know just a few kids there). I don't think I know any 10 year olds with a cell phone? Yikes!

For what it's worth, I don't have texting or internet on my cell phone either. Really only have it for emergencies.

One of the music teacher at my school told us at lunch that a cell phone was ringing in a 2nd grade music class. It belonged to one of the students-not even one of his parents!

 

[Michelle and crew]

It is in a way. Different groups, different expectations, etc. What works for some doesn't for others. We didn't have cells as kids and got by. They are a huge blessing now, though. They save so much trouble.

 

[Michelle and crew]

One of the music teacher at my school told us at lunch that a cell phone was ringing in a 2nd grade music class. It belonged to one of the students-not even one of his parents!

The only little ones I know with phones have them due to a divorce and the non custodial wants the child to be able to get in touch with them always. I know 5 or 6 youngers in this group. So everything is not always what it seems.

 

[mjkacmom]

My kids do have phones and text, but we must be living in an alternate universe, none of my kids activites use texting for anything, they do e mail but not text. I think I like where I live more and more. I hate texting, JMHO. /thank goodness my kids aren't that fond of it either. But they do love their phones, and so do I. It makes it so much easier to get in touch with them if I need to or if they need me.

I'm 43, and think texting is the best invention ever! Right after school, while waiting for my kids at the grammar school, I get 2 texts, from dd14 and dd12, tellling me where they are going. I get texts from coaches on a daily basis, with practice reminders, or changes. Last night at open house, DH and I were trying to cover the kids' classes, and he doesn't have texting (blackberry through work). I could've killed him when he called me, asking where I was (wouldn't have had to do that if he had texting). I needed to get a message to dd14 about a change of plans right after school - sent her a text at noon, knowing she'd get it right after school, as soon as she turned her phone on. Quick questions, quick answers. Nice and tidy.

 

[mhsjax]

I'm 43, and think texting is the best invention ever! Right after school, while waiting for my kids at the grammar school, I get 2 texts, from dd14 and dd12, tellling me where they are going. I get texts from coaches on a daily basis, with practice reminders, or changes. Last night at open house, DH and I were trying to cover the kids' classes, and he doesn't have texting (blackberry through work). I could've killed him when he called me, asking where I was (wouldn't have had to do that if he had texting). I needed to get a message to dd14 about a change of plans right after school - sent her a text at noon, knowing she'd get it right after school, as soon as she turned her phone on. Quick questions, quick answers. Nice and tidy.

To each their own, I am 47 and I HATE texting. I will do it. I text sometimes if I need to get a message to a friend and I know that she is at work.

As far as nice and tidy, Not so much in my opinion. We were working something out with a friend, she was at home, so where we. She kept texting, and DH would text back, then wait for her reply she would text bac, then hubby would text back, OK, this went on for 10 minutes. A phone call would have taken care of this in about 15 seconds.

To me it isn't quick answers, if fact just ask my friend who texted me 3 hours earlier about dinner, I don't have my cell with me all the time, I didn't see the message until 3 hours later, then she wondered why I didn't text her back, told her I was driving and I didn't feel the need to text when I was driving and why, then we would discuss what time and where all with texting when I could have a simply conversation and not wait on replies. Texting does have its use, but not all the time.

I am one of those people that you will never convince texting is better than talking, sometime yes but not usually. I hate waiting for a response when I can talk to the person and get an instate answer. Just don't see how that is nice and tidy at all. JMHO. And I won't change it either. lol

 

[njcarita]

nothing WRONG about not having either at that age.... its just the minority now a days...

Its like when I was a kid .... and I met another kid who didn't have a TV... it was just like "whoa" u don't have a tv!!!

I have 3 kids ..... 9 yr old girl ( has had a cell phone for emergencies only for about 3 years)....... 12year old ( would rather loose an arm than her phone..lol)...
15 year old son ( texts just a few times a day)

 

[KimR]

It is in a way. Different groups, different expectations, etc. What works for some doesn't for others. We didn't have cells as kids and got by. They are a huge blessing now, though. They save so much trouble.

Exactly. You know, my grandparents didn't have indoor plumbing, electricity, TV, etc. and they got along just fine; however I certainly wouldn't want to do without those conveniences. I'm one to eagerly embrace new technology if it makes daily life more convenient.

I really don't care what others do for their kids, but what I don't get is people who shun technology on principle. Usually the reason is the same as I stated above: 'I got along fine for X years without one, why do I need one now?' The reason is that societal norms change along with technology. When is the last time anyone saw a pay phone? If someone truly has no need for these things that's perfectly fine; however, I think it's silly to refuse to adopt new technology out of sheer stubborness (I'm not referring to anyone specifically on this thread)

My Mother was the queen of technophobes. She complained constantly about my Dad's computer and refused to get a cell phone. Yet they paid several hundred dollars a year for a boat towing service in case they were out and broke down in the middle of the lake. Anyone see a problem here? When I asked my Mother how they planned to contact the towing service should they ever have a need her answer was they'd flag down another boat to call the service for them. Because, after all, EVERYONE has cell phones these days. Just crazy.