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deebee Posted Mon 25 Oct, 2010 4:06 PM |
At what age do you think it's appropriate for a child to own a mobile phone?
As you've probably guessed, my son has been asking for one since he started secondary school (he's in year 8) The kids are all 11/12 years old (for those who don't understand the UK system.) His dad wants to get him a simple phone with limited amount of calls etc but I don't agree. He's suffering a lot of peer pressure since the majority of his friends have their own phone.
I know some of you boardies have kids a similar age. Do they have their own phone? I'd be really intersted in your opinions.........thanks. |
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minnmess Posted Mon 25 Oct, 2010 4:12 PM |
| I don't have human kids, but I got my first phone at 15, before I started driving at 16. Granted, this was 10 years ago and things have changed. I think a kid needs a phone when they start being out on their own more, for emergencies, need to reach you for a ride, etc. |
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Turtleneck Posted Mon 25 Oct, 2010 4:19 PM |
Rachel told me that some of the kids in her class had them! She was in 3rd grade last year! She said it was because the parents work and they walk home by themselves. I don't know. It seems to be a substitute for supervision in that case. I don't see why an elementary student needs a mobile phone.
But as for teenagers, texting and stuff, that's just how they socialize now. They very well may be "out of the loop" without one. It's just become how they communicate. The downside being it is a very EXPENSIVE way to communicate! I'd say by age 13 or 14 (14 is 9th grade here, first year of high school) a phone with a pre-set limit is probably a necessity, unfortunately. |
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deebee Posted Mon 25 Oct, 2010 4:52 PM |
| Kristy, my son is now starting to go places more on his own (to and from school by bus for example) and this is why the question of him having a phone has arisen - simply for safety reasons. Kayte, I think that socially they don't tend to use the phones that much (they're more into MSN instead and chatting via the PC) this may come later or maybe texting is more of a girl thing, I don't know! |
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Turtleneck Posted Mon 25 Oct, 2010 5:19 PM |
| Wow, worried parents sitting up all night wondering where their kid is, is now a thing of the past. I hadn't really thought of that until just recently. |
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deebee Posted Mon 25 Oct, 2010 5:22 PM |
| nah it's not a thing of the past. Parents now get worried when they phone their kids and they don't answer the call ;-) |
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mili Posted Mon 25 Oct, 2010 6:25 PM |
deebee wrote: nah it's not a thing of the past. Parents now get worried when they phone their kids and they don't answer the call ;-)
Also, you can't be sure they're where they say they are. Or the phone is on mute mode, and they "can't hear" it.
Ours had their first phones when they were around 7 or 8. The usage has gradually increased so that the now the 14-year old girl had a serious talking-to when her bill grew too high (1000 messages/month, anyone?) two years ago. The boy isn't using his quite as much. He "talks" to his friends via PlayStation or Facebook. When one of their phones break down it's a state of emergency. Thankfully it doesn't happen very often, but they both have gone through at least two phones by now. That's not much compared to their friends…
The mobile phone seems to be essential for their social life, ring tones, pictures etc are exchanged via bluetooth (that's free), most have cameras in their phones. Nothing is ever agreed the day before, but rather two minutes before meeting, by phone.
When I got a new phone I got my son (then 11) to organise it for me, they know the gadgets much better than I. Our kids don't have internet on their phones, that would be too much. But I've seen 7-year olds with iPhones.
Here in Finland we have more mobile phones than people, and a lot of people (us included) have given up land lines completely, so the kids really need their own phones. It's dizzying, I had my first mobile phone in my 30's.
I believe using mobile phones is cheaper here than in the US, we don't pay for answering the phone, for example.
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I Came in Through the Bathroom Window Posted Mon 25 Oct, 2010 6:58 PM |
I had my first mobile phone when I was at university. I lost it in Madrid and after a while of not having one, I kind of got used to it, so at least for me, mobile phones are really not that important.
My brother had his first one when he was 13. He's now about to turn 19 and he doesn't really use it that much, and he never answers it, so it's not that easy to know where he is, lol. It does help my mum feel more reassured, though.
I'm not very much into giving mobile phones to kids in primary school though. Nowadays in Argentina this is very common. I've seen it in most of the kids I used to tutor, and I noticed that it was more a distraction than anything else; except for kids whose parents work all the time and wander around on their own, of course. But really, most of them just have mobile phones because it looks cool. I just don't see the point in that. |
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mili Posted Mon 25 Oct, 2010 9:19 PM |
| I'd like to add, that I'm not too fond of the kids' habit of carrying their phones with them everywhere, even at home. I sometimes worry, that the gadget will get stuck in my daughter's hand, it's really like glued on most of the time. But there has been cases, when they have been in trouble or late, and it's wonderful to be able to contact them, or they can contact me in such situations. |
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moo_the_evil_boffin Posted Tue 26 Oct, 2010 4:27 PM |
| My neices have mobiles and got them when they started to walk to secondary school. Their brother (my youngest nephew) doesn't have one as his parents don't see why he needs it. My other nephew has been through about three phones since he was eight or nine. I personally didn't agree with him having one from that early age, but since he's now started walking to school on his own too I kind of see the point. I don't think it's right that he's sat on his mobile all the time though - technology overload! I didn't get my first mobile until I was 12/13 which is when my Mum started working full time and I needed to contact my parents when I was out without them. It kind of makes sense when kids are alone as it's a sort of lifeline to their parents, but equally you worry whether kids are going to have their mobiles stolen. My neices are told to keep their phones out of sight when they're walking, but my eldest nephew is on his phone all the time which worries me a bit. It's all a matter of personal preference I guess. |
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rella Posted Wed 27 Oct, 2010 4:02 PM |
| after living in Africa so long I can only say there is a way of seeing modern things in a new way, children need their parents or a whole village and not a mobile phone even anywhere and back in the other world it is foreign to me even all modern things, only music is more available through the new ways so this is great, but for children to have phones in their ears & txting, it is sad |
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deebee Posted Fri 29 Oct, 2010 8:59 AM |
| Thanks everyone for your imput - we're going to go ahead with the phone strictly for emergency use (days when he has to go out and get the bus on his own etc) and we're going to restrict him using it for socialising. It seems to me that this issue varies enormously depending on where you live (some countries seem more attached to their phones than others) in any case, kids are getting them at a very young age now it seems. |
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