Cell phone debate

[MedicCook]

My feelings is he is 10 y/o. A 10 y/o does not need a cell phone.

[Neuromancer]

A cell phone at 10 years old opens a whole can of worms...that's when they start getting into trouble and hiding things from you and a cell phone will only exacerbate the problem...

[kelmac07]

10 years old? How about a bike?

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by kelmac07

10 years old? How about a bike?

I had my first hooker at 10, but a cell phone? Not a chance.

[Skywalker]

He'll shoot his eye out!!!

[jdakine]

No no no, he does not need a cell phone. However if you do get him one, I would suggest getting unlimited texting

[akumushi]

A big N-O on that one. If you need him to have a phone so you can get ahold of him when he's out, then get him a pre-paid or a kiddie phone like was posted above, but kids don't need to be wired that young.

[Lucky_Hippo]

Lady at work gave her boys phones when they were around that age. They texted her and called her from school all the time. "The teacher is being mean" "So and So isn't doing what they are supposed to" "I want this shirt that Tommy has"...etc

They are both around 18 now and have HUGE dependency issues and turned into grown up cry babies because they never had the chance to go through normal life situations without the "apron strings" attached.

Honestly, if my 10 year old was going with someone or some place that I felt they NEEDED a cell phone for emergencies, I'd reconsider letting them go in the first place.

I am not voting but I will tell you we got my son a phone at 10, heck it may have been at 9. We got him a kiddie phone with like 4 numbers we got to put in for him. So it was like Mom, Dad, Grandma, his best friend's mom. All the number's where verizon so they were all free for him to call. At the time the kids always were playing together at the park and at the soccer field. My wife just thought it would be a good idea. I was on my second deployment. The phone had a D-ring on it. I could call him directly which he loved. For about the last year he has had one of my wife's old phone. I can honestly say he is usually very good with it. He hasn't ever lost a phone but he did drown one last summer. He got wet up to his waist but it was in his pocket. It doesn't get much use, but he know he can call one of his Grandmas or someone else in the family at anytime. He doesn't bring it to school or anything. Oh yeah we haven't had a house phone since like 2000? maybe 2001.

What should you do for your kid? I am not sure. Read all you can on the matter and find out for both sides of it before deciding.

I say you get him a credit card first and see what happens.

I do have a question for all that are saying No, is the reason behind saying no to the phine the cost of it? I know we got my son's for free and most of the kids phones are cheap. For me to add a line it was $10 a month. I am just saying kids now are walking around with game systems and ipods worth a few 100 all the time.


Sorry for the threadjack.

[icehog3]

If you read through the posts Tabb, I think you will see cost isn't the issue at all for most of the dissenters.

[McSmokey]

I say no but in the end it depends on how responsible he is. For example my in-laws got their youngest son his first cell at 11 and now 2 years and 8 phones later they still haven't figured out the problem.

[Starscream]

Originally Posted by McSmokey

I say no but in the end it depends on how responsible he is. For example my in-laws got their youngest son his first cell at 11 and now 2 years and 8 phones later they still haven't figured out the problem.

I think that is the problem.

[floydpink]

Originally Posted by icehog3

I had my first hooker at 10, but a cell phone? Not a chance.

Wow Tom, you beat me by 3 years.

My older brother, before joining the police force, sold phones and I remember the first cel phones looked like something an Army medic carries on a battlefield. My dad took it out on the boat when he went fishing.

I'm old.

[replicant_argent]

A ten year old should pretty much be under adult supervision/contact pretty much most of the time, except for maybe playing in the neighborhood... No need for one. Why do people think 10 year olds need phones? If they want it for the "toy factor"? It might be time to teach them how to be a kid instead. Maybe a FRS family radio (walkie talkie) would be more useful, and quite a bit cheaper.
They will get more than enough cel time when they get to their teens, I think, and it seems like kids who are "over-connected" seem to be lacking some development that you get from just "being a kid." (Of course that's just my opinion. I could be wrong)

[E.J.]

Like Tabb, I will not vote, just give my experience. My son had his first cell phone around 11, not sure exactly when. He is now 13, feels like he has had a phone FOREVER. Almost every one of his friends have a phone(I would say every one, though that may not be accurate), though he was one of the first.

He has not had a problem as far as losing it, though has broken a few. When that has happened, he pays for a "crap phone" out of his own pocket(think he has been charged like $20) until his plan allows for an upgrade(that usually means he gets moms phone and she gets an upgrade).

In the end, does he need a phone....no. He also doesn't need $600 hockey skates...

[RevSmoke]

Two boys of my own, 13 & 15. Neither has a cell phone. Wife and I have them, and use them sparingly - no texting, no internet.

Don't know of many situations where they need a phone. The only times we've given them one of ours is when they will be at an event in which we will not be in attendance (evening basketball game in which they're not playin), and then only so that they can call us to come pick them up. And even at that, do they need one? Not really. There is always the pay phone and a calling card.

I work closely with the local Lutheran School, and most of the kids that do have their own cell phones are a different breed - not a breed I'd like to have living under my roof. It is the spoiled rotten breed. Usually disrespectful of their elders and very narcissistic.

Just say, "no."

Oldest son wanted one, I told him that if he pays for it, he can have one. Took him down to the store to get it. He filled out the paperwork, had the money for it, then they asked him, "Have one of your parents sign for it." He looked at me, I smiled, he turned to the salesperson, "Um, I guess I'm not getting a phone today."

We then talked about monthly bills, how much it costs for a phone. We even looked at what it would cost for him to have a phone on our bill. Then, we talked about texting - and how much that costs. We talked about two words - necessity/need and desire/want. Then we talked about the fact that this would be a monthly expense for him, I'm not going to pay for something he desires/wants, but doesn't "need." If he wants it, then he needs to pay for his share of the monthly expense. He agreed taht he didn't "need" that expense.

Most of the kids that have phones don't pay their bills for it, mom & dad do. They will have a rude awakening when mom & dad tell them to ante up.

He did look into a trak phone, that deal that you buy the phone and the minutes, when you run out, you buy more minutes. Then he thought about the fact that when he really "needs" to have a phone, we let him take one of ours.

My suggestion is that you be a parent. And sometimes, parents say, "no."

[Eleven]

Originally Posted by E.J.

In the end, does he need a phone....no. He also doesn't need $600 hockey skates...

Whoa! hold on a sec!, lets not get carried away! My kid has lost a cell phone, *and* broken a $160 hockey stick all within a week of each other.

The phone was an unforgivable lapse of judgment and he will wait a long time before getting a new one, but the stick was the result of him playing hard and trying hard and not screwing around and being irresponsible.

We haven't paid 600 for skates yet, but we have paid 350. The phone was cheap but that isn't the point.

I would gladly pay another $350 for new skates if something like a blade broke that couldn't be replaced. I am going to have to pay for a new stick, and will do that when regular season starts up (on a side note, he broke it in Spring Hockey, and is using backup sticks now).

But the phone, that was a privilege and he screwed it up. Hockey is a different story, you can't play AAA youth hockey with 30 dollar skates and a 10 dollar stick. The demands on the equipment and their bodies require high quality, otherwise you are buying several pairs of skates and 10 sticks a year, not to mention the hassle of all the distractions, blisters, crappy shots, etc etc.

Wow, what a tangent huh!?!??! Just trying to say that you cannot equate a cell phone for a kid with hockey equipment. You get what you pay for, and even worse, you can seriously hamper or even injure your kid with low quality skates or other equipment

[St. Lou Stu]

Tell him if he can get and hold a job for 3 months you'll get him one.