No. Not yet. We are homeschooling now and dad is the soccer coach and really the girls don't need a phone yet. And the way parents use phones as pacifiers for their worries, rather than praying and teaching responsibility, is just plain unhealthy. Still, we live in a technology culture. And tweens and teens want phones. It is part of the social structure now. Every family situation is different. Maybe a phone for your child is starting to make sense.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Time to get the girls a cell phone?
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{Melinda} We didn't get my daughter a cell phone until the middle of her 9th grade year. She was the LAST girl to get a cell phone by FAR in her peer group. But we didn't think she was ready for it and I'm so glad we waited. (Wish we'd waited longer on social media, too.) We bought a Tracfone in 7th grade and let her use it only when WE needed her to have it. It also allowed us to see how responsible she could be with this new technology. It worked for us, but I know every family and child is different.
ReplyDeleteWell... I still have very little ones but I think we will definitely teach them to be responsible with that... even by setting an example... sometimes we don't want them to use the phone excessively but we as parents do! Hubby and I have phones just for calling and/or texting each other when WE NEED TO, our phones don't even have internet! it's just to be able to reach people when there's an emergency or when we really need to talk about something and we are not home to use the phone. :)
ReplyDeleteOur kids are little still, so I imagine things will be different again in ten years when my oldest is entering her teen years. It's a difficult decision to make and I think there's probably no one right answer. I like how you mention teaching kids slowly.
ReplyDeleteI just got an iPhone a few weeks ago. The main reason I got it was the GPS so Ben could know where I was in case of an emergency and the map feature-- I can get lost in a paper bag. But I hate how attached everyone is. We went to dinner the other night and a entire family next to us--mother, father, two kids were glued to their phones. Ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteMy kids are older now, but when they were that in-between age, one solution was a family cell phone. We had what we called the "extra phone" - a cheap tracfone that we kept charged and ready to go. I would give it to whoever had a Scout meeting, lesson, playdate, etc. to stay in contact with Mom that day. But, since it wasn't always theirs, they weren't giving friends the number or using it in general.
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