whats to young for a cell phone? whats your thoughts on an 11 yr old having a cell phone?

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Proud Mommy To:

~*Hunter*~*Garrett*~* And Ryleigh*~

I think it is up to the parent. I don't think 11 is too young for a phone. When Noah gets a little older(maybe 6 or 7) and is at practices or staying at a friends house, we will get him one of those Firefly phones that only dials a few numbers. When he turns 13, we will get him a real phone.

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-Brandy

Taylor is 9 and we were thinking of the Firefly too.

I think a TEEN should get a cell phone WHEN THEY CAN PAY THE BILL ON THEIR OWN.

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If that is what you choose to your kids, then that is great, but it is not the way we feel is best for us. We don't want Noah working a paying job until he is at least a junior in college and only then if it is in the field he will be going into. I can't imagine not having a cell phone until 20 or 21. I feel safer knowing he has one at 13 so if he needs something, he can easily get in touch with us.

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-Brandy

I agree with this, but will go a bit further with it and say, they can have their own phone when they are 18 and are able to not only pay for it themselves, but carry their own contract. A friend of ours let her teenage girls(15 & 16) have cell phones(the shared plan)and they racked up a $500 bill. Yes, they had jobs, but couldn't afford to pay for the bill. Mom ended up taking them away and told them no more phones until they were 18 and could sign their own contract. They are now 19 and still don't have phones.

I will consider the Firefly phones, because you can control the useage of them. I will NOT buy real phones for my kids.


OMG are you kidding me?? A JUNIOR in COLLEGE??? I had my first paying job when I was 14(12 if you count the babysitting job I got with our next door neighbors)and I am hoping my kids will have jobs as well when they get into high school. So if you don't want your son to have a job until he is a Junior in college, I assume that means you will be paying his way, and that includes, books, tuition, housing, food, ect., ect..?? Wow, you must make a lot more money than most people.

BTW, how can you say you don't want him to have a job until he is a junior in college before he is even in grade school? What if HE chooses to get a job when he is in high school? What if that is what HE wants? Of course if you pay for everything and raise him to know you don't want him to have a job, he probably won't want one. That would be sad.


I didn't have a cell phone until I was 21. There were no such things as cell phones when I was 9, 10, 12 or 15. We didn't have DirecTV or internet when I was younger either. Dear oh dear, what ever did we do.. I suppose I should hook my kids up with those things in their rooms too.

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"Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged." -- Ronald Reagan

Yes, we will be paying Noah's way. I don't want him starting out life with bills to pay. We will take care of everything. There will be rules like keeping a 3.0 GPA, but we will fund everything.

No we don't want him to have a job. I want him to have extracurricular activies and volunteer work. I think you are confusing not wanting him to have a job with raising him to be lazy and that is not the case. Why would him not wanting a job in high school be sad? That makes no sense. I didn't want a job when I was in high school. What kid does?

Kim, we live in the country. Having a cell phone is a just about a necessity. Pay phones are nowhere to be found. If Noah's car breaks down or if he has a flat tire, I want him to be able to call for help. He could easily be 5 miles from the nearest house. Do you understand that people raise their kids differently and they all turn out just fine?

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-Brandy

Yeah, God forbid he have responsibilities.


Pretty simple really, RESPONSIBILTY. Handing him everything on a silver platter is not teaching him anything. Making him work for the things he wants does. I'm not saying paying his tuition is bad, but you say "everything" will be taken care of and THAT is what I find sad. Everything? So you will be buying his car, paying his insurance, paying for his groceries, ect..?? What if he doesn't want to go to college? What if he doesn't want to do extracurricular activies and volunteer work??


I didn't want one either, but my mom taught me that if I wanted something, I had to work for it. When I was old enough to get a job I got one. No, I absolutely did NOT want one, but I had to. I wasn't handed everything, I had responsibilities.


Well, you're partly right. People DO raise their kids differently, but they don't all turn out fine. If you're okay with raising a spoiled kid, that is most certainly your right, I just hope you aren't setting him up to fail. I've seen kids who had parents pay for everything, they weren't made to get a job and they didn't turn out fine. They grew up to believe(though not literally)that money grew on trees. They weren't taught how to manage money and ended up in debt and couldn't understand why. Well duh, when you aren't taught responsibility you will probably get into trouble.

Sorry, your theory on not wanting your son to have a job until he is(and I forgot you said 'at least')a junior in college, is seriously flawed. You have many years to think about it, maybe(and I really hope for your son's sake you do)you will change your thinking. Being known as the 'spoiled rich kid who has mommy and daddy pay for everything' can't be a good thing.

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"Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged." -- Ronald Reagan