Over the weekend, we had a birthday party for the 11yo- a house full of pre-teens and I survived! I think a deserve a medal for surviving all the craziness. Actually, it was a lot of fun.
However, it got me thinking about how my daughter is facing changes that I'm not sure I'm ready for. Out of the twelve kids we'd invited, TWO brought cell phones. Maybe I'm just not with the times, but I think 10 is a bit young to have a cell phone. I finally had to make the rule that the kids had to leave their phones on the counter during the party.
So tell me... am I just not with it? What is the right age to give a kid a cell phone?
3 comments:
I got a cell-phone when I was twelve (the age kids start high school in Scotland) because I was involved in a lot of after-school activities and needed to call my dad when I needed to be picked up after school play practice, etc, finished. My parents' rule was that we could get a cell-phone when we started doing activities and going places without our parents, where it was safer to have a cell-phone just in case we needed to call them. So my brother didn't get a phone until he was fourteen as he didn't tend to stay after school or go to the cinema with his friends as much as I did. Of course, this rule does mean that you could have a very independent, social ten year old with a cell phone! Ten does seem a bit young, I think twelve is a bit more appropriate. I had to pay for my minutes, texts etc myself out of my allowance, as well, which helped make me more responsible. Teenagers now who have unlimited phone plans that their parents pay for really shock me - what can they be learning from the experience?
We got Abby's when she started high school.
Rachel, thanks for the perspective!
Kay, thanks!
I think this is an issue I'll be looking at more as we get more into school activities. Right now, I'm with her at all of them, so she hasn't needed to call me. I'm sure that will be changing very soon!
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