Cellphones for children

[Georgiana]

Mobile phones for children: a boon or a peril? - Times Online

I'm probably not the right person to comment on this as my only techie stuff are a laptop, a digital camera and an iPod (no cellphone, no TV, no anything else really), but how come half of the 5-9 year old British children own a mobile phone?

I'm wondering if it's just a British thing or if the statistics are similar for other countries...

[JohnSantos]

When my daughter is over for a visit, I have to pry her away from the phone just to engage her in conversation. Kinda sad.

[tuttifrutti]

I added my daughter to my cell phone account when she was 10, she is now 13. She was not on it much when she was 10 or 11. Now of course she is on it alot now. But she mostly texts and I don't mind that because she knows when she is allowed and not allowed. But my reasons for getting her one so early is because of all the "bad" stuff that happens in this world nowadays. Her cell has come in very handy and I am grateful I got her one as early as I did. She has used it to call 911 once when 2 guys started following her and a friend home from school and they were talking disgusting stuff to them! And another time she was able to call for a ride when she was spending the night at a friends house and her friend's father got really drunk and started to destroy the house. We got her and her friend and it turns out the dad pulled out his shot gun later and shot holes in the wall!!! What would of happened at either one of those situations if she didn't have that phone?

Here in the US I think almost all kids have one, seriously. Especially since now they offer these family plans

[liv]

I am very happy that my daughter has a cell phone. I can get a hold of her when ever. She can phone home no matter what. And at home my phone is free if I want to talks sometimes.

[chinadoll]

I think it is both Georgiana. In Russia, our school banned kids from having phones with them. In Hong Kong the school almost required them to have one (for typhoons and heavy torrential rain, it made notifying parents of early dismissals an instantaneous thing). I was lucky--my guys looked at it as an emergency contact system more than a social thing. Now kids use it to cheat on exams, mindlessly text for hours--or worse while driving, and generally communicate less in personal ways with the people around them.

[Georgiana]

I somehow missed the replies here... Sorry guys.

Tutti and Liv, my parents "armed" me with a cellphone when I was 12 or so. I was traveling to math contests around the country and they were afraid something bad might happen to me. The rule was to call them every 3 hours. Then in the 9th grade I stopped having one for a few months, but Dad didn't like it... he was/is afraid of me having problems with boys (dads.... )... so I went back to carrying one with me. Then when I went to university we started talking more online (it's free ) and I stopped having a cellphone.

I wonder if the 5 year olds these statistics mention use the phone to talk to friends and stuff or if they just use if for emergency calls. I know when I was 5, my parents wouldn't have let me go alone far enough to need a cellphone. We're a little old-fashioned, I know...

Originally Posted by chinadoll

I think it is both Georgiana. In Russia, our school banned kids from having phones with them.

Does that work in Russia? They tried to do the same in Romania (in fact the rule is still in place), but no one really cares, so nothing changed.

Now kids use it to cheat on exams, mindlessly text for hours--or worse while driving, and generally communicate less in personal ways with the people around them.

I had classmates cheating that way in HS. As I understand, there's a lot of planning behind it and I bet it takes a lot of time to enter all the notes on the cellphone (when I was in HS, you couldn't just take pictures or whatever, you had to type everything in). I think studying would take less... or at least it would have taken less a few years ago.

[JulieB]

I have been taking some college courses lately - cell phones are banned during exams - if you need a calculator for the exam, you can't use the one on your cell. I imagine most of the high schools have figured this out by now too!

I have to admit, in today's world, I'd like my children (hypothetically - I don't have any) to be able to call me if they need me.

Have you guys seen the cell phones designed for small children? They can only call certain numbers - they are really cute - you can program "Mom", "Dad", etc to colourful buttons on the front - they don't have a number pad. I think you can also limit the numbers that the phone will accept calls from.

[sallyseachange]

Here in Italy everyone has a cellphone, it seems... from babies to centenarians! I read somewhere that it's one of the top countries in the world for cellphone possession... but then, Italians love to have all the latest toys, be the most fashionable, the best cars.... part of their joie de vivre (spelling?) I guess.

Have to say, I'm happy my boys have cellphones and have had for years. I like to be able to get in touch easily if I need to even though I'm not at all a "phone" person.

[stephbob]

Personally, I think the benefits of giving children cell phones far outweigh the "risks" in this day and age. While I wouldn't give my own child a cell phone until he's old enough to need to use it (ie. when he's going out with friends and no adults are around with a cell phone) I'm all for children having them, so long as they are taught to use them responsibly!

My nephew is almost 3, but he has been taught to use our phones incase he should need to. I can't imagine him ever needing to, but you never know. These children will grow up knowing no different, so to him for example, a cell phone is nothing special, nothing exciting. It's just another part of life. My bet is on this generation growing up not seeing the initial excitement of cell phone, as many kids see right now.

[Eama]

I know when I was 5, my parents wouldn't have let me go alone far enough to need a cellphone. We're a little old-fashioned, I know...

I don't think that's old-fashioned. Who lets their 5 year old wander around alone? Sounds like parental neglect to me. Maybe I'm even MORE old-fashioned though.

I have 2 sons, 10 and 11. Neither has a cell phone. (My 10 yr old is autistic, so he wouldn't have one at any age.) I have a cell phone. It collects dust on a shelf plugged in to the charger. I bought it for emergencies but never remember to take it with me when I head out in the car. I've used it once.