scotty 71

Well what do you all think, should a child own a mobile phone?

I don't think they should, but my eldest who is 10 is adamant that his parents are the only ones on the whole planet who don't let their child have a mobile phone.

So I am out to prove him wrong I hope!

To be a bit more specific I will put the age range from 0 to 14.

I would have liked to have done a poll to make it a bit easyer but I don't know how sorry.

Gilly.

Ozzidoc

Tricky one.

When I went off to high school aged 11, I always had my "emergency phone money" with me at all times. Before then, I wasn't far enough away to need it.

I suspect that first year at high school is a suitable time to have the phone.

I think that the limits and boundaries of its use become the real problem. eg - when can s/he use it? What for? How will s/he pay for it? (I suggest out of their pocket money, and if they cant afford the calls/texts then tough LOL.)

Sally Simpson

We caved in to pressure when my son was 12 but he doesn't really use it at all! However, we live in a rural village & if he goes anywhere, he has to be ferried there so he is not really out & about on his own ever as yet (he's 14 now) On the few occasions that he has been left in town with friends I lent him mine as he had no credit!

steveandtina

My boys had there's at 10 only old pay as you go. Good idea as you can contact them as boys are like cats they like to wonder off and come home when they are hungry

Also you can get them to earn there credit by doing jobs round the house and cutting the grass that way they learn the value of money (if only it was that easy haha).

They can also contact you (or the police) if in trouble.

I think if you get cheap Pay as you go if they (heavens forbid) get mugged they can just hand it over without worrying.

Icarus

My Lad of 11 has one , got him it for xmas but he's sensible with it . its not very often he will take it to school & thats another issue altogether really .

we wasn't under pressure to get him one , he never bothered before & we decided he is sensible enough to have one . camera on it to take a few snaps of his mates & such , given that he may not see them again its really good .

his grandad will txt him at weekends & thats cool for them both

i check it every now and again ,

i top up about £10 a month .


he doesn't wander the streets at night , he's always safe with it & we live in a rural area

weez75

my fella is 11 and doesn't have one , he hasn't asked for one either, he is a young'un for his age and is always with me as we live in quite a dodgy area he is not allowed to go out on his own, when he is finally let off his lead i will definitely get him one !!

scotty 71

What actually bothers me about a child having a mobile is the fact they don't just use them for keeping in touch.
I work in a school and I see what gets passed about on mobile phones and a lot of it is not child friendly, while I am far from a prude or a "spoil sport" on the contrary in fact, I just want my child to stay a child for as long as possible because we all know our childhood years just fly by.
It is hard these days because the media is always promoting certain things that our children "should" own. It's not the promoting that bothers me so much as what they promote.

Icarus

Well this is true , but you have to faith in your child to . i do check my lads phone ,, some would say i am wrong to .. but i to am aware of what gets sent round .

same as any child using an online pc , it has to be moderated & the child informed of the dangers .

scotty 71

Yes I understand where you are coming from and I do have faith in him, it's just that he can be so gullible at times and you can't keep your eye on them 24/7, not that I would want too mind, he has to learn about life himself through living it but it's a hard job is this parenting marlarky, it is indeed and I still feel 18 myself, so that doesn't help matters.

Icarus

true

cheekivimto07

Our son is 11 and he has a pay as you go mobile. It has proven to be the best thing we did buying him one. Now we dont have to worry so much about him and we can get hold of him whenever we need to, plus he does chores to get money to top the phone up.

mancfamily

My daughter is almost 9, and has been after a mobile for a few years now.

It's something we've stood our ground on....she is far too young in my opinion. Lots of her school friends have had them for a while, but Ella's accepted now that she can't have one.....and is now after a laptop

I agree with Ozzidoc, think the right time to introduce a mobile would be when she starts secondary school.

Timber Floor Au

I think its a fundamental requirement in Australia.

From age 11 ( secondary school )

Its a big old place is Oz, and the lack of public fones.. well its Parental Reassurance !

Ste

Fly Away

My daughter is 8 and out of her class of 40, only one child has a mobile. I think they lie about 'everyone' having one.

Don't forget there may be a link between exposure to mobile phones and brain tumours. It's something that has not been fully investigated yet as not enough time has passed to gather reliable evidence. I only use mine on rare occaisions as there aren't really that many situations where they are essential. In addition to the radiation danger there is also the risk of walking along chatting or texting on the phone and not looking where they are going

IF and only IF my daughter needed a phone I would allow her to have a pay as you go phone for that day only. I might be old fashioned, but phones are just 'fashion' and there is always pressure to get the next hot thing.

flodsfive

My twins have a pay as you go phone and they are only 9. I really was opposed to it. Then I had a bit of trouble picking them up from middle school. I won't let them walk home and we have various pick up times due to clubs. On one occasion they both forgot that we organised homework club because I had a late meeting. They waited outside and when I did'nt turn up they went to the school office to ask to phone me but they were only allowed to phone me at home not my mobile. Because I was'nt there school assumed I was on my way, so they were sent back outside to wait on their own. By the time I picked they were not happy.

I did end up buying a phone which they keep in the bottom of their school bags with all emergency no's. they had £10 credit in dec. Of which they still have approx £9 left. It has mostly been used on checking where i'm parked. There friends don't even know they got it.

I deliberately got the cheapest, ugliest most basic phone, no camera so no need to show off. perhaps when there older we will upgrade.

So yes after a very complicated story for which I apologise my 9 year olds have a mob. phone but I think it's a very individual thing.