If you saw a ten year old girl with an iPhone....

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  • icreate
    icreate Posts: 60
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    good for her :)
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
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    My son is 11, he had a basic phone when he was 10 which was upgraded to a blackberry on his 11th birthday. He uses it responsibly and I check what he has been doing with it. I have parental settings on his internet access and he has quite a basic calls/texts/internet package on his contract. I'd rather know he was safe and I can reach him at all times than worry whether people thought I was doing something wrong.
    TBH he mostly only uses it as an MP3 or to ring/text me anyway :smile:
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
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    I wouldn't say anything, but I am uncomfortable with children having phones, especially Smartphones. But maybe that's because my parents were tight arses and I only got nice things once I started work, and paid for them with my own money. I wanted an iPhone for years and only managed to buy one this year, after working since I was 16. I think I'll be the same way with my own children, but less selfish.
  • TrimAnew
    TrimAnew Posts: 127 Member
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    Would you b*tch her out for it? Assume it wasn't her phone?

    No to the 1st, of course.
    As for the second, I'd probably glance around to see if an adult was with her and if so, assume it was the adult's phone.
    Would you think her parents were too permissive?
    Would you say anything or make any judgements at all?
    It would depend on the kid. If the kid is well behaved and responsible then I probably wouldn't think much of it. If the kid is acting up then I'd be more likely to doubt the parent's choices. (But I'd have those doubts for any kid acting bratty in public even if there is no phone in sight!)

    Ten years old does seem a bit young for a smart phone in my opinion, but just fine for a basic phone in this day and age. If it's a smart phone/iphone I just hope it has some parental controls and that she can't download apps without your permission first.
  • dadof2boyz
    dadof2boyz Posts: 156 Member
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    I think it's a personal / parenting choice. I always thought that I would not allow my kids to have phones at such ages - I figured they would get them when they are in their teens. However, we have recently decided to get a phone (for phone and text only) for our 10 and 11 year olds, simply for safety reasons. They will be coming home on the bus by themselves when the new school year begins, and they will need access to a phone easily and quickly (i,e. not having to remember to go to the office at school before they leave to call my wife or I at work, etc...). My wife and I still struggle with this, and it was not an easy decision. But they have been demonstrating they are much more responsible then they were a year ago. But time will tell. We have strict enforcement that its only cell and text. no apps. no internet. And we will let them show how responsible they really are. But for us, it was a safety concern/decision.
  • kimbly71
    kimbly71 Posts: 188
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    I think anyone with an iPhone is stupid, but I wouldn't yell at a kid for that.

    What? I'm confused as to why you would judge someone just because they have an iPhone? Sounds more like jealousy to me.
    I just think it's stupid to pay so much for a phone. How many people actually NEED a smartphone, really?

    Why does everything have to be a "need"? I'm an adult woman with a decent salary. I bought an IPhone because I **wanted** one. You seem quite judgy. :grumble:
  • Funsoaps
    Funsoaps Posts: 514 Member
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    10 year olds with phones nowadays is pretty commonplace.

    Parents do it not to be permissive, but because they want to know where their child is at all times and have communication with them at all times.
  • kristinacottle
    kristinacottle Posts: 52
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    I think 10 year olds should have phones to keep in touch with their parents, but an iphone is a little excessive. However, it's your money, and I think its wrong for them to have said something to your child.
  • camsamdad
    camsamdad Posts: 53 Member
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    I would like to know of the people who said no to phones for kids how many of you have kids. my son got his first phone at 7 and now has an Iphone 4s age 12 and my daughter has a droidX and she is 6. my daughter is monitored on the phone can only call a few people(family) but she is able to play games on it watch cartoons and listen to music which all comes in handy when we have doctors appointmest and traveling.
  • Barbarajavon
    Barbarajavon Posts: 42
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    I don't think there's anything wrong with a 10yr old having an iphone. I mean considering the fact that all cell phones now-a-days have the same basic features whats the difference between her having an iphone and a samsung or nokia or any other smartphone out there? Maybe the person that thought it was appropriate to talk to someone else's child in that manner was jealous that they didn't have an iphone or whatever.
  • mama78loosinWeight
    mama78loosinWeight Posts: 130 Member
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    Why do people assume it is in some way okay to get in the face of a 10 year old little girl who was minding her own business. I don't care what it was about. Cross the line!! :explode:
  • kreuzen
    kreuzen Posts: 188 Member
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    I think 10 is FAR to young to have a cell phone. Especially an iPhone. I would think that the parents might be spoiling their kid a little too much. Then again, it isn't my child and it isn't something that directly needs my involvement.
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
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    i wouldnt think twice about it. i dont see anything wrong with a 10 year old having a smart phone. in fact its probably nearing the point of necessity in this day and age.
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
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    A cell phone is nothing. My daughter's school is going to iPads instead of textbooks this year. Every kids has to have their own iPad. It only applies to 8-12 grades this coming school year, but I think the plan is to move it down to sixth grade next year. I can already hear the comments that are going to come along with 11-year olds having their own iPads, even if it is for school.

    That is absurd. How is every parent supposed to afford an ipad for their child? Especially if they have more than one going to that school at a time. My mother wouldn't have been able to afford it at the time my brother and I were that age. I better hope I start making 6 figures before having a child because the requirements will get even more expensive by the time they're in school. :grumble:
  • Foxypoo61287
    Foxypoo61287 Posts: 638 Member
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    I think 10 is to young to have a cell phone. Do I think that I would walk over to a 10 year old with a cell phone. If I was by myself I would just shake my head. If I was with a friend, I would look at them and say something and go on about how I did not have a cell phone until I was 16. My sister was about 9 or 10 when she got her's. There is no reason that your child should be ANYWHERE without an adult at that age. Especially with all the creepers around. My daughter will not have a phone until she is driving. If she has good grades.
  • macpatti
    macpatti Posts: 4,280 Member
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    That is absurd. How is every parent supposed to afford an ipad for their child? Especially if they have more than one going to that school at a time. My mother wouldn't have been able to afford it at the time my brother and I were that age. I better hope I start making 6 figures before having a child because the requirements will get even more expensive by the time they're in school. :grumble:
    Public schools going to this will provide the iPads in the classrooms. No one is making parents purchase an iPad. Many private schools already have this policy and the cost is written into the tuition.

    Regarding the topic of 10 year olds with cell phones; I don't see a problem with that. The only problem I see with a smartphone is that gives them access to everything on the internet. They can google something seemingly innocent, and get porn very easily. If you can block internet use on a smartphone, then I don't see the big deal.
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,738 Member
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    I think that is too young to have a phone, but I wouldn't say anything about it. I sure as heck wouldn't berate the child for it. Simply uncalled for.

    ^^ This. I think it's too young, but I'm not going to tell others how to raise their children and I'm certainly not going to yell at a child for something her parents gave her.
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
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    Would you b*tch her out for it? Assume it wasn't her phone?

    Would you think her parents were too permissive?

    Would you say anything or make any judgements at all?

    My daughter just texted me to let me know that someone just gave her hell for "playing with her parents iPhone" when she told them it was HER phone, they then, IN FRONT OF HER, made some rather derogatory comments about my parenting choices and how permissive parents make bad children.

    I almost wish I was there so I could give that person a piece of my mind.

    Lauren

    I don't have an iPhone and I am way older than 10 years. My kids don't have a cell phone either and they are teenagers.

    I don't subscribe to the "have to have" way of life that seems to be hitting us pretty hard. We complain about the economy yet make very few sacrifices. I complain about the economy but make the sacrifices I need to make on all levels.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    i wouldnt think twice about it. i dont see anything wrong with a 10 year old having a smart phone. in fact its probably nearing the point of necessity in this day and age.

    Why does it have to be a smart phone though? What's wrong with a cheap, re-chargable phone that is used for calling mom and dad only? While I wouldn't allow my child to have a cell phone at that age if I felt the need to -- for example if they were going away to camp out of state and I needed to be in touch with them -- I most certainly wouldn't get them an iPhone. There is just no need for that amount of technology for a ten year old.
  • runlaugheatpie
    runlaugheatpie Posts: 376 Member
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    I'm also in the "10 is too young" camp. My daughter got a phone at 12 and my son is still waiting for his (he's 11). Also for me an iPhone is just too expensive and too much of a target.

    However it's not my business what other kids have or do with phones, so I wouldn't have said anything.

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