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

oOMusicBabii

While not too young to have a phone, too young to have a phone of that value. Personally, children should only have a phone for making calls/texts in an emergency or say if they are hanging out at a friends house and they are ready to come home/need a ride. It should be something inexpensive where you can limit minutes/texting etc (inexpensive and basic pay as you go phones would be great for a child!)

However, saying rude things to a child like that is not acceptable.

LouiseRose92

At 10, I'd mosly be worried about her losing it.

I got my first phone at 12, it was quite advanced. It had a colour screen

I would never berate a young child for something so silly!

casi_ann

You better believe I'd give my kid a cell phone for this reason. I had this problem but didn't have the cell phone to solve it so totally understand.

kayl3igh88

I don't think there's a problem with her having an iPhone. It is 2012, technology is not the enemy it is the reality of our world. In my opinion good parenting is about preparing your child for the world, not preotecting them from it. As long as she is taught about appropriate use of the phone and can't purchase random apps, go for it I swear some people would have us living in the dark ages...

This, this, this!!

oOMusicBabii

At 10, I'd mosly be worried about her losing it.

I got my first phone at 12, it was quite advanced. It had a colour screen

I would never berate a young child for something so silly!

WOW that was living large then! Mine was still a two-tone, light green with changeable black font contrast!

casi_ann

If my kid was with his dad and his dad wouldn't let him call me and I had the option of a cell phone he'd have it.

MrsM1ggins

My nieces, ages 3 & 6, both have iphones. They use them to watch cartoons and films when out and about - it's a great way to keep them from getting bored while in a restaurant, for example.

Both phones are hand-me-downs from their parents. I'm not sure I'd spend £400 on a phone for a child, but I'm not going to criticise someone who does. What right do I have to tell someone else how to spend THEIR money?

KetoBella

I am in the camp a 10 year old is too young for the need of a smartphone. I also agree it was inappropriate to involve the child. This is the first generation of young children to be raised with ready access to the internet, facebook, texting, etc. I have to wonder how it will affect the world as a result.

emmie0622

I always let my kids have cell phones young, I think in today's world it is a necessary safety protection for children to have one. The type of phone is up to the parents to decide. I had people make comments to me regarding it and I always said something. I prefer my child to have a phone and be able to call if they are in danger. Guidelines were given for the phone for texting etc that was between us. People should keep their mouths shut and worry about their own kids.

ellenxmariex3

I got my first phone at 14 (19 now). It was a flip phone and I didn't have texting. It was just for calls. I think that's developmentally appropriate. My two cousins had phones very young but their parents are divorced so it makes it easier for them to go back and forth. They didn't have texting until they were older too.

I wouldn't say anything but I wouldn't give my child such an expensive phone. I don't even have a smartphone and I'm perfectly happy. But that's mainly because I'm too cheap to pay the data fee.

I watch kids as one of my jobs. Some of the 11 year olds have phones. They just sit next to each other and call each other. It's kind of hilarious.

MissTattoo

I don't think 10 is too young for a phone, but too young for an iPhone. a 10 year old doesn't need a smartphone. Their lives aren't that complicated.

My daughter is entering kindergarten this year and I've been thinking about getting her a prepaid simple phone for emergencies. And they do happen. I'm having anxiety attacks about things that could happen. Like 2 years ago the bus driver dropped this little girl ( I think she was in first grade) at the wrong bus stop and just left her there. Thank goodness a nice man saw some kid standing by the highway and stopped to help her. it could have ended much much worse.

I also don't get the "Well I didn't have one when I was younger" thing. Um...cell phones didn't even exist for consumers when I was 10. I didn't get my first cell phone until I was 19. My dad had a company cell phone and it was that giant Motorola that had to be taken apart and the battery put on a charging dock. I did have a gameboy and that is basically like the Nintendo DS. We just had different things when we were little and the generation before us complained that we had things that they didn't.

Now, for a 10 year old I wouldn't pay for unlimited texting and internet. They don't need that. The phone should be in their pockets or bookbags all day. If it's a non emergency, I'd rather call the school directly and have her come down to the office to make a phone call.

Time is moving forward. They now email you your childs report card and homework and yearly agenda. Some schools allow you to peek inside the classroom via a website. They are handing out kindles in some school for reading. You can fight it or adapt to it.

My daughter plays with my old droid. I still connect it to wifi and download games, books, and music for her.

cgraylyon

My son is 12 and he has had a phone since he was 10.

He has never lost or damaged his phone and he takes it everwhere with him. He rides his bike about a mile to school and he texts/calls me when he is leaving and texts me again when he is there. Same with going to friends houses after school and on the weekend. I think that this is a great way to communicate with him.

He doesn't have an iphone, but I wouldn't be against getting one for him. I hear there are great apps on that phone for studying and he would have more fun doing his homework.

People need to mind their own business!

melcpia

I have 3 kids and they all had phones young. If I could afford to give them iphones I would have, especially witht he find my iphone app...how many times would I have loved to know where they were!.

My kids my choice. They're on prepaid plans so spending is controlled..the oldest 2 pay their own now tho.
I see no harm in th phone, it gives the kids an option of calling mum and saying theres a problem or ask permission etc!

AlsDonkBoxSquat

My son is 3 so I can't really say what I will do in 7 years, but we are not into allowing our child much access right now as it is. I'm technology middle ground, but I'm big on being safe in a technological world. I have friends with a 14 year old and the don't allow her to have a smart phone, have parental locks on the phone, and she has to hand in her phone at the end of the evening. Their daughter doesn't have the ability to delete text messages, so her parents see everything. I think it's rediculous that the phone is ringing with text messages going off at midnight and 1 AM, something that would wake her daughter if it was still in her posession. Through my phone I have access to the world, and the world has access to me. I'm 34 and can handle it, I don't expect my son to be able to handle it at a young age. You raise your kid, and I will raise mine, but mine won't be so accessible at such a young age. I wouldn't randomly chastise her for it, and I wouldn't say anything to you about it, however while I it's naive to think kids don't know I phone I don't think they need smart phones.

livinginwoods

I would never go after a child or say anything to a parent even though that is way to young for a kid to have a phone, unless there are special circumstances involved. Kids now days grow up so fast and have lack of respect for others and this technology is a big reason for it. The Me generation.

SuffolkSally

My friends' 5 year old has an ipad. It's annoying to me, because I want it! And if I had a 5 year old I'm not sure I'd make the same decision. But I wouldn't comment, even to them, and certainly not to him.

ItsCasey

10-year-olds shouldn't have cell phones, period. I think all of this "it's dangerous out there these days" crap is just a cover for parents who don't have the balls to say no to their spoiled little brats. If it's dangerous for your kid to walk home from school, THEN SHE SHOULDN'T BE WALKING HOME FROM SCHOOL BY HERSELF. Wake up. Pick her up yourself. Ask a friend or relative to do it. Hire a baby-sitter to do it. Have her ride the bus. Is a cell phone going to protect her if someone decides he wants to kidnap her? No, it isn't. She'd be lucky to still have it in her possession once he grabs her and throws her in the trunk. Get serious.

As for the question in the OP, no I would not berate a child for having a cell phone. It's not the child's fault that his/her parents are idiots.

spoonful

I might ask her if I could take her Ferrari for a spin. Kidding.

It's a freaking phone. I love my iPhone but seeing someone else with one does not bend me out of shape. I believe they give G3's away with a new account, anyway.

Some people are way too far into other people's business these days. I don't know what it is. Actually I do but you have to pay me to find out since it's what I do for a living.

Eisskween

It's none of my business how other people raise their children. That being said, respectfully, if it were my ten-year-old, no, she wouldn't have a cell phone. I still go by my father's way of thinking, "when you earn it, you'll have it." Maybe old fashioned, but it teaches responsibility and respect, and that there is no need to keep up with the Joneses.

EDIT: And those people who spoke to her were totally out of line.

camsamdad

I think its great in today time they can be used for school. my son has had a smart phone for years and he is able to use it in school. he just got an Iphone at 12 I have an android. we got our daughter a smart phone at 5 she plays games on it and listens to music its a great help when we are at doctors as for making calls she is only allowed to call certain people that we have put in her favorites. we also got it because my wife her mother goes to school 2 hours away and is only home on the weekends this is another way for her to be connected with her mom.(we dont have a house phone) this is 2012 people need to get with the times. one last thing I am the one paying the bill for my children to have the phone so it not anyones business rather she or my son have a phone

MessyLittlePanda

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. Though it does kinda depend on the maturity of the child, and how well the parents are able to keep tabs on usage. Most networks here in the UK have adult content on the internet blocked as a default and you need to put in credit/debit card details to unlock the adult content. Nevertheless, there are still a lot of things that don't get blocked that I think are too "adult" for a ten year old. It makes me a little sad to see some kids sitting and playing with phones rather than being outdoors, interacting with other kids or their families, at that age IMO there are better, more healthy things they could be doing with their time, but at the end of the day it depends on the child and the parents and the setting of age appropriate limits and ensuring there is a balance with other activities, i.e. the child does not become too attached to the phone at the expense of doing other stuff kids should be doing at that age.

capriciousmoon

I think it's kind of crazy for a kid to have an iPhone, but it isn't really any of my business and it's good to have a phone for safety reasons. If she's responsible enough not to lose or break it, it's probably fine.

I was 24 or 25 when I got my first cell phone!

AbzRocks

Who cares what type of phone the kid had, it's no one else's business what she is doing with anything unless it was illegal. The adult had no right to abuse the kid for sitting there minding her own business. Assumptions get people into a lot of trouble and any adult should know that and besides, I see plenty of parents giving their 1 and 2 yr olds their iPhones to play with, would this adult yell at them???? It's my decision what I do with my things no one else's. People need to learn to give their opinion only when it is asked for!!!

mcdonl

Once my kids hit middle school they got iPhones... Up until then they are always with an adult, but MS comes with freedom and periods where they can be alone. I see no reason to not let them have iPhones over any other kind of cell phone. I was in my 30's before I had a cell phone, but who cares?

miranda_mom

I think anyone with an iPhone is stupid, but I wouldn't yell at a kid for that.

:laugh: - android loyalist here!

maspicantexfa

I'd judge her parents ... for buying an iPhone instead of Android


But in all seriousness, we live in a world saturated with technology. My daughter has played with an old iPod of ours since she was 2. She's 4 now, and I let her play with my phone one time and not only did she find the drawing app, she set it as the wallpaper on my phone. We didn't have this stuff as kids, but it doesn't mean it's wrong that THEY do.

I'll be buying my kids their own Android phones (not the top of the line model like mine, but something more simple to use like what I bought my mom) as soon as they are involved in things where we will be apart and need to be in communication. I'd like to say that I can go to every soccer practice or every play rehearsal, but that's not realistic (and it's probably not wanted) and it's nice to know that they have their own method of communication in case of emergency or any other reason.

And of course, I'll have that **** locked down so I know what's on it and what they can and can't do with it, age-appropriately.

Edit: I hate typos

bubbaflip

when most of us were 10 years old, way before all this Iphone and Blackberry technology came into play, all we had was outside with our friends. I have a friend who also has a daughter with a cell phone and her daughter is younger than yours. In my mind I can be like "why are we letting kids nowadays have things they really don't need?", but hey, whatever floats the boats of parents, so be it.

Smuterella

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, plus the concern that it makes them a target for theft

jcjsjones

My 11 yo son has an Android (he got it when he was 10). He is extremely responsible with all his electronics and never goes over his Internet minutes. I would take it very personal if someone chastised him or insulted me in his presence for giving him a phone. It's none of their business!!

cburky911

I didn't read everyone's response, so maybe I missed this part....but what made this adult feel that they had any business going up to a 10 year old who they don't know and thinking they had any business scolding the child?