If you saw a ten year old girl with an iPhone....
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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.
That's not true at all. Kids have been snatched up in safe neighborhoods. Recently here in a very wealthy neighborhood it was reported that a man on three different occasions approached two young girls and tried to get them in his car and the one girl took out her phone and called the cops after taking a photo of his car/face.
I'm sure there are parents who just can't say no to their special little snowflake, but there are those of us who aren't interested in buying $500 phones for our children. Like I said, I'm ready to buy my kid a cheap little prepaid phone. I would never buy her a GalaxySIII (I'm on Team Android) or any smartphone for that matter. She just needs a phone to call 911, me, or her grandmother in case of an emergency.0 -
I would never say anything to the child but in my own mind, yes I don't agree with young children having such high value items, and I still can't get my head around why a ten year old needs a mobile phone at all.
The other factor is that that young children with high value items on display have increasingly become victims of robbery because they make easy pickings, so I doubt I would put my kid at risk like that.0 -
I don't see any reason for a 10 year old to have an iPhone, a cell phone...I suppose, but an iPhone, absolutely not. FaceTime is great, but I don't see a need for a 10 year old to have an iPhone just to have FaceTime.
I wouldn't say anything, but I certainly would think "What are her parents thinking?"0 -
I wouldn't pass any judgments...everyone has one.0
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My son is 4 (5 in a few weeks) and he has an iPod touch. His reading has improved greatly with looking for musicians he likes or playing with apps that teach him letters, numbers and many great skills.
I don't see an issue with him having a phone when he starts running around with friends. It probably wont be anything fancy but enough to talk/text with us or other family.0 -
Never mind the phone. As an adult you shouldn't talk to random strange kids!!!
By the way our daughter has an iPad and she loves it for all the great kids apps and reading. Nothing wrong with technology for the young as long as the parents are responsible to keep track!0 -
My 11 yr old has a basic flip phone. The only reason he has it is because he plays every sport and sometimes my wife has to drop him off and I pick him up. Also we no longer have a home phone so when he gets home from school and we aren't going to be home when he gets home we like for him to be able to call us if he needs to. He has lost of friends with smartphones and he wants one desperately. But I really see no reason for a child to have one at that age. I have told him when he turns 16 I would again revisit the idea of a smart phone for him.0
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I didn't have a phone when I was 10! The cord wouldn't reach where I was going. :bigsmile:
My 2yo will have one by the time she is 10. She will have restrictions on it of course. But I feel better if she has a way to get a hold of me and vise versa.0 -
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I wouldn't say anything to the kid, but I'd think less of the parents. 10 is WAY to young for a cell phone period, let alone an iPhone. I'm 34 and don't even have an iPhone. My oldest is 11 and I wouldn't even think about giving him a cell phone until at least 13 or 14 and it would not be an iPhone. Some basic phone where he can call me and we can reach him. That's all he needs.0
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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 didn't get my first cell phone til I was in high school, when I needed to make calls to mom to pick me up from band practice and such. And I didn't text neither. I didn't get a texting phone until I made dean's list in college. Mom used those things to reward me and I think it worked
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All this "adults shouldn't talk to strange kids" stuff is just weird to me. When I was a child it was the case that any adult could tell you off. If I were, say, dropping litter, I'd expect an adult to scold me regardless of whether they knew me or not.
Now it seems that even if you see a child blatantly behaving badly, you as an adult have no right to speak to them about it. Te comeback you get from the parents is "don't speak to my kid like that" with the parent sticking up for their child despite the misdemeanour.
Man, I feel old.0 -
It's not about the age, it's about enforcing rules, and parents being strict with it. My neices both have one because it was a deal at verizon and was cheaper than getting them iPods and crappy texting phones and cameras together...0
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Ok my daughter has an android phone. (She’s 14). I checked with the parents of my daughter’s friends before I got her one. I really didn’t believe her when she said all the kids in school had Iphones . All of her friends have androids and Iphones I think two have basic prepaid phones but believe it or not most have smart phones. I’ve seen kids a young as 8 walking around with smart phones. As long as your kid can handle it responsibly and you’ve set up rules regarding it I see no problem with it.0
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I don't know why anyone would say something to a 10 year old that they don't know.
My daughter is 10 and she has a cell phone, not an iPhone... However, this is not a phone in which she has access to the internet and sit around a gossip on. She has access to it when she is away from us and we can contact whenever we need to.0 -
My daughter is 10, and has a smartphone. (An android, not an icky iphone... :-) ) It is a nice bit of kit, but not stupidly expensive. She splits her time between her father and I, and it means I can easily talk to her if I need to and she can always get hold of me. (He doesn't have a mobile phone.)
She's very responsible with it. She has never got close to either her calling or texting limit. She does use it to keep in touch with school friends, and friends from her old school. I don't see that as any different from the way I used to go home after school and chat to my friends on the landline phone when I was growing up.
Technology is here, and our kids are all digital natives. I think we need to be comfortable with that, and embrace it.0 -
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.
That's not true at all. Kids have been snatched up in safe neighborhoods. Recently here in a very wealthy neighborhood it was reported that a man on three different occasions approached two young girls and tried to get them in his car and the one girl took out her phone and called the cops after taking a photo of his car/face.
I'm sure there are parents who just can't say no to their special little snowflake, but there are those of us who aren't interested in buying $500 phones for our children. Like I said, I'm ready to buy my kid a cheap little prepaid phone. I would never buy her a GalaxySIII (I'm on Team Android) or any smartphone for that matter. She just needs a phone to call 911, me, or her grandmother in case of an emergency.
Agreed! I just love the response, "we didn't have them growing up so our kids don't need them". I forgot though, there were no child molesters or sickos back then either. :noway: I bet some people's grandparents grew up without TV, washing machines or maybe even electric... So I suppose no one needs those either?
The blessings of technology improving people's lives..and like it or not, making people more safe.0 -
All this "adults shouldn't talk to strange kids" stuff is just weird to me. When I was a child it was the case that any adult could tell you off. If I were, say, dropping litter, I'd expect an adult to scold me regardless of whether they knew me or not.
Now it seems that even if you see a child blatantly behaving badly, you as an adult have no right to speak to them about it. Te comeback you get from the parents is "don't speak to my kid like that" with the parent sticking up for their child despite the misdemeanour.
Man, I feel old.
This. Even worse that the parents won't discipline them. Too busy being their friend to worry about being a parent.0 -
My 7 yo step daughter has an iPhone bc (1) she has very good education games (2) she knows to only make calls if it is an emergency & (3) it has tracking capabilities.... I am hoping that we may never need to track her but I do keep it on just in case0
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I think In the age of technology it's important for kids to be able to use all tech devices thats out there. Times are changing quickly and we all need to get with it, kids are the future and giving them the ability to compete with the rest of the world is only an advantage. My kids have had cell phones since they were ten and I'm glad I gave it to them. Their now in top rated science and technology high schools and are straight A students. If you can afford to why not give them the best device on the market.0
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My son is 10 and has an iPhone. It's not too young. We just got my 8 year old daughter a cell phone too. Both my kids can probably compute you all into the ground. It's different for these kids. You don't even have to show them how to use it, they just grab it and do it. They know everything. It might depend on where you live. In the city, all the kids have them. It's safer. It makes you feel secure. If I lived in a more rural area, I might feel differently. It comes in handy a lot that we can talk to each other. I didn't know that people judge me for it. It's commonplace where I am for kids to have phones.
This. As a parent I can't think of a better way to keep track of them. It's a part of life for their generation. As for it being an i-phone I'd just think lucky kid!0 -
I'd take the iphone away from the kid, dunk it in a toilet bowl, and tell the girl's parents to stop buying Apple products for their children if they don't want them to grow up to be hipsters.
Smartphone for a kid? They don't need it and it's a waste of money.
If you got money to waste, have at it. As long as you got parental controls on it, it's cool.
Hell, I saw a news report about people buying ipads for their pets to play games on.
So who is anyone else to judge you for how you spend your money?
I'm more pissed off at people making $40k a year who take out $450k mortgages, then ask for pity when they surprisingly can't pay their $2500/month mortgage once the 2 year interest only clock runs out. Now that's poor money management and stupidity.0 -
I say forget 'em. If you as a parent feel your child is mature enough for a phone then so be it.
I would suggest certain limits or restrictions though as friendly advice.
Restricted calling times
Restricted internet maybe
Really depends how she handles the responsibility really.
I do not believe in ever overstepping my boundaries on another person's children unless they are out of control or it is an emergency situation.
This is not one of those times so I find it uncalled for.
^^^^ My thoughts exactly^^^^0 -
It wouldn't be any of my business and its not my place to say anything.
LOL. My son didn't get an iphone untill he turned 17 (last year) because I refused to pay for it. Somehow, he managed all these years without it and wasn't kidnapped or molested.0 -
I'll be honest- I don't see a reason to give my kids a phone before they're 17. At the moment they are 5 and 7. We'll see what happens. I probably have seen a 10 year old with a cell phone. Maybe an iPhone. I just really don't go around looking for reasons to berate other people's kids. It's reason enough if they stick their noses into my business. I see no reason to start something.
Where I live, bullies are enough issue to deal with daily. I don't need to borrow trouble that isn't.0 -
All of this makes me glad not to be a parent right now.
There's social pressure as an adult to have the hippest, coolest phone. Can't imagine what it is like for children, who have enough social pressures as is without worrying about tech.0 -
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.
Second this.
This.
Our children have to wait until high school, but we do have an extra cell phone we call the traveling phone. The traveling phone goes with the child that needs it. We are going to go with I-touch and have them text from the i-touch, and they get that in 9th grade. We are trying to minimize our monthly expenses and with four kids I can't see them all having a cell phone plan, everything is just too expensive.0 -
Each person has there own way of parenting. I say to each his own AS LONG as you are trying to raise a child that will be an asset to the world. Berating any child that has a phone, especially when you don't know the circumstances is totally unacceptable.0
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My cousin's 9 year old son has an Iphone and I think she's an idiot for giving it to him... But the bottom line is, its her money, its her kid... none of my business so I didn't say anything.
My 14 year old daughter has a cell phone (touch screen with parental controls for internet usage and texting) but not an Iphone.0 -
We had an 5.9 earthquake here in the DC area not too long ago - an uncommon occurance. My middle school aged son was at school and though we immediately tried to reach each other, cell towers and land lines were jammed and we couldn't make calls BUT TEXTING WORKED and if I remember correctly, he was able to see news updates as well. The school was evacuated so there was no way for the school admins or students to monitor the situation from inside the school. We were all terrified but I felt so much better knowing my son and the other kids was safe. That kind of peace of mind if worth all the smartphones in the world to me.0
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