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

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.

We had tremors here but I remember immediately calling my mother (because my daughter is with her while I work) and my fiance. I tried calling the landline first at the store where my fiance was and the lines were down and all circuits were busy so I couldn't get through to his cell phone but texting did work.

It's no ones damn business! I hate when people get nosey and point out other people 'flaws'. Obviously someone screwed up teaching you tact and manners.

Mine has an one but wasn't allowed to get one until she was old enough to prove she could take care of it and respect my rules on it. She got it for her 11th Bday. We FaceTime and text each other on it a lot. I quite like that her friends call her directly now and not use my phone for hours on end. she's gracious enough to share it with her little brother and sister when we are somewhere boring and they need some entertainment.

Well, I'd be concerned if I saw a 10-year-old with an iPhone, so I'd probably ask if it was hers. If she said no, then I'd tell her to be careful with it, but if she said yes, I'd say "ok" and go about my merry way :flowerforyou:

Personally, I think that's too young to have a phone. If and when our kid gets a phone, it's going to be one of those "you can call 911 or mom or dad and that's it" models. As he grows and matures, we'll see when/if he can handle more.

That said, you're the parent, and the choice is yours to make. Definitely rude on the part of whoever that person was.

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.

If you see some strange guy at a park talking to your young daughter you see no problem with that? I remember the days when I was a kid and I could ride in the back seat without a seat belt much less a car seat. Though would you let your little kid ride in the back seat today without a seat belt? Times have changed!

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.

If you see some strange guy at a park talking to your young daughter you see no problem with that? I remember the days when I was a kid and I could ride in the back seat without a seat belt much less a car seat. Though would you let your little kid ride in the back seat today without a seat belt? Times have changed!

No, I don't think I would see any problem with someone talking to my child (though i don't have any so feel free to flame me for being ignorant). Roads have got more dangerous as numbers of cars have increased but there are no more paedophiles out there than there used to be, times haven't changed in that sense.

My husband and I both have Iphones, we downloaded educational games, books and such on our phones to occupy our son when on long trips, Dr visits, grocery shopping etc. He loved the games and we considered buying him an ipod touch so that he can play with his own and not use ours anymore. Needless to say they were VERY expensive. My husband suggested we just add another iphone to our plan for him. He was 5 at the time and I did not want him having a phone. I was 17 before I purchased my own phone with my own money. A child at 5 having a phone was obsurd to me and I actually was embarrassed to consider it. After some discussions with our phone company and discussing the smart limits that can be placed on the phone we decided to go ahead with it. I am able to limit who he can call, what times he can call, and the internet is turned off on his phone. We only allow him to call us and his grandparents. We download the games we see fit and we charge his phone in our bedroom each night as to be sure he is resting and not playing his phone all night. I monitor his phone often and check his photos. He's actually becoming quite the photographer and videographer! When he sleeps over somewhere or goes to a sitter for the day, I feel re-assured that he can call me if hes scared and that I can call him to check on him at any time.

So yes, I'm sure that people will judge him or more me for allowing him to have a phone. But I don't care. It's my child and I choose whats best for him. He does not have free reign with his phone, and when he does not follow rules, he looses his phone privileges. I'd rather him play games that are educational and that I can monitor rather than letting him on the internet or letting him sit in front of a game system all day on tv!

Everyone has opinions, and I believe that even though they are entitled to their opinions, there is NO reason to belittle a child! EVER!

My daughter is 7 and has a phone. It isn't an iphone but it is a $400 phone. She hardly ever uses it and when she does that is to play games. The main reason she has it is so when she visits neighbors like she does constantly--I can call and check on her and let her know when it is time to come home, Yes I have the neighbors #s as well--but I prefer to call her directly.my almost 10 year old son does NOT have a phone. He isn't interested and I think he would lose it.

I don't see anything wrong with a 10 year old having an iPhone, nor do I see why anybody would worry about what somebody elses kid is doing with one. Some people just need to go f--- themselves.

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.

Or an Android loyalist! #TeamAndroid!

when my oldest turned 11 I got him a low rent smart phone. I dont see anything wrong with it. WIth the GPS trcker I can find him just incase.

My kid keeps telling me she's the ONLY sixth grader in school without a cell phone. She's been asking for a Droid though. I considered getting her one (a basic phone, not a droid) just to be able to keep in contact with her better when she's at friends places. I can only assume that's been the primary motivation for other parents giving their kids iPhones, and even if it isn't - I don't think it's cool to question someone's parenting in front of their kids, period. Every parenting style is different, and no parent is perfect.

1) Call them on their friends LAND LINE like they used to do in the "olden days" when there was no such thing as a cell phone

HAHA, What's a landline? Or a payphone for that matter? My parents don't even have landlines anymore.

Times are changing and kids DO all have phones. The older generations need to appreciate that no child speaks on landlines any more and that the world expects a parent to be able to have a phone and contact their child whenever they are out and about. It's called progress. There is nothing wrong with a child having a phone.

However, an iPhone is the most expensive phone on the market and it doesn't really teach your child to save up for big luxuries like that. My parents paid for my phone contract through my teen years and it was usually a fairly good phone but not always the most high tech. When I graduated from university last year and got a full time job in the city, I finally ditched my VERY basic £5 Nokia for an iPhone 4 and i LOVE it. It's worth every penny I pay for it, and I feel proud that I can afford to pay for that myself.

I think it is absolutely ridiculous for a child o have an iPhone. If you as a parent want them to have one so you can get in touch with them while they are at a friends house either 1) Call them on their friends LAND LINE like they used to do in the "olden days" when there was no such thing as a cell phone or 2) Get them some cheap-o phone that can only make and receive calls. If they want to play games get them one of those hand held play station or nintendo things. I have seen kids as young as six walking around with a cell phone and they look ridiculous.

How many people do you know with Land Line phones? I just went through the top 20 people I talk to and none of them have land lines.

Really? All of my friends and family have land lines.

If they don't have one then call them on the PARENTS cell phone like you would call a regular old land line. My parents did that and I survived.

Like I said, if you feel your child needs a cell phone then get them a cheap one that can only make and receive calls.