subject: Cell Phones | Should your Children have them? [print this page] Cell Phones | Should your Children have them?
When I refer to children I don't mean teenagers. Trying to pry a teenagers cell phone away would be like trying to tell a fish they should breathe out of water.
I am referring to very young children around the age of 5 to 8 years old.
My belief is that children should be given cell phones but should be taught to respect the idea that the phone is there for emergencies and not for calling random numbers to say hi.
A child's cell phone should be the most simple package and basic phone available. If you can find a phone that only makes and receives calls then that is the perfect phone for a child. No smsing, no internet, no camera. There is no need for any of that and honestly I feel you might be wasting your money in the case where a child might lose or misplace their phone.
Children should be taught cell phone etiquette from a young age simple things like switching your phone to silent when in the class room (or all together off would be preferable) and the movies.
Any situation where a cell phone ringing would interrupt or disrupt what was going on around them.
Cell phones should be looked after, kept in a safe pocket and kept clean and dry so as not to result in you, as the parent, needing to spend money fixing or replacing the damaged phone.
A child should be taught that they have the freedom to call you in an emergency (they become lost or you (disastrously, but it can happen) forgot that ballet got out an hour earlier than usual and haven't picked them up yet.)
For a very young child I would recommend locking the phone so that it can only dial specific numbers. Mom, dad, older brother or sister and perhaps two or three other people they can call in an emergency and ask for help if they cannot get hold of you.
If you want to allow your child the freedom to call anyone they wish, they should be taught that the calls are not free. Perhaps giving them a pocket money allowance and allocating that to calls would show them that they have the choice to make a call or save their money for something else.
I do think that in today's day and age it is important for your child to have the means to contact you in an emergency.
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