kid cell phones - Page 2

[Drummer's Wife]

Oh, and smart phones don't have to cost $400 (this is to a pp). My DS's iPhone was .99 cents, as it was an see model and we signed a two year contract. We've done the pre-paid phone before, and I promise it is much cheaper to add a line and share minutes than pay per the minute (and text -- texts are expensive if you don't have a plan).

[NiteNicole]

When people ask what did parents do before cell phones, I can't help but wonder if I'm the only kid who got stuck spending an hour standing around by myself because my mom forgot about practice or it was her turn to pick us up and we got out early or plans changed or whatever?  Also, sometimes there were pay phones.  When is the last time you saw a payphone?

[Imakcerka]

Originally Posted by NiteNicole 

When people ask what did parents do before cell phones, I can't help but wonder if I'm the only kid who got stuck spending an hour standing around by myself because my mom forgot about practice or it was her turn to pick us up and we got out early or plans changed or whatever?  Also, sometimes there were pay phones.  When is the last time you saw a payphone?

Glad I'm not the only one.  Well not happy you had to stand around waiting on mama, but geez it was ridiculous sometimes.  Mom usually said she remembered she was supposed to get me when she started making dinner and I hadn't set the table yet.  Had I been able to call that woman I would have been home no standing around outside of the High School after soccer practice soaking wet from the rain and covered in mud any longer than I needed to be. 

I also like that they will be able to get ahold of me when they need me.  Last year my oldest texted me from her friends phone to tell me I had packed her lunch without a drink or sandwhich (still in the fridge)  and could I please bring it?  Nothing serious but it was resolved quickly and I like that option.

[CatsCradle]

Originally Posted by NiteNicole 

When people ask what did parents do before cell phones, I can't help but wonder if I'm the only kid who got stuck spending an hour standing around by myself because my mom forgot about practice or it was her turn to pick us up and we got out early or plans changed or whatever?  Also, sometimes there were pay phones.  When is the last time you saw a payphone?

Standing around waiting for my mom happened more often than I care to admit.  She'd get stuck at the grocery store talking to people and totally forget about the time.  I used to sit outside on the steps by my locked school and no one was around...it was very frustrating to me as a kid and I vowed I would not do that to my kid!  And, the pay phones were inside the locked school and they wouldn't have helped anyway since she wasn't home!  My school was about ten miles from where we lived and unfortunately we had to rely either on school buses or being driven.

One thing that I think was different about the "old days" was that I think that people were a lot less transient.  DH, DD and me are in different parts of the city during the day and now that DD is a little older, she's in more activities which adds to the mix.  I think I have a fairly laid back life in a lot of respects, but my life is very different from my parents' lives and most definitely my grandparents. 

[Linda on the move]

My teens both have phones with unlimited texting. We have a family plan. I can't remember how old they were when we got their first phone -it was one they shared. That worked until they were 13 and 14.

There are no pay phones. I used to call my mom on pay phones and that isn't a possibility.

Phones can be a safety thing. One day my kids went for a walk with one of their friends, and a car with a man in it pulled up and started to say something. One of the girls got put her phone and started to dial, and the car quickly drove off.

My kids phone's get used most often just to keep us in the loop. One will meet a friends for a movie and I'm supposed to pick her up, but the friend invites her over to hang out. That sort of thing.

And I think acititives and sports are great for kids. To me, it is far better for a kid to be doing interesting thing and using technology to stay in touch than to always be with mom.

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by CatsCradle 

Standing around waiting for my mom happened more often than I care to admit.  She'd get stuck at the grocery store talking to people and totally forget about the time.  

True confessions. This may have happened to my own children once or twice. 

Let's put it this way - my children appreciate having cell phones and they use them responsibly and appropriately. They don't use them during class or to cheat at school. They don't bother people with them while a move is playing at the cinema or during live music or theatrical performances. They don't send inappropriate photos or texts. It is possible for a child to have a cell phone and not be incurably corrupted by it.

[amcal]

Does anyone worry about the radiation exposure to young children's brains?  Studies have recently come out about the dangers of cell phone usage in younger children.  

My kids (9 and 10) not only don't have cell phones but, they're not permitted to use cell phones to talk on.  I have an iphone and they know how to use it in case of an emergency but, they may not talk on it.  I don't even talk on it without an earpiece.  

We will likely get them cell phones for emergency use only when they start driving.  Maybe before that if we find schedules are so busy that we are having trouble keeping in contact. But, it will be for important calls only - not just for constant texting and talking casually on the phone everywhere you go.  But, at 9 and 10, I'm driving my kids to and from school, to and from activities and they're only at friends houses we know well.  All of those places have phones they have easy access to.  

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by amcal 

Does anyone worry about the radiation exposure to young children's brains?  Studies have recently come out about the dangers of cell phone usage in younger children.  

My children use the text function almost exclusively. I won't go into the details of a recent little contretemps DD and I had because she and a friend she was trying to track down in NYC wouldn't actually use their phones to talk to each other, rather than leave cryptic little text messages for one another. They found each other eventually, but it would have been so much easier if they just spoke directly and ironed out the details. 

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by CatsCradle 

Umph! I didn't get a cell phone until I was 40 years old.  Why?  Because they hadn't been invented yet! (at least for mass consumption).  

 

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by NiteNicole 

When people ask what did parents do before cell phones, I can't help but wonder if I'm the only kid who got stuck spending an hour standing around by myself because my mom forgot about practice or it was her turn to pick us up and we got out early or plans changed or whatever?  Also, sometimes there were pay phones.  When is the last time you saw a payphone?

 describes my childhood. I cannot begin to tell you how late my mom was all the time. Ohh I ran into this person at the JEwel and we chatted or I got stopped by this person in the neighborhood. Great, its F... raining and cold out, come pick me up!!!