What would you ladies think of giving a phone to a 6 and 8 year old?
BM gave the kids a phone a month ago. It's prepaid, so that's at least good. No surprise though that they ran out of minutes in about 2 weeks. They called her, and grandparents, and just about anyone else in their phonebook.
Anyway, she gave it to them so they could call whenever they want and she can call them anytime she wants. Whether they are here or if she is at work.
I think that is weird.
I've also had to take it away a few times from them arguing over it.
Anyway, is it our responsibility to make sure it isn't lost? That they have it with them in case she calls? To make sure that it's charged?
Or do we just let them handle it?
Should they ask for permission to use it or just use it whenever they feel like it?
This is such a bizarre idea to me for such young kids to have a phone, so I really have no idea about this stuff. I'm also aware that my confusion gives a bias to my answers to the above questions, so I want to hear what you all think.
Re: Is a phone really necessary?
AW hell naw!
But then again, neither SS nor DD will be getting phones from us until they're 16. And then it will be those phones that only allow them to call certain numbers (us, BM for SS) and have a GPS tracking device. No texting. No data plan.
Yes, I'm a fun sucker.
When DD was about to be 7, my ex-MIL bought her a cell phone for Christmas. I swear it was because she *thought* I wouldn't let DD call her whenever she wanted...truth was she never asked. And the other reason was because DD had been begging for one and I had told her no. It's also a prepaid.
In response to your questions:
Anyway, is it our responsibility to make sure it isn't lost? That they have it with them in case she calls? To make sure that it's charged? No, in our house that is DD's responsibility. If she forgets, too bad.
Should they ask for permission to use it or just use it whenever they feel like it? Since I don't pay for the phone, I let DD use it whenever, except during my preset guidelines of 8pm-8am. I don't want her calling anyone early in the morning or late at night when she is supposed to be in bed.
The truth is that DD is now 10 and still rarely uses it. My niece is 12 and has one and they have only texted each other very few times. Although, her Nana now has a set day she makes DD call her on (Tuesdays). Half the time anyone calls her she has the phone turned off because she's afraid she will waste the battery. So while, I thought it was going to be a huge problem, it hasn't been that bad even though I still hate having to admit that my 10 yr old has had a cell phone for 3 years.
DD is 13. She has had a cell phone since she was 11. I gave it to her so she could call me whenever she needed to while she is with her dad. He has angry outbursts. If he is out of control I want her to be able to call me. If she asked him to call me he would sit and listen to every word she is saying and it makes her uncomfortable.
I recently (for her b-day) upgraded the plan to include unlimited texting (for all 3 phones on the plan) so she is now allowed to text her friends. She is not allowed to erase any texts incoming or outgoing. I check them regularly, then I erase them.
Her 11 yr old sister (dad's side) also has a cell phone, so it allows them to talk more too.
I'm sorry but this phone is in your house?? Then yes, you get to make the rules. They want to call someone? Fine but you get to say when they can make those calls and how long they last.
If it were me, I would keep the phone in a place where the kids cannot have it without asking. I would only turn it on at times when it is okay with you for them to receive calls. They would have to ask when they can place calls and I'd set out an egg timer to let them know how long they had to talk.
Click me, click me!
I hate SD's cell phone. She has had it for a few years now. She just recently told DH that the reason her mom got her the cell phone was because her dad never let her talk to SD (big lie - phone records to prove it). DH has rules about the cell phone in which SD says that her mom tells her to ignore DH's rules. DH has taken it away from her and has told her that he will send it back. Then she argues back that her mom will just send it back...yada yada. DH has checked her texts and such and mom had sent her a text instructing her to make sure she deletes everything off her phone.
The court order specifies times in which the parents are supposed to call, and I feel that mom feels the cell phone gives her the right to call whenever she wants - but she still makes dad stick to the court order. (I feel that a parent should be able to call whenever they want as long as they are not disrupting the other's parenting time).
I just had to chime in on this. Even though my DH has made a habit since SS was 4 of having him call his BM every day after school, when he was 5 she got him a cell phone. He pranced around the house with it clipped to his pants. He walked funny with his hip protruding so it was noticed. He mentioned it in nearly every sentence. And he never frigging used it. Eventually she got tired of paying for something unnecessary and took it back.
We did put our foot down about the Nintendo DS, though. It is not allowed in our home. It sucks his attention and is an expensive device we don't want to be responsible for since we didn't have an input in its purchase.
I got my DD a phone last year, she is 8. My reason was because she started going to a different babysitter after school. She used to go to the YMCA which was on the school grounds, so I didn't feel she needed a phone then. So when my sister in law started babysitting after school, my dd would walk across the school yard to the park and she would get picked up there, she would also go on playdates after school, so I always wanted to be able to get a hold of her, or vise verse.
I never expected my exh to charge it, or take any responsibility for it. He usually still calls my phone to speak with dd anyway, which is fine too.
I don't think it is weird, at all. I have my dd put her phone on the charger (it is in the kitchen) before bed, and I also got the internet on the phone blocked, so she can't use that feature.