Do u let LO play with your phone?

Kahf15 · May 2011

Our DS cannot get enough of our electronics.. Computers, phones, cameras.. ANYTHING. My husband thinks it is cute and lets him play with them (ones that he cannot really break). I on the other hand try to take them away. DH even charged up an old phone for him to "have". I just think that he has a million toys and that he should learn the electronics are for mommy and daddy.

Am I picking the wrong battle to fight?

TIA

Alexandra*sMom · May 2011

How would DH react if LO inadvertantly dialed 9-1-1 from the old phone?

MNgirl326 · May 2011

i don't. I feel that there needs to be boundries of whats baby's and what is mommy and daddy's.

Also, I don't want to expose LO to any harsh chemicals or metals that they may come into contact with by putting these things in there mouth.

Eta: I don't want to expose, not I want to expose.

kmwills · May 2011

We let DD play with our home phone (not cells), and only under supervision, so we can clear the screen if she's about to dial any numbers. She loves the beeps and the lights. FWIW, I recently read that babies shouldn't play with cell phones, due to the potential cancer causing radiation or whatever. Don't know, but that's what the article said. Maybe let DS play with the old phone uncharged?

margotmacomber · May 2011

I let DD play with my phone, she has her own wireless keyboard that DH doesn't use anymore, and we just gave her a Kindle to play with that I used before the screen broke and I had to get a new one.

I'm not concerned about radiation.

We are slaves to technology over here. Willing slaves. Flame away suckers.

doremi29 · May 2011

Not in general, but if we're out to dinner or something and he's getting fussy, I'll sometimes let him play with it (since he loves them!) but watch him closely- I don't want any random 911 calls!

Ali9381 · May 2011

Nope, not even our 3 1/2 y/o. DS2 does have the Fisher Price Sesame Street remote though. Each number is a different character, its cute

soldiersgirl78 · May 2011

No way, that thing cost me $500. He has plenty of other options.

Kahf15 · May 2011

glad to hear I am not alone here... The old phone is not hooked up to any service so it wouldn't be able to call 911, right??

kg_08 · May 2011

I do let her play with my phone, and she has called my grandmother on speed dial more than once. LOL

Actually the old phone idea sounds good to me. We have an inactive old phone that she can play with that we should dig out. The reason she goes for phones an computers is because it's different from her usual toys. If she has her own phone, the thrill of using mine will wear off.

lil_rhody · May 2011

Kahf15:
glad to hear I am not alone here... The old phone is not hooked up to any service so it wouldn't be able to call 911, right??

Not correct; you can still call 911 without a service provider.

We have donated all of our old phones to the battered women's program, but, if we had them, I would not let DS play with them because I'd worry about the metals and what else is coming off of them when he'd put them in his mouth.

Go_Dawgs · May 2011

I let him play with my iPhone all the time. It has an app called Baby Shapes that he absolutely loves. I also have baby flash cards on my phone that he looks at. They will keep him occupied for a long time. It's especially helpful at restaurants and other public places to keep him from being loud or fussy. The chances of him being able to close out the app, then open the key pad, then press 911, and then press "call" are slim to none.

MrsBalletStar05 · May 2011

I actually remember this discussion once and most people said they let LO play with their phone.

Personally, I don't. I want my boys to learn that these are mommy and daddy's things that we are to keep nice and are not for them to share/play with. I take really good care of my phones though. I've never broken one, lost one, ect. The one I have now is 2.5 years old (I know, I'm a loser) and still in great shape.

emsrdh03 · May 2011

I don't. Everything goes in his mouth and gets chewed on and I'm not going to risk him breaking it.

As for giving them old broken ones. I still say no. They don't know the difference between the broken and the not broken.....so how are they supposed to know they can play with this phone, but not that one. That to me is just confusing for the baby so I say no to all of them. He has plenty of toys that are more appropriate to play with, he doesn't need mine.

MrsBalletStar05 · May 2011

lil_rhody:
Kahf15:
glad to hear I am not alone here... The old phone is not hooked up to any service so it wouldn't be able to call 911, right??

Not correct; you can still call 911 without a service provider.

We have donated all of our old phones to the battered women's program, but, if we had them, I would not let DS play with them because I'd worry about the metals and what else is coming off of them when he'd put them in his mouth.

That has been my experience. I think we did that with an old phone for DS#1 and that is when I realized it could still dial out, so we stopped that.

JMB22 · May 2011

Our DS LOVES our cell phones. He is like a moth to a flame with them. If he sees one, he flips out until we give it to him. At home, we hide them or distract him with something else. When we're out, we turn off our phones and give it to him until we can distract him with something else, so we're not "those people" with the screaming baby. We're going to give him an old phone soon though. We're going to take out the battery and just let him have it so we don't have to deal with the screaming when we are out. For us, it's not a battle worth fighting since he is too young to understand.

MWoodside · May 2011

No. The rule in our house is "if it's not a toy, it's not a toy".

JhawkCE · May 2011

I shouldn't, but I do.

driveshorses · May 2011

No. Phones are #1 a breeding grounds for germs and grossness, and #2 it's the first lesson in boundaries. Those are not baby toys, she cannot have them and I don't let her play with them.

nopegoat · May 2011

margotmacomber:
I let DD play with my phone, she has her own wireless keyboard that DH doesn't use anymore, and we just gave her a Kindle to play with that I used before the screen broke and I had to get a new one.
I'm not concerned about radiation.
We are slaves to technology over here. Willing slaves. Flame away suckers.

Me and you both! Mathieu has his own keyboard, mouse, laptop, and like 2 of our old cellphones. When people come over they look at us like we are crazy...

ATT&BTT · May 2011

kmwills:
FWIW, I recently read that babies shouldn't play with cell phones, due to the potential cancer causing radiation or whatever. Don't know, but that's what the article said.

I hear this too. I don't let DD play the phones because of the unknown effects of cell phones & they are dirty! Think of all the places your cells going and touch. Yucky!

margotmacomber · May 2011

For those of you concerned about LO dialing 911, look up the ToddlerLock app. DD loves it, and they make it really difficult to get out of if you can't read.

Alexandra*sMom · May 2011

Kahf15:
glad to hear I am not alone here... The old phone is not hooked up to any service so it wouldn't be able to call 911, right??

As long as the battery is charged, it can dial 911. No service plan needed.

KelzinBoston · May 2011

DS1 short circuited DH's blackberry from drooling all over it when he was maybe 9 months old...

so no more babies playing with expensive phones.

We have a few play phones around the house that keep them both entertained. Occasionally DS1 will watch a video or listen to a song on my Blackberry, but he's old enough to know to be gentle.

MrsSR · May 2011

No, I do not let her play with my phone. It is not a toy. Same goes with our remotes, laptops, and cameras.

When she tries to grab it, I take it out of her reach and give her a toy (like her toy remote, toy cell phone, and toy laptop).

regs19 · May 2011

lil_rhody:
Kahf15:
glad to hear I am not alone here... The old phone is not hooked up to any service so it wouldn't be able to call 911, right??

Not correct; you can still call 911 without a service provider.

We have donated all of our old phones to the battered women's program, but, if we had them, I would not let DS play with them because I'd worry about the metals and what else is coming off of them when he'd put them in his mouth.

um no i do not think you can just plug in any old cell phone and call 911. it does not work that way.

regs19 · May 2011

and every person i know lets their kid play with their phone now and then. l

bakedlaurabean · May 2011

I had just finished downloading a few toddler lock apps when I saw this post, lol. My biggest reasons for not letting DS play with my phone are 1: I don't want it ruined by drool and 2: I don't want him making phone calls. Now that he can't make phone calls, I will just take it away if he puts it in his mouth. NBD. DS plays with lots of things that aren't toys as long as I am supervising.

MrsSR · May 2011

regs19:
lil_rhody:

Kahf15:
glad to hear I am not alone here... The old phone is not hooked up to any service so it wouldn't be able to call 911, right??

Not correct; you can still call 911 without a service provider.

We have donated all of our old phones to the battered women's program, but, if we had them, I would not let DS play with them because I'd worry about the metals and what else is coming off of them when he'd put them in his mouth.

um no i do not think you can just plug in any old cell phone and call 911. it does not work that way.

Ummm.. No you are wrong. You CAN dial 911 on an old cell phone as long as it has power.

jenniey86 · May 2011

My lil man always, I MEAN ALWAYS, wants to play with our phones & our laptop. So I finally just bought one of the baby ones and he didn't care for it.So I went to the T-Mobil stand and got a dummy phone. Has no parts what so ever a real phone does, no battery or componants. He can't tell the difference. As for the laptop, he likes to see the pictures, so in his room I put a digital photo frame for when he's in bed he can watch the photos. It works wonders!!

Hope it helps!

(ooh on the dummy phones they can't dial 9-1-1 either!!!)

regs19 · May 2011

MrsSR:
regs19:
lil_rhody:

Kahf15:
glad to hear I am not alone here... The old phone is not hooked up to any service so it wouldn't be able to call 911, right??

Not correct; you can still call 911 without a service provider.

We have donated all of our old phones to the battered women's program, but, if we had them, I would not let DS play with them because I'd worry about the metals and what else is coming off of them when he'd put them in his mouth.

um no i do not think you can just plug in any old cell phone and call 911. it does not work that way.

Ummm.. No you are wrong. You CAN dial 911 on an old cell phone as long as it has power.

how if it is not connected to a service and therefore is not connected to a cell tower?

PiRSquared330 · May 2011

I used to work with a non profit that collected old cell phones to give to victims of domestic violence so they could call 911.

So yes, old phones do, I believe by law, have to be able to dial 911 without a paid-for service.

PiRSquared330 · May 2011

https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/16/technology/old-cell-phones-can-still-call-911.html

MrsSR · May 2011

regs19:
MrsSR:
regs19:
lil_rhody:

Kahf15:
glad to hear I am not alone here... The old phone is not hooked up to any service so it wouldn't be able to call 911, right??

Not correct; you can still call 911 without a service provider.

We have donated all of our old phones to the battered women's program, but, if we had them, I would not let DS play with them because I'd worry about the metals and what else is coming off of them when he'd put them in his mouth.

um no i do not think you can just plug in any old cell phone and call 911. it does not work that way.

Ummm.. No you are wrong. You CAN dial 911 on an old cell phone as long as it has power.

how if it is not connected to a service and therefore is not connected to a cell tower?

It connects to a cell tower for 911 only. Why do you think places collect old cell phones for abuse victims? It's not so they can keep in touch with family. It's for an emergency.

mdog182 · May 2011

I try to avoid letting my DS play with my phone, mostly for hygienic reasons. I agree with PP that phones are breeding grounds for bacteria. Every once in a while, he will see my phone on the bed or on the ground and make a bee line for it. If he grabs it before I can stop him, I'll usually let him play with it for a couple minutes and just make sure he doesn't put it in his mouth. Usually he gets bored pretty quickly and moves on.

I will say, that I have used my phone to soothe him several times but I'm the one operating the phone and he just watches. DS has a strong affinity for Katy Perry, particularly the Fireworks song and music video. You should see how much this kid lights up when he sees her face (typical dude). Anyway, I have the Vevo app on my iphone so if we are in the car and he's getting fussy, I play the video and hold it up for him to see and he stops instantly and calms down. It's amazing. Thank you iPhone and Katy Perry.

Corinne13 · May 2011

I try not to let DD play with our cell phones but it is a habit I let her pick up not thinking about it a long time ago. Now if she sees it it's all over. She has broken two of my blackberrys this year and I am maxed out on my insurance claims for a new phone now. The first time wasn't her fault I went to catch her because she was going to fall and I kind of threw my phone across a store not thinking just opening my arms to her. The second time she shorted out the phone from drooling into it.

Now I try to keep it away from her but I admit in church on Easter she pulled it out of my purse and to keep peace I let her hold it.

And I must add about calling 911-DH had his phone in his pocket on locked and she was bouncing on his lap. She must have hit the scroll ball to emergency call and called 911. The police had to come to our home to check on us. Our lab puppy got so excited to see the officer he peed all up and down the hallway. And on top of all that my DH is a cop in another city lol....We were quite embarassed! So those 911 calls can happen on accident even if LO doesn't have your phone.

Roxpup · May 2011

kdm06c:
margotmacomber:

I let DD play with my phone, she has her own wireless keyboard that DH doesn't use anymore, and we just gave her a Kindle to play with that I used before the screen broke and I had to get a new one.

I'm not concerned about radiation.

We are slaves to technology over here. Willing slaves. Flame away suckers.

Me and you both! Mathieu has his own keyboard, mouse, laptop, and like 2 of our old cellphones. When people come over they look at us like we are crazy...

What about keys that can come off the keyboard as a choking hazard?

margotmacomber · May 2011

Roxpup:
kdm06c:
margotmacomber:

I let DD play with my phone, she has her own wireless keyboard that DH doesn't use anymore, and we just gave her a Kindle to play with that I used before the screen broke and I had to get a new one.
I'm not concerned about radiation.
We are slaves to technology over here. Willing slaves. Flame away suckers.
Me and you both! Mathieu has his own keyboard, mouse, laptop, and like 2 of our old cellphones. When people come over they look at us like we are crazy...

What about keys that can come off the keyboard as a choking hazard?

She isn't allowed to play with it unsupervised. You'd have to really be prying them off, and she hasn't yet shown any interest in doing anything other than mashing the keys.

emily0829 · May 2011

regs19:
lil_rhody:

Kahf15:
glad to hear I am not alone here... The old phone is not hooked up to any service so it wouldn't be able to call 911, right??

Not correct; you can still call 911 without a service provider.

We have donated all of our old phones to the battered women's program, but, if we had them, I would not let DS play with them because I'd worry about the metals and what else is coming off of them when he'd put them in his mouth.

um no i do not think you can just plug in any old cell phone and call 911. it does not work that way.

Um yes. It does.

snansley · May 2011

emsrdh03:

I don't. Everything goes in his mouth and gets chewed on and I'm not going to risk him breaking it.

As for giving them old broken ones. I still say no. They don't know the difference between the broken and the not broken.....so how are they supposed to know they can play with this phone, but not that one. That to me is just confusing for the baby so I say no to all of them. He has plenty of toys that are more appropriate to play with, he doesn't need mine.

This. I have to hide my phone. He is mesmerized by it.

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