One of the best things about the SA forums is that it raises questions. Maybe the discussion is holiday spending, or parenting, or cell phones.
The question doesn't have to be currently mine, and yet it causes me to think.
The other night after reading up on who has a cell phone from the forum I talked with my husband about when/if we would get the kids a cell phone...the need is far off, he is only 5. But thinking now means we don't have to make a fast decision, we can think about what we feel constitutes a need and evaluate as needed.
For the phone we decided, when he has the opportunity to be away from us with not super well known adults..for example a friends house (not a cousin, or our close friends, but his friends) without us...yeah they have a phone, but having his own makes us worry less. Or when he is able to take walks down to the creek without us. (mostly our back yard)
However, having a 'kid phone' would not be a kid line to be called and call from at will. It would function as a contact mom/dad only device...We plan on counseling them NEVER to give out their own phone number, my phone is the 'house number'.
Basically it would be a high tech way of giving him 2 quarters to use a pay phone..only more expensive, and more reliable...
If he abuses the phone he loses not only it but all away from mom/dad privileges till he pays us back. If he wants a 'real phone' with a real number to give out, he has to pay for it.
We have seen too many kids get 'pay as you go phones' that they use up all the minutes on, and no longer have any way of contacting mom or dad in an emergency... we have also heard of kids with phones..who never use them up..prolly cause we never see the phone 
.
As to how we pay fro that..we will cross the bridge when we come to it..far far in the future
If we did get the kid a cell phone...
November 16th, 2007 at 04:57 pm
November 16th, 2007 at 07:51 pm 1195242711
It's actually not a bad deal. But then, the son in question is quite the teenager now, and seeing as how my ex and I are divorced, him having a phone is somewhat of a necessity.
I think there is a time and place for children to have a cellphone. However, I don't think that time and place is anywhere near "because all my friends have one, why can't I?" I also think that there may be ways to do it for not much money.
November 16th, 2007 at 09:50 pm 1195249806
And a split family has situations that we don't have to face, so I might see getting them a phone earlier in that kind of family.