I admit it, Ian will be one of those kids who has a cell phone at an extremely early age. He will be the kid who other parents hate because it means they now need to get their child a cell phone. Yes, we will be those parents. In fact, there was a moment two weeks ago when Jeff & I actually had a conversation about possibly getting him a cell phone for him now, at age 5.
Please allow me to explain before you start to judge. When kindergarten first started, Ian was having a difficult time waiting for me in the kiss & ride line. I wanted desperately to let him know he wasn't alone and I was only a few cars away from him seeing me. The patrol (older kid at the elementary school) would get him from his classroom and take him to the kiss & ride area where the cars come up and collect the kids who do not take the bus. The patrol leaves the little ones, lets go of their hands and walks away. Ian is left standing there feeling completely alone and abandoned. In reality, there are two adults who are standing there assisting the kids who are getting to their parents' cars, but Ian didn't know this. Nor, were any other in kids in his class doing kiss & ride. I would pull up and Ian would be in tears or very close to crying waiting for me.
It didn't take long until I figured out a solution to the problem. Getting one of the adults who assists the kiss & ride area to introduce herself to Ian did the trick. She was very understanding and told Ian he could come stand next to her until I drove up. I held my breath that first day after the introduction was made. I was #9 in line and knew I was too far back to beat Ian to the punch and be pulled up waiting for him to come out. I texted Jeff and said, "#9 in line, let's hope Ian keeps it together until I can get up there." Jeff texted back with "maybe we should get him a kid-friendly cell phone, you know the kind that can only call 3 numbers". And in that instant I knew, it is only going to be a matter of time. I do think age 5 is too young. And, I am not sure what the appropriate age is. But I do know, that I don't want Ian to feel alone. I want him to know that I am a quick phone call away if he is scared.
There is going to come a time (granted, in a few years) when Ian is somewhere, without me, and plans change. Soccer practice gets called off early or the movie he and his friend is seeing breaks in the middle and Ian needs a ride home sooner than anticipated. Or, Ian is at the mall and I want to reach him. I want to know I can reach him at any point. True, growing up I never had a cell phone and managed to survive just fine. However, there were pay phones back then and I clearly remember using them to call my parents.
So I ask my readers this question -- when is an appropriate age to get your child a cell phone? 10 years old? 12 years old? Yes, this is with the assumption that many parental controls will be set in place (texting, Internet access, unlimited calling to anyone, etc). I'd be very interested in hearing all opinions; those who think I am off my rocker and those who agree with me and have a definite age in mind when the time would be right.
It seems that the 50/50% age for cell phones is about 12.
ReplyDeleteGood thing we aren't in Europe, where the average age is apparently 8: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/4680507/Children-get-first-mobile-phone-at-average-age-of-eight.html
Retrevo did a survey of when people said that kids should get cell phones. Although 13-18 was a popular answer, among parents of kids aged 9-12, almost half said that before 12 years old was a good age: http://www.retrevo.com/content/blog/2010/03/should-nine-year-old-have-cell-phone
Tom's Guide says 1/3 of 11 year olds have them: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/U.S.-Cell-Phones-Children-Kids,news-5603.html
Just found the article I was originally looking for. 3/4 of 12-17 year olds have cell phones, according to CNN. Apparently, they send text messages too: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-04-20/tech/teens.text.messaging_1_text-messaging-cell-phones-teens?_s=PM:TECH
Rick, thanks so much for the comments and the research. Now I just need to move to Europe to fit in, right?
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading my blog! Hope you had a great weekend. :)
Here is my 2 cents ... at this age they are not responsible enough. I hear at the bus stop all the time how moms are buying 4 or 5 phones because the kids phones are lost, stolen or broken. My daughter has a hard enough time remembering her DS. We have to keep track of it or it would be long gone. It is nice to think that a phone would sit in a backpack all day and just be used for calling you at the end of the day, but kids love to show other kids what they have and alas the phone is out to be lost, stolen or broken. Just think how sad Ian would feel if he went in his backpack and the security phone you got him was gone. Many many tears and defeating the purpose. Just my opinion : )
ReplyDeleteThank you so much MNSGAL for your comments. Yes, this is a whole new perspective I hadn't considered. I have a hard enough time keeping track of my phone and I am way beyond the age of 5. :)
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you reading the blog and giving me a new angle to think about.