Kids and cell phones?

Question

My son is 7 years old and his friends have cell phones for emergency purposes, like a tracking system for parents. I am a 24 single mom and work two jobs, is it a good idea to get him one since we are apart more than a fulltime mom.

Answer 1

As a substitute daycare teacher, I have found at many local elementry (5th grade to middle schools) now allow cell phone's called Migos. Depending on what phone company you get it from, but most give up to 4 to 6 available numbers to be programed in for emergancies. Also, has a tracking device to make sure that is where their child said they would be.

Just the cells phones are not allowed to be called during school hours. Teacher can take away rights during school hours if becomes a distraction.

For seven years old, he is more likely to loose it, lay it down and forget out it etc. If he is at school, he doesn't need one as he is properly supervised.

if he rides the bus or walks home or to another person's house, I would recommend having his teacher hold on to it and give it to him after school hours for him to take with him from point A to point B.

For 7 years old, he should be properly supervised by a trusted adult you know. To which, I feel he isn't old enough to have one yet.

I mostly see it with 11+ year olds who are not as supervised to point A to point B.

Just because his "friends" have it doesn't mean he has to.

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

I got a phone at about the age of 10. I used it for calling my parents and they called me. I was very responsible with my phone, and my parents never had a serious problem with me racking up minutes or anything. If your child isn't that responsible, you might want to look into the phones geared towards kids, as mentioned by several other people. Cingular has a phone called firefly with three or four programmable numbers, Disney has some sort of similar deal, and so on. I think that it is a great idea for you to get a phone for your son. It will make him safer since you can almost always be guaranteed to have contact with him. One perk of a real phone is that your child will be really excited about it and more likely to keep it charged and with him than a kiddy version.

Answer 4

Personally, I say don't do it. I admit that there may be some sense of security for you, but I believe that our kids are growing up way too quickly these days. At 7 years old, they should not have to be concerned with keeping track of a phone and the responsibility that goes along with it. They will be bombarded with all of that soon enough. I would say to hold off on giving him a cell phone for as long as you can. If you are concerned about his security in an emergency situation, then you probably need to rethink who is taking care of him, not buy him a cell phone.

Answer 5

Yes, definitely! You can have the cell phone programed who he can receive phone calls from and who he can call. You will also beable to track where he is at all times. Verizon Wireless offers these options with their phones. My 14 yr old sister has a restricted cell phone with the options I mentioned above so we know where she is all the time. I do think its a good idea for your son to have one, especially if he has an emergency or needs to contact you. I hope this helps!

Answer 6

Maybe I am just old fashioned, but i think it is silly for children to have cell phones. I grew up just fine without one, and if I ever needed to get in touch with my mom, I used the land line. I dont see the point for parents to buy cell phones for their kids unless they see it as some false sense of security to make themselves feel better or to pretend that it is just as good as them being there. I am not trying to rag on single moms- I was raised by one. I am just saying that a cell phone does not equal parenting.

Answer 7

Is it needed? Not really. Can it be helpful? You bet. Does it seem like he calls you too much at work or there have been lots of situations where it would have been helpful if you two had a way to get a hold of each other?

Be careful as kids don't realize the cost of "running up minutes." Perhaps you should look into getting him a pre-paid phone so there's no extra charges.

Answer 8

I know that certain cell phone companies have certain phones called Migos. And they have 4 programmable numbers that the kid can use for emergencies or whatever purposes. I believe that the parents can also track where there child has been as well. If you don't feel comfortable getting a cell phone, you can look into one of these.
http://search.vzw.com/?fselect=1&i=1&market=24212+All&q=migo&state=y&summary=1&u1=q

Answer 9

There is a phone they show on tv, made by disney I believe, that is perfect for kids. You can put in only a few numbers that he would be able to call and you can also track where he is by the location of the phone. When my son is old enough, I am getting him that phone.

Answer 10

Yes it is a pretty good idea, Disney has some great phone plans where the parent can program the phone as to whom the child calls etc. You might look into it.