non-smartphone to recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6th graders don't need phones. Maybe at 16...maybe.

LOL--my kids are all over the place and I like to keep up with them. This is culturally normal. Not being able to contact your parents or others up to age 16 is bizarre. There aren't even pay phones most places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just give them a handy-down smart phone with no apps. I don't get the drama especially if they have ipads and computers. Just make a rule they can only use it with your permission outside the home.

Hand-me-down

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th graders don't need phones. Maybe at 16...maybe.

LOL--my kids are all over the place and I like to keep up with them. This is culturally normal. Not being able to contact your parents or others up to age 16 is bizarre. There aren't even pay phones most places.

That's the thing.

We gave both kids phones at 6th grade, bc they walk to/from school, a mile each way.

If this was 30 years ago, and there was a payphone on each corner, it'd be different.

But now,there's no other way for them to contact us if they want to hang at the park for a bit after school, or spontaneously go to a friends house, etc

It's not about social media or games or apps, its just about communication.

[Anonymous]

Most of my kids friends use messenger or WhatsApp to communicate.

[Anonymous]

Pinwheel. It's 'kinda smart' but with no browser or social media or games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th graders don't need phones. Maybe at 16...maybe.

LOL--my kids are all over the place and I like to keep up with them. This is culturally normal. Not being able to contact your parents or others up to age 16 is bizarre. There aren't even pay phones most places.

That's the thing.

We gave both kids phones at 6th grade, bc they walk to/from school, a mile each way.

If this was 30 years ago, and there was a payphone on each corner, it'd be different.

But now,there's no other way for them to contact us if they want to hang at the park for a bit after school, or spontaneously go to a friends house, etc

It's not about social media or games or apps, its just about communication.

+1. Kids walk home and often end up at friends houses. Our kids also carpool to sport practices and plans change sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6th graders don't need phones. Maybe at 16...maybe.

How old is your kid? You are going to 100% hinder your kid if they don't get a phone until they're high school juniors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th graders don't need phones. Maybe at 16...maybe.

LOL--my kids are all over the place and I like to keep up with them. This is culturally normal. Not being able to contact your parents or others up to age 16 is bizarre. There aren't even pay phones most places.

“culturally normal??”

- DC, VA, and MD have now legalized recreational marijuana, so that’s also “culturally normal.” Let your own kid smoke weed. Mine will not be allowed to do that.

They will also not have unblocked, full-access IPhones, even if most of their peers do.

Sorry not sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life is becoming more and more dependent on smart phones.

I don't know what kind of activities/friend outings your daughter participates in, but smart phones might be needed for just very basic things.

I know at my kid's high school, entrance into all games, school plays, etc. are now on an app. Food at the concessions stands are all done by credit card or apple pay/venmo/etc.

So if your daughter was to join a sport team or performing art at her school, and they had some type of competition/event at a high school, she would need either a credit card or phone app just to buy a bottle of water and slice of pizza at the concession stand.

If one of her friends has an older sibling in the high school play and they (your daughter and friends) wanted to go watch the big sibling perform, they'd need to use a phone app just to get in.

I personally find it ridiculous, but it's how it is.

This is a 6th grader though, not a high schooler. Gabb is fine.

pp you quoted here.
I'm not familiar with Gabb, is there a way to add payment apps to it (like Venmo?)
I don't know if you read my entire post. I know OP's kid is in 6th grade. I am saying that sometimes even middle school sports teams go to large events/competitions at high schools, and those high school concession stands might not take cash.

Maybe that doesn't apply to OP's kid because she doesn't participate in any sports or activities like that. But many middle school kids do.

No, its just a phone that texts and takes photos. It has zero WIFI access.

No need for middle schoolers to have smart phones for their parents to stay in touch with them. They can have dumb regular phones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th graders don't need phones. Maybe at 16...maybe.

LOL--my kids are all over the place and I like to keep up with them. This is culturally normal. Not being able to contact your parents or others up to age 16 is bizarre. There aren't even pay phones most places.

“culturally normal??”

- DC, VA, and MD have now legalized recreational marijuana, so that’s also “culturally normal.” Let your own kid smoke weed. Mine will not be allowed to do that.

They will also not have unblocked, full-access IPhones, even if most of their peers do.

Sorry not sorry.

You went from a phone to letting your kid smoke weed? That was wild, PP, even for DCUM. Wild.
Also "no phone til 16" is not the only alternative to "full access iphones".

[Anonymous]

DC has a watch that text and calls, but no internet access. DH and I can track and see who was called/text.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life is becoming more and more dependent on smart phones.

I don't know what kind of activities/friend outings your daughter participates in, but smart phones might be needed for just very basic things.

I know at my kid's high school, entrance into all games, school plays, etc. are now on an app. Food at the concessions stands are all done by credit card or apple pay/venmo/etc.

So if your daughter was to join a sport team or performing art at her school, and they had some type of competition/event at a high school, she would need either a credit card or phone app just to buy a bottle of water and slice of pizza at the concession stand.

If one of her friends has an older sibling in the high school play and they (your daughter and friends) wanted to go watch the big sibling perform, they'd need to use a phone app just to get in.

I personally find it ridiculous, but it's how it is.

This is a 6th grader though, not a high schooler. Gabb is fine.

pp you quoted here.
I'm not familiar with Gabb, is there a way to add payment apps to it (like Venmo?)
I don't know if you read my entire post. I know OP's kid is in 6th grade. I am saying that sometimes even middle school sports teams go to large events/competitions at high schools, and those high school concession stands might not take cash.

Maybe that doesn't apply to OP's kid because she doesn't participate in any sports or activities like that. But many middle school kids do.

No, its just a phone that texts and takes photos. It has zero WIFI access.

No need for middle schoolers to have smart phones for their parents to stay in touch with them. They can have dumb regular phones.

So yeah, I guess you're just not reading my entire posts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th graders don't need phones. Maybe at 16...maybe.

LOL--my kids are all over the place and I like to keep up with them. This is culturally normal. Not being able to contact your parents or others up to age 16 is bizarre. There aren't even pay phones most places.

“culturally normal??”

- DC, VA, and MD have now legalized recreational marijuana, so that’s also “culturally normal.” Let your own kid smoke weed. Mine will not be allowed to do that.

They will also not have unblocked, full-access IPhones, even if most of their peers do.

Sorry not sorry.

Not allowing your kid to text and giving them unblocked full-access iphones are not the only options, ya know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Life is becoming more and more dependent on smart phones.

I don't know what kind of activities/friend outings your daughter participates in, but smart phones might be needed for just very basic things.

I know at my kid's high school, entrance into all games, school plays, etc. are now on an app. Food at the concessions stands are all done by credit card or apple pay/venmo/etc.

So if your daughter was to join a sport team or performing art at her school, and they had some type of competition/event at a high school, she would need either a credit card or phone app just to buy a bottle of water and slice of pizza at the concession stand.

If one of her friends has an older sibling in the high school play and they (your daughter and friends) wanted to go watch the big sibling perform, they'd need to use a phone app just to get in.

I personally find it ridiculous, but it's how it is.

My daughter’s therapist’s office uses a QR code for check-in on arrival (no receptionist).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life is becoming more and more dependent on smart phones.

I don't know what kind of activities/friend outings your daughter participates in, but smart phones might be needed for just very basic things.

I know at my kid's high school, entrance into all games, school plays, etc. are now on an app. Food at the concessions stands are all done by credit card or apple pay/venmo/etc.

So if your daughter was to join a sport team or performing art at her school, and they had some type of competition/event at a high school, she would need either a credit card or phone app just to buy a bottle of water and slice of pizza at the concession stand.

If one of her friends has an older sibling in the high school play and they (your daughter and friends) wanted to go watch the big sibling perform, they'd need to use a phone app just to get in.

I personally find it ridiculous, but it's how it is.

This is a 6th grader though, not a high schooler. Gabb is fine.

pp you quoted here.
I'm not familiar with Gabb, is there a way to add payment apps to it (like Venmo?)
I don't know if you read my entire post. I know OP's kid is in 6th grade. I am saying that sometimes even middle school sports teams go to large events/competitions at high schools, and those high school concession stands might not take cash.

Maybe that doesn't apply to OP's kid because she doesn't participate in any sports or activities like that. But many middle school kids do.

No, its just a phone that texts and takes photos. It has zero WIFI access.

No need for middle schoolers to have smart phones for their parents to stay in touch with them. They can have dumb regular phones.

You can set up a Venmo account and then get a debit card to go along with it for kids who aren't ready for a real debit or credit card attached to a bank account.