What cell phone does your 12 year old have?

[Anonymous]

There really should be a separate category for a posting like this entitled, "Why I am a better parent than you."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There really should be a separate category for a posting like this entitled, "Why I am a better parent than you."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't see how getting an iphone makes a kid feel entitled. Guess that's why my 11 and 14 year olds have them. Both have iphone 4.

Pp here. What do they have to work toward? A nice car. A nice house. Money to pay for their education. Games for their xbox. A nice bicycle. I can think of a thousand things.

What makes them different from adults that carry around the same phones? I guess the same thing that makes them different from adults that wear Levi Jeans and have the same tennis shoes. They are kids and they act like kids, not like adults that have iphones.

Will they be happy as adults if they can't afford the best of everything, or will they learn to be content with less? Probably every parent that gives their kid things beyond basic necessities has to worry about this, not just us parents who give our kids iphones. And just become some of us give our kids iphones, doesn't mean they get everything they want or everything there is to have.

That's the idea. No judgement here...I was just responding the the rude assumption made by the previous PP. More power to you if this is your choice. I just think it's kind of weird how some people have this major reaction to iphones and other electronics. They just don't seem so special to me.

[Anonymous]

My old iPhone 4. Kid knows that if they lose it, they will have to use their savings to replace it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:7th grader has a Samsung Galaxy S3

[Anonymous]

iphone 4.

[Anonymous]

&th grader at Deal Middle School--plain Jane Samsung phone that came with the contract. Text unlimited, but no pic-texts or internet capacity. My kid is not obsessed with labels. I cannot believe the parents that give their kids an iPhone 5. You're creating spoiled monsters.

[Anonymous]

Well my son may be spoiled by his gold-plated Iphone but if your post is any indication, your kid is likely to be a self-righteous douchebag.

[Anonymous]

This is a serious question because I am facing it now with my 9th grader: for those of you who buy your kids smart phones instead of dumb phones with keyboards and texting, why did you make that choice?

DC says virtually all classmates have smart phones, and in this case, I don't think it is an exaggeration. I get that not everyone has the same principled objection to them, but I sincerely want to know why parents make the positive choice of a smart phone.

Will be phone shopping for DC this week so very interested - and not snarky, promise.

[Anonymous]

IPhone 5

[Anonymous]

None. He can get one when he's in high school and working to pay for one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a serious question because I am facing it now with my 9th grader: for those of you who buy your kids smart phones instead of dumb phones with keyboards and texting, why did you make that choice?

Parent of a 7th grader with a smartphone -- she uses her phone for organizational purposes (keep track of assignments, planning longer term projects, etc.) and it also serves as a hotspot if necessary for her wi-fi only tablet. (We're in FCPS and she does Bring Your Own Device to take notes in class.) She mostly texts me and the smaller group of friends that she does group projects with in her after-school clubs.

[Anonymous]

My 8th grader has one -- his old phone was up for replacement and we figured this would be the phone he'd have in high school. He had demonstrated responsibility with his previous non-smart phone and we worked out a plan for him to "pay" me for the extra cost with extra chores. So far it's worked out fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a serious question because I am facing it now with my 9th grader: for those of you who buy your kids smart phones instead of dumb phones with keyboards and texting, why did you make that choice?

DC says virtually all classmates have smart phones, and in this case, I don't think it is an exaggeration. I get that not everyone has the same principled objection to them, but I sincerely want to know why parents make the positive choice of a smart phone.

Will be phone shopping for DC this week so very interested - and not snarky, promise.

If it fits in your budget, I don't object to a smart phone for a kid in high school. They are older, more mature, etc. Smart phones are a superior product, IMO. The functionality is just easier. Google drive, weather, GPS, message alerts for weather, traffic, banking apps, fitness apps, calendars with alarms and reminders. And if you've had iPods and have iTunes, it's easier to keep all your music and videos in one place. No need for two devices. I don't know much about android, but since we were an apple family, it made sense to stick with it.

I just added my 17 year old step daughter to our plan, giving her a new iPhone 4 (new, but older model) for 98 cents, and got a family data plan for about $20 more per month. It wasn't cost prohibitive for us. She has a smart phone and is thrilled. I'm glad she doesn't have the latest greatest that might be more prone to theft.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a serious question because I am facing it now with my 9th grader: for those of you who buy your kids smart phones instead of dumb phones with keyboards and texting, why did you make that choice?

DC says virtually all classmates have smart phones, and in this case, I don't think it is an exaggeration. I get that not everyone has the same principled objection to them, but I sincerely want to know why parents make the positive choice of a smart phone.

Will be phone shopping for DC this week so very interested - and not snarky, promise.

What is your principled objection? I got them for my kids because I can't see why not, it's not a financial hardship, I don't see them as something all that great (would rather have a great bike than a great phone), I can monitor them through the cloud functions. Just never saw any reason to say no n