Cell phone in middle school?

[Anonymous]

I was adament about waiting for my 6th grader but then after the 3rd cancelled soccer practice with no email from the school (after they announced to he kids "don't worry, we contacted your parents!) I gave up. DS already had a touch at home so we got him an iPhone (5? S? Not sure...but it wasn't a 6 or a 7). It's been nice for him to have it for coordinating pick ups.

Recently it became clear that he wasn't always leaving it off after 9:30 like he is supposed to, so DH installed an app that shuts it down and we have controls for. Really, that's been the only issue. Most of his friends have one and they text or snapchat but not every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was adament about waiting for my 6th grader but then after the 3rd cancelled soccer practice with no email from the school (after they announced to he kids "don't worry, we contacted your parents!) I gave up. DS already had a touch at home so we got him an iPhone (5? S? Not sure...but it wasn't a 6 or a 7). It's been nice for him to have it for coordinating pick ups.

Recently it became clear that he wasn't always leaving it off after 9:30 like he is supposed to, so DH installed an app that shuts it down and we have controls for. Really, that's been the only issue. Most of his friends have one and they text or snapchat but not every day.

What app?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In MS, suddenly the kids are coming from a larger area. They use the phone/messaging for school work and social purposes.

What I saw (in an UMC area) was the kids without phones were often excluded -- not out of malice, but because they are hard to reach.

(FWIW, we got DD her first phone in the 5th grade after a miscommunication between my wife and I left DD alone at school; I was at work, she was taking a nap. School called me after they could not reach DW -- I explained where I was and how long it would take to get there. Got yelled at by an admin. Wife eventually reacted to 5 or 6 phone calls, and got her.).

I don't see the point of this story. How would the cell phone have helped? The administrators had phones and were using them to no avail. The miscommunication was between you and your wife. And your wife would have still slept through the daughter's calls, too, right?

I am always hearing about how kids NEED phones and I have yet to hear one convincing argument.

[Anonymous]

Is he asking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Our son is graduating elementary school soon. We're considering getting him a cell phone for graduation so he'll have one in middle school. We're on the fence though as to whether we really should or shouldn't. We're concerned about it becoming an addiction, and about all of the social media exposure.

What are your experiences with it? Should we try and find a phone without data, i.e. just calls and texts? Yes I know he'll be upset if he can't download apps

Dad of 6th grader and 8th grader.

They ALL have phones going into 6th grade. These do become a social life lifeline. If you are "that" parent who refuses, it does put your child in the minority. That's just the simple truth. I'm sure a bunch of people will chime in and argue with this, but most of them will be parents of toddlers and infants who are absolutely certain how they will parent a decade from now.

Do what we did: Draft a contract with your kid and make it a teaching moment. And buy the insurance.

Parent of a 6th grader here. No, our DS does not have a phone. And he is not getting a smart phone in 7th grade either. He is rather immature for his age, so that giving him one (with a contract) will be like setting him up for failure. All kids are different. Some can handle it. Some can't.

Parent of 7th grader here. He had an old flip phone at beginning of 6th grade so he could call home if needed and lost it after 2 months. So he hasn't gotten another one just yet. He's not the only kid in his crowd without a phone and has only asked us for one a couple of times this past year.

We're debating on giving one for 8th grade. Depends on his behavior/grades, and he may need to chip in for it.