When do you think a kid should have a phone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:as someone once put it bluntly, "when you want them to see porn"

When you want them to see hardcore porn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:as someone once put it bluntly, "when you want them to see porn"

When you want them to see hardcore porn.

Or classmates’ d*ck pics. This is happening in middle schools

[Anonymous]

8th grade, if their grades are good enough.

Also, don't think they won't find porn without a phone. There are screens everywhere now. Everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Middle school, when they were doing sports and needed to reach us in case of weather or early pickup.

[Anonymous]

12 which for us was basically the beginning of middle school based on where his birthday falls. A few months into 6th grade.

I had planned to wait until 7th grade but I could see it was impacting his ability to have independence and meet up with his friends after school. They have text chains and if your kid isn't on it, your kid isn't included.

We have the phone pretty locked down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A phone or a pocket computer with access to the entire internet? A phone, as soon as they walk to school alone. A computer, 18.

LOL! A computer at 18? Is this the 1990s? Every kid needs to use a computer constantly for school. Mine have had computers since they were 7

PP was referring to smart phones as computers. I think their point was giving young kids unfettered access to the internet is a bad idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A phone or a pocket computer with access to the entire internet? A phone, as soon as they walk to school alone. A computer, 18.

LOL! A computer at 18? Is this the 1990s? Every kid needs to use a computer constantly for school. Mine have had computers since they were 7

PP was referring to smart phones as computers. I think their point was giving young kids unfettered access to the internet is a bad idea.

Also, your kids having a computer since age 7 isn’t a bragging point.

[Anonymous]

Flip phone when they get their drivers license. Not kidding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8th grade, if their grades are good enough.

Also, don't think they won't find porn without a phone. There are screens everywhere now. Everywhere.

That's why you put the family computer in the family room and put parental controls on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Think about it like this, tech companies spend billions of dollars on brainstorming ways to make their products and apps more addictive and eye catching to the human eye. This is a known fact about all the popular apps. They have no desire to make their products more safe for children because there is no incentive. On top of this, it is a known fact that most big tech workers do not allow their children to use these products. They go out of their way to send their children to “screen free” schools and pride themselves on providing a screen free childhood for their children. Why is this? I think most people know the answer. Unfortunately, there is A LOT of social pressure for children to have a phone. Children have been socially outcasted and parents feel bad for their children being left out. Naturally, parents respond by just giving the children the smart phone. We won’t know the implications of these actions for a while.

That being said, my opinion is to wait at least until the first year of high school for a smart phone. We can’t protect children forever and we need to use smart phone access as an opportunity to teach responsible internet consumption. If we never allow children to roam the internet, they will go crazy once they finally have free access as an adult. Same thing as never allowing your child to have junk food. They will gain 50 lbs the first year of college because they are making up for all the lost time and never learned proper/moderate consumption.

This “if you restrict them they’ll go Ka-RAZY!” Attitude has been proven false. Don’t give your 13 year old access to porn and predators. Nobody is telling you to wrap them in bubble wrap and lock them in a tower, but you have a duty to not let your kid roam free is the cesspool that is the internet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8th grade, if their grades are good enough.

Also, don't think they won't find porn without a phone. There are screens everywhere now. Everywhere.

That's why you put the family computer in the family room and put parental controls on it.

But OP's kids already have an iPad so what good does withholding phone do, makes no sense...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8th grade, if their grades are good enough.

Also, don't think they won't find porn without a phone. There are screens everywhere now. Everywhere.

That's why you put the family computer in the family room and put parental controls on it.

But OP's kids already have an iPad so what good does withholding phone do, makes no sense...

Op needs to get rid of the iPad. I don't understand parents who throw up their hands and say "all it's inevitable, the porn and the sexting and the cyber bullying! Nothing to be done" you are the parent. Take it away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Think about it like this, tech companies spend billions of dollars on brainstorming ways to make their products and apps more addictive and eye catching to the human eye. This is a known fact about all the popular apps. They have no desire to make their products more safe for children because there is no incentive. On top of this, it is a known fact that most big tech workers do not allow their children to use these products. They go out of their way to send their children to “screen free” schools and pride themselves on providing a screen free childhood for their children. Why is this? I think most people know the answer. Unfortunately, there is A LOT of social pressure for children to have a phone. Children have been socially outcasted and parents feel bad for their children being left out. Naturally, parents respond by just giving the children the smart phone. We won’t know the implications of these actions for a while.

That being said, my opinion is to wait at least until the first year of high school for a smart phone. We can’t protect children forever and we need to use smart phone access as an opportunity to teach responsible internet consumption. If we never allow children to roam the internet, they will go crazy once they finally have free access as an adult. Same thing as never allowing your child to have junk food. They will gain 50 lbs the first year of college because they are making up for all the lost time and never learned proper/moderate consumption.

This “if you restrict them they’ll go Ka-RAZY!” Attitude has been proven false. Don’t give your 13 year old access to porn and predators. Nobody is telling you to wrap them in bubble wrap and lock them in a tower, but you have a duty to not let your kid roam free is the cesspool that is the internet.

Interesting that you got that from this post. Lol this post definitely reads “proceed with heavy caution”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Flip phone when they get their drivers license. Not kidding.

I agree! No kidding.

[Anonymous]

My child got a phone at 10, which I think is when his friends got phones too.