What age did you get your child a phone?

[Anonymous]

In 6th grade because the child takes public transportation to and from school. When on wifi, there is data access. Otherwise it's only phone and texting. Never had any problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:32, it may actually be #cluelessdad. That post reeks of mansplaining.

It just reeks of a parent who likes being a friend and is trying to rationalize her "parenting" skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:32, it may actually be #cluelessdad. That post reeks of mansplaining.

It just reeks of a parent who likes being a friend and is trying to rationalize her "parenting" skills.

This is really over the top. Giving your child a phone now means you want to be their best friend? It couldn't have anything to do with emergencies, tracking, entertainment?

On the flip side, you could easily say that it is over-protective and clueless parenting to shield your child from technologies because you didn't have them as a kid and you are too lazy to learn the mechanisms that keep your phone and child safe. Or too lazy to monitor your child and teach him/her safety.

[Anonymous]

I am going to upgrade to the iPhone 6 soon. If I give my son my iPhone 5, can I opt to just have calling and texting, no data? I know how expensive my plan is and I don't think he needs data access. He can use wifi in our home for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:32, it may actually be #cluelessdad. That post reeks of mansplaining.

It just reeks of a parent who likes being a friend and is trying to rationalize her "parenting" skills.

This is really over the top. Giving your child a phone now means you want to be their best friend? It couldn't have anything to do with emergencies, tracking, entertainment?

On the flip side, you could easily say that it is over-protective and clueless parenting to shield your child from technologies because you didn't have them as a kid and you are too lazy to learn the mechanisms that keep your phone and child safe. Or too lazy to monitor your child and teach him/her safety.

Haha, I didn't realize all parents who give phones are monitoring them and teaching them how to use the phones safely. I guess Nicole Stellar's parents missed the memo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:32, it may actually be #cluelessdad. That post reeks of mansplaining.

It just reeks of a parent who likes being a friend and is trying to rationalize her "parenting" skills.

This is really over the top. Giving your child a phone now means you want to be their best friend? It couldn't have anything to do with emergencies, tracking, entertainment?

On the flip side, you could easily say that it is over-protective and clueless parenting to shield your child from technologies because you didn't have them as a kid and you are too lazy to learn the mechanisms that keep your phone and child safe. Or too lazy to monitor your child and teach him/her safety.

Haha, I didn't realize all parents who give phones are monitoring them and teaching them how to use the phones safely. I guess Nicole Stellar's parents missed the memo.

Meant Nicole Lovell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:32, it may actually be #cluelessdad. That post reeks of mansplaining.

It just reeks of a parent who likes being a friend and is trying to rationalize her "parenting" skills.

This is really over the top. Giving your child a phone now means you want to be their best friend? It couldn't have anything to do with emergencies, tracking, entertainment?

On the flip side, you could easily say that it is over-protective and clueless parenting to shield your child from technologies because you didn't have them as a kid and you are too lazy to learn the mechanisms that keep your phone and child safe. Or too lazy to monitor your child and teach him/her safety.

Haha, I didn't realize all parents who give phones are monitoring them and teaching them how to use the phones safely. I guess Nicole Stellar's parents missed the memo.

Meant Nicole Lovell

So because Nicole Lovell's parents did not adequately monitor their dead daughter's phone, all 13 year olds should not have them?

[Anonymous]

Our oldest will be thirteen next month. She doesn't have her own cell phone and has no interest in getting one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:32, it may actually be #cluelessdad. That post reeks of mansplaining.

It just reeks of a parent who likes being a friend and is trying to rationalize her "parenting" skills.

This is really over the top. Giving your child a phone now means you want to be their best friend? It couldn't have anything to do with emergencies, tracking, entertainment?

On the flip side, you could easily say that it is over-protective and clueless parenting to shield your child from technologies because you didn't have them as a kid and you are too lazy to learn the mechanisms that keep your phone and child safe. Or too lazy to monitor your child and teach him/her safety.

Haha, I didn't realize all parents who give phones are monitoring them and teaching them how to use the phones safely. I guess Nicole Stellar's parents missed the memo.

Of course not all parents are monitoring, But neither are all parents who give their kids phones clueless or trying to be their kid's best friends. Lots of our kid's lives comes with risks. I was billie mercilessly in school, so it is tempting for me not to send my kid to school. But we need to balance the way our kids actually live with our own fears and work on mitigating risk, not eliminating it. Because it is not possible.
Meant Nicole Lovell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:32, it may actually be #cluelessdad. That post reeks of mansplaining.

It just reeks of a parent who likes being a friend and is trying to rationalize her "parenting" skills.

This is really over the top. Giving your child a phone now means you want to be their best friend? It couldn't have anything to do with emergencies, tracking, entertainment?

On the flip side, you could easily say that it is over-protective and clueless parenting to shield your child from technologies because you didn't have them as a kid and you are too lazy to learn the mechanisms that keep your phone and child safe. Or too lazy to monitor your child and teach him/her safety.

Haha, I didn't realize all parents who give phones are monitoring them and teaching them how to use the phones safely. I guess Nicole Stellar's parents missed the memo.

Meant Nicole Lovell

So because Nicole Lovell's parents did not adequately monitor their dead daughter's phone, all 13 year olds should not have them?

The PP was saying parents that don't give their kids phones are too lazy to monitor the phone. I actually think the opposite. The statistics of getting hurt, humiliated, raped, killed etc.. are much higher for young girls with phones than without. You can not rationalize that kids are in danger without a phone. The phone IS the danger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am going to upgrade to the iPhone 6 soon. If I give my son my iPhone 5, can I opt to just have calling and texting, no data? I know how expensive my plan is and I don't think he needs data access. He can use wifi in our home for that.

don't know if your service provider will allow you to purchase a plan without data -- I think most require it when you have a smart phone. What you can do is get a program where you can limit the internet access. It might be provided by your provider via a family plan, or you can get Norton Deluxe (that has the family plan security and you can set the times when internet is available or the amount of time when internet can be used... or certain cites that can be accessed). There are ways to limit it even if your provider requires you to purchase the data -- although it probably isn't the best financially speaking... to pay for internet when you don't need it. You'd be better off getting a low end smart phone from tracfone that has a limited amount of data on a 3g network (making it not super fast or fun)... then your kid can set "mobile data" off --- meaning it only works on wifi. He/she can turn mobile data on when needed -- but if you only get a small amount of data, s/he will have to be careful about when it is used. That will be cheaper than most other plans.

[Anonymous]

Kindergarten she got a virgin mobile phone pay by minutes of that time . I travel 2 to 3 weeks a month and my husband works two hours each way away . In fourth grade she got an iPhone in middle school she got the newest version of iPhone in six grade . Could not be without a phone is I still travel and my husband storks two hours away each way .