Cell phone in middle school?

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

get him on with data and put restrictions on it. That way you can track him.

[Anonymous]

We gave our kids Android smartphones in 6th grade with a parental control app installed. We locked down access to the internet and the Google Play store so they have to ask for permission to install anything. But they can text on it, we can see where they are in the parental control app. That has come in handy a couple times when we had a miscommunication about schedules. We started letting DS use snapchat in 8th grade but they didn't do social media before that. DD is in 6th and has no interest in any social media.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We gave our kids Android smartphones in 6th grade with a parental control app installed. We locked down access to the internet and the Google Play store so they have to ask for permission to install anything. But they can text on it, we can see where they are in the parental control app. That has come in handy a couple times when we had a miscommunication about schedules. We started letting DS use snapchat in 8th grade but they didn't do social media before that. DD is in 6th and has no interest in any social media.

Which parental control app?

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

Total and complete BS.

No, OP, "all" the kids going into 6th grade do not have phones. This is what parents like this PP like to tell themselves, because they know their kids shouldn't have one, and yet they were too weak to say no. My oldest DS is going into 8th grade a well-known DC private school, and I would estimate that a good 25 - 30% of his classmates -- and more than 50% of his close friends -- do not yet have phones. They may get them over the summer, but at this point they do not.

Hold off for as long as you can. You do not need this additional hassle in your kid's life. And that's what it will become.

[Anonymous]

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.

They don't ALL have phones. But very few of them don't have phones.

parent of 8th grader and 5th grader

[Anonymous]

Worst decision ever. Delay it as long as possible. Our now 7th grade DS stopped reading for pleasure. All arguments in our house has centered on the phone as the main problem. if he has a good set of friends ask the parents what they are doing. Social pressure goes both ways - if they are waiting, even easier to wait

[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.

They don't ALL have phones. But very few of them don't have phones.

parent of 8th grader and 5th grader

+1
The kids who don't have phones - if there even are any - are very, very, VERY few. A friend of my daughter's always asks to use hers (my daughter's) when they're on the bus because the girl doesn't have one of her own. So even if parents decide not to buy their kids a phone, they're still going to use other kids'. It's incredibly naïve and silly to pretend otherwise.

[Anonymous]

DS is in 6th at a big 3 private school and only about half of the kids have phones.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on your kids. My girl was mature enough to ask me to take her phone away so she could concentrate on homework. We had a ton of talks about responsible phone use. I checked her phone about once a week in the beginning.

Now, at the end of 8th grade, I basically don't ever check her phone. Wait, maybe every other month I ask to see her secret Instagram. No big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We gave our kids Android smartphones in 6th grade with a parental control app installed. We locked down access to the internet and the Google Play store so they have to ask for permission to install anything. But they can text on it, we can see where they are in the parental control app. That has come in handy a couple times when we had a miscommunication about schedules. We started letting DS use snapchat in 8th grade but they didn't do social media before that. DD is in 6th and has no interest in any social media.

Which parental control app?

We use ESET Parental Control

[Anonymous]

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

dont do itttt

[Anonymous]

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.

in the contract will he or she start covering the monthly cell bills once they start working?