Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you keep track of your kids if they are 11-12 years? That's the primary reason I am considering a phone for our almost 12 year old boy

I don’t need to “keep track” of them. Just like your parents didn’t need to keep track of you

Exactly. No one “kept track” of kids before about 2015. Kids are more depressed, anxious, fat, and stupid now than ever before. Be careful with the phones.

News flash - they are who they are because parents don't want to face it and try to change them to be better. I have much greater confidence in the kids whose parents allow phones than not because those are the parents who actually trust their kids. I don't want to be with the parents who take everything away from their 12 yr old kids because THEY can't manage their kids!!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I love that DMV area 6th graders wanting iPhones have discovered DCUM parenting forums, where they pretend to be parents whose children attend schools where most students have iPhones.

6th grade is when many start ms and things like activities and school transportation change. It’s common.

Yes, but an iPhone specifically is not needed for a 6th grader to communicate. A less flashy smart phone will do, as will a watch. To get your 6th grader an iPhone is to signal that one of your hobbies is spending money foolishly or that you are a 6th grader. My rich sister got my nephew a new iPhone in 12th grade as a reward for excellent grades, and so that he would have a nice new device in college. Before then he just had a non flashy phone. That is more appropriate. Only a 6th grader playing Mommy on DCUM is going to argue otherwise.

I gave my kid an IPhone when 6th grade started for the reasons the PP mentioned and it was my old one. Almost all of my kids’ friends have an IPhone, and almost all of them have a hand me down phone. Not exactly a signal that our hobby is foolishly spending money.

iPhone is easiest because if their friends have iPhones, they can FaceTime. If they don’t have an iPhone, the chat options are different.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love that DMV area 6th graders wanting iPhones have discovered DCUM parenting forums, where they pretend to be parents whose children attend schools where most students have iPhones.

6th grade is when many start ms and things like activities and school transportation change. It’s common.

Yes, but an iPhone specifically is not needed for a 6th grader to communicate. A less flashy smart phone will do, as will a watch. To get your 6th grader an iPhone is to signal that one of your hobbies is spending money foolishly or that you are a 6th grader. My rich sister got my nephew a new iPhone in 12th grade as a reward for excellent grades, and so that he would have a nice new device in college. Before then he just had a non flashy phone. That is more appropriate. Only a 6th grader playing Mommy on DCUM is going to argue otherwise.

I gave my kid an IPhone when 6th grade started for the reasons the PP mentioned and it was my old one. Almost all of my kids’ friends have an IPhone, and almost all of them have a hand me down phone. Not exactly a signal that our hobby is foolishly spending money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love that DMV area 6th graders wanting iPhones have discovered DCUM parenting forums, where they pretend to be parents whose children attend schools where most students have iPhones.

6th grade is when many start ms and things like activities and school transportation change. It’s common.

Yes, but an iPhone specifically is not needed for a 6th grader to communicate. A less flashy smart phone will do, as will a watch. To get your 6th grader an iPhone is to signal that one of your hobbies is spending money foolishly or that you are a 6th grader. My rich sister got my nephew a new iPhone in 12th grade as a reward for excellent grades, and so that he would have a nice new device in college. Before then he just had a non flashy phone. That is more appropriate. Only a 6th grader playing Mommy on DCUM is going to argue otherwise.

Anonymous wrote:The teacher did a survey of the 6th grade class last month. Only 7 kids had a cell phone out of about 25. So, not as many as they think.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love that DMV area 6th graders wanting iPhones have discovered DCUM parenting forums, where they pretend to be parents whose children attend schools where most students have iPhones.

6th grade is when many start ms and things like activities and school transportation change. It’s common.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my kid was in sixth, I got him an inexpensive android. It sucked, and we are an Apple house anyway. So when the android phone started having technical problems (in addition to all the software issues of apps being buggy and complicated), I went and got him an SE. Now it works with everything else in our ecosystem. However, for many years I didn’t tell him his password, so if he wanted to buy or install something, he had to come to me first so I had some control over what was on the phone.

The family settings have improved. We got my ds, an 8th grader, a phone this year. Anytime he wants to add an app I get a message on my phone and have to approve it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our 6th grade and the 12ish girls in her friend group all have iPhones (mostly old ones). I monitor closely and also use it to track her movements.

Where do you live? I’m in Vienna and out of the 15 boys in my son’s 6th grade friend group, only one has a phone. Everyone typically gets one summer going into 7th grade.

What is so special about going into 7th grade as opposed to 6th grade that everyone gets one then? All of these are just arbitrary deadlines that parents set for their kids that they use to feel superior over parents that give their kids phones earlier. It’s so silly.

Anonymous wrote:I love that DMV area 6th graders wanting iPhones have discovered DCUM parenting forums, where they pretend to be parents whose children attend schools where most students have iPhones.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our 6th grade and the 12ish girls in her friend group all have iPhones (mostly old ones). I monitor closely and also use it to track her movements.

Where do you live? I’m in Vienna and out of the 15 boys in my son’s 6th grade friend group, only one has a phone. Everyone typically gets one summer going into 7th grade.

Bethesda. Her whole friend group had them by 5th grade. I would have waited a little longer, but she would definitely have been excluded since that's the primary means of communication by the group. She has boy friends who don't have phones, but they don't typically socialize the same way that girls do. And those that do tend to be immature in group chats, then the girls either kick them out or leave the chat themselves.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our 6th grade and the 12ish girls in her friend group all have iPhones (mostly old ones). I monitor closely and also use it to track her movements.

Where do you live? I’m in Vienna and out of the 15 boys in my son’s 6th grade friend group, only one has a phone. Everyone typically gets one summer going into 7th grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our 6th grade and the 12ish girls in her friend group all have iPhones (mostly old ones). I monitor closely and also use it to track her movements.

Where do you live? I’m in Vienna and out of the 15 boys in my son’s 6th grade friend group, only one has a phone. Everyone typically gets one summer going into 7th grade.