The type of phone you buy your kids

[Amraann]

I think it depends on the district..

 

[Jules]

Probably so.

 

[MrsMush99]

This was a few years ago - maybe things have changed some. My niece wasn't using her's - just had it with her - and they took it away.

Right now she is in 6th grade, her school goes K-8, and they are allowed to have them, but they must be turned off. A lot of the schools here changed the rules after 9/11.

 

[lisag]

Ya'll are cracking me up!! LOL Instead of wondering why anyone would buy a kid a cell phone, I'm wondering what anyone is doing letting their kids wander the neighborhoods and go to sports practices alone.

My daughter will never wander the neighborhood ... In the city I work for, kids are hanging on the streets all the time, and they are usually trying to cause trouble....
I don't think 14 is too young to go to a sport practice alone.... I do go to some, on occasion, but most of the paretns are not there and it's not cool to have your mommy sitting there waiting for you !! (or so I have been told!!)
My 8 year old on the other hand, I attend his practice for the most part, although I do leave to go back and forth in between cooking dinenr and picking up the other one from her practice... There are tons of parents there at any given moment and the coaches are also parents... I feel pretty comfortable with them.

Ok, so my daughter has a school basketball game at another school. The all take the school bus to the game... The 7th grade plays first and then the 8th grade.. Last year, when she was in 7th grade, I would leave after her game.. She woudl usually want to stay and watch the next game and ride the bus home so they can all scream their victort cheer out the widnows on the way home.... She would call me from her cell phone when the bus was coming into our town so I could be there at the school to pick her up when it arrives...
Just yesterday, she had a volleyball game in another city. Now even though she is 8th grade now and plays last, she wanted to ride the bus home becuase after the game they were stopping at Taco Bell. I went home (God Forbid I go into Taco Bell and wait for her there.... !! That would be way too embarrassing!!) and she called me when they were almost home....

She has also gone to high school football games or basketball games with her friends, and then she calls me when it is over so I can come pick her up... and if I think the game should be over and she has not called, I call her....

 

[lisag]

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I think we've hit a record !!

 

[Oceanbreeze]

Ya'll are cracking me up!! LOL Instead of wondering why anyone would buy a kid a cell phone, I'm wondering what anyone is doing letting their kids wander the neighborhoods and go to sports practices alone.

When my son was in Little League, his dad and I stayed at every practice. His dad was also a coach. Last year when he was in the 10th grade and played high school sportd, we stopped staying at his practices. His dad drops him off and I would pick him up. I would get there at least a half hour before he was done so he didn't have to wait for me.

Is it any different letting your child be at sports practices by themselves than being at school by themselves? After all teachers can be pedophiles just like coaches.

 

[Jules]

Right now she is in 6th grade, her school goes K-8, and they are allowed to have them, but they must be turned off. A lot of the schools here changed the rules after 9/11.

That could very well be. I don't remember exactly when this happened - only know it's been a few years.

 

[Jules]

I think we've hit a record !!

We better be careful - people might think we actually like each other!

:blowkiss: :blowkiss: :blowkiss:

And here I was just getting ready to reply to your other post about how it's not cool to stay at practices and hang out where the kids are. My son has always given me a kiss bye in the morning when we walk out of the house together. This year he doesn't want to and it breaks my heart. He's embarassed because the other kids are already at the bus stop and can see him. So, I make him give me one before we open the door!

 

[lisag]

We better be careful - people might think we actually like each other!

:blowkiss: :blowkiss: :blowkiss:

And here I was just getting ready to reply to your other post about how it's not cool to stay at practices and hang out where the kids are. My son has always given me a kiss bye in the morning when we walk out of the house together. This year he doesn't want to and it breaks my heart. He's embarassed because the other kids are already at the bus stop and can see him. So, I make him give me one before we open the door!

My older two will only give me kisses in the privacy of our own home.... Not in public anymore... My daughter wont say "I love you" on the phone anymore if her friends are nearby... If I say it to her (which I love to do when she is around her friends) she'll either say "uh huh" or if I am lucky she'll say "back atcha"...
Thank God I still have my 2 year old who loves to give mommy kisses and hugs no matter where we are !!

 

[tired.old.hag]

I didn't read this whole thread, so please forgive if this has already been mentioned.

It's a very good idea to give your children cell phones these days. Most of them have one button set to 911, which is very easy to teach the young ones to use. Even if all they do is hit the button, and don't have the opportunity to talk to the 911 operator, the operator can trace the call quickly and dispatch police to the location. Also the operator may be able to hear what's going on if the phone line stays open.

You don't even have to activate the phone or pay for any service to call 911 . They distribute un-activated phones to people in danger these days, such as women who are being abused by their husbands.

Anyway, just thought I'd mention that. If you don't have a spare unactivated phone to give your child, you might see if there's a drive in your area where they collect them to distribute, or see if you can inspire the people at your church or local Y or Boys and Girls club to hold a drive to collect them.

I just had another idea. I wonder if kids were taught to hold their cell in their hand, or even pretend to be talking on it, if they're walking alone, if that might deter predators from approaching them.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Thanks for all the replies!! I know I'm "uber protective" about the kids. I think there are many many variables that us parents take into consideration when it comes to feeling comfortable about leaving kids versus staying with them. Heck, some 8th graders are bigger than we are!! LOL We all have to do what we feel comfortable with in our own families. My two youngest are 10 and 12 years old. They aren't allowed anywhere by themselves. If I or my husband aren't with them, they're with the parent of one of their friends or a nanny. We live in one of the (if not the) smallest county around, so my kids have had the same friends since birth, so we all know each other's families very well. If one of the parents needs to leave practice for a little bit, one of the other parents watches out for their children. I realize that my staying with them isn't "cool," but that's just the way it is. I'm not here to be cool, I'm here to protect them. I think its probably a good idea for me to start intensive psycho-therapy soon in order to be prepared for when they get their drivers' licenses!!

 

[eve]

Mine doesn't wander the neighborhood alone nor does he go to practice alone. He is dropped off at practice. Most of the kids on his team are dropped off. Usually it's just the coaches there with the kids for a majority of the 2+ hour practice. Most of the kids have cell phones for the reasons I listed above. They all have them in plastic ziploc bags with their names on the front to be used in the case of an emergency. Since I use my cell phone for EVERYTHING - most call it rather than our home phone never knowing where I am - I didn't want to give him mine to use.

May seem silly to some, but for the kid who broke his foot a few weeks back, it was invaluable.

Hi Jules!

I also am pretty dependent on my cell, esp to keep in touch w/ my kids. As we are near a large metro area, we are all going in different directions each day. I am one place, they are another, their stepdad is yet another and their dad has 2 office locations. Our home is one place, their school and dad's place is another and it requires a lot of coordinating, whew! Until recently I had 3 active teens to track (now one is off to college), but all are very busy with school and sports. My daughter now has Confirmation and Driver's Ed as well.

I cannot imagine them not having cell phones now that they do. We rely on them each day. We don't love the idea and it can be costly and hard to monitor their calls and usage, but I need the security of knowing they have the phones with them.

There is NO way I could possibly be at their numerous practices, and etc., and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't appreciate me hangin' around. I certainly did when they were little when I didn't work outside the home but now I am working and my youngest is 13, in 8th grade.

Frankly, I hate it that kids don't walk and bike around the way we used to! In fact if they could (both from a distance and safety perspective) we probably wouldn't need the phones! We also wouldn't have such a problem with overweight kids and overinvolved sports fanatic parents (IMO).

I know it's a different world now, but that would have been the day my parents would have driven me everywhere all the time or watched me practice anything! I had all kinds of activities and walked to and from them all, no matter what the weather. The only one I got a ride home from was Girl Scouts, since my mom was a leader. I walked to my piano lessons, I even walked to the dentist sometimes!

Boy, has life changed!

Eve

 

[IdahoMom]

My teenage boys- 16 and 14-both have normal cell phones. I am getting my daughter a Firefly phone. It is a great phone for a preteen.

http://www.fireflymobile.com/

 

[Jules]

My older two will only give me kisses in the privacy of our own home.... Not in public anymore... My daughter wont say "I love you" on the phone anymore if her friends are nearby... If I say it to her (which I love to do when she is around her friends) she'll either say "uh huh" or if I am lucky she'll say "back atcha"...
Thank God I still have my 2 year old who loves to give mommy kisses and hugs no matter where we are !!

Ain't that the truth! It's so funny to watch them go through all their different phases. My daughter was that way too for a while - now she's a big baby again. I used to say she was 10 going on 20 - now I say she's 20 going on 10! :crazy: She will jump up and sit on my lap and give me a big 'ol sloppy kiss on the cheek! Cracks me up!

Now my son, on the other hand, probably won't do that but he does give hugs and kisses in our home.

Funny story - I bought some new frames last weekend as the out-laws are coming next week and I'm trying to put out all the pictures I have. Anyway, when my hubby was watching him one time while I was out, he put him down for a nap. When he woke up my hubby could hear him cooing on the monitor. He went in to get him and he had pooped ALL over... it was EVERYWHERE - walls, hair, bed - YUCK! Anyway, hubby took a picture of that and we found it when we were looking through the pictures the other day to put in frames. My son about had a heart attack! He wanted to know why we would take a picture of that - that that was gross, etc. We told him that when he is old enough to date, that picture will be proudly displayed in our home! You should have seen his face! OMG I couldn't stop laughing! He was HORRIFIED!!!

:innocent:

We were teasing him, but it was so funny!

 

[Jules]

Hi Eve,

Yes, times they are a changin'! I'd be lost without my cell. We, too, are very busy and often running in different directions. We have either soccer or football practice every night of the week with games for both on Saturdays. It's nuts. Everyone - friends and family - call our cells as we are rarely home to answer their calls there at a decent hour. And with our daughter away at school, it's nice to be able to keep tabs on her (to some extent) and know that she can reach us at any time as well.

Jules

 

[Jules]

I just had to post this since was brought up earlier. I was checking my son's soccer webpage for stats on the teams and listed on the front page for all coaches and team managers is the following:

All coaches, assistant coaches and team managers need to register with KidSafe before the season begins. This is a required background check for anyone involved in the leadership of the team.

It was posted in July 2005.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

I just had to post this since was brought up earlier. I was checking my son's soccer webpage for stats on the teams and listed on the front page for all coaches and team managers is the following:

All coaches, assistant coaches and team managers need to register with KidSafe before the season begins. This is a required background check for anyone involved in the leadership of the team.

It was posted in July 2005.

I was thinking the very same thing right after I posted. The coaches here have background checks too. We hear about kids getting abducted from sports fields all the time, so I'm sure they're more diligent now than they used to be. I've heard of coaches and/or dads staring down or even approaching adult males who don't appear to be attached to any of the kids.

 

[Jules]

Yep, my son's football organization has the same thing. Good to know!

 

[mysteriew]

Some time ago I read an article about the problem in England. It seems that a couple of things were going on. Couples were using their own video phones to capture the act. Then at the breakup of the relationship- guess what happened? Right onto the internet it goes.
There were also several cases of where the phone would get broken, and be taken in for repair. Some of the repair techs were downloading the videos while they had the phone and putting them on the internet. Those were often making a regular practice of doing this.
Other problems I have seen is some perverts are using them to catch women and children unawares and try to get an explicit photo.
But on the plus side, there have been the subway flasher's who got photographed by people with camera phones (the first article I saw like that, was a group of young girls who had been flashed) and LE then had a photo to go by to catch them. They are being used to photograph various crimes in progress- recently a customer was in a store when it got robbed, and they took an excellent picture of the robber.

 

[tired.old.hag]

Other problems I have seen is some perverts are using them to catch women and children unawares and try to get an explicit photo.

I just read a long article about that the other day. It's a HUGE problem, and the article said that most people just aren't aware of it yet. The article explained the different ways the pervs place themselves and manipulate situations so they're situated to take the pictures. It's just awful, especially with the little girls. I think if I had a little girl today I'd never let her wear a dress - unless maybe she had leggings or bike shorts on with it. It's just awful. It's like these perverts are taking away the ability for kids to have a childhood any more. Very sad.