Off Topic Question not pertaining to gymnastics but for the parents

[Faith]

for an 8 year old who doesnt need a phone, what do you guys think of this?

www.myfilip.com

Fantastic idea. But way too expensive. $200. + 11 a month! Dd's iphone was free, with no monthly cost, just the occasional (about every 6 m) £10 credit .

Plus it's going to get lost fairly easily. The iphone can emit a very loud beep if it gets lost down the sofa!

 

[gymbeam]

would she really wear that? its really big. whats your opposition to a real phone if you are considering accomplishing the same thing with a device by a different name?

 

[barcrawler]

Does she want a phone to call you? Or does she want it because everyone else has one? If it is the latter, I suspect the myfilip phone would not fit the bill.

Maybe an iPod touch would be a good compromise? Or if you have a smart phone, you could tell her she could she can have it when you upgrade.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

or if its want not need then you could say no ..........?

 

[Becauseisaid]

My DD wants a phone. Bwahahaaa!

My DD is never anywhere that she is not around adults I trust so she has no need for a phone. If an emergency cropped up, one of those trusted adults would call.

 

[BlairBob]

8 years old?

I'd go to walmart and buy one of those cheap flip phones with minutes/text on it. Their is no way I'd pay for a line for an 8yo unless it was super cheap like in a Verizon family plan. Besides that, kids either lose or break phones. One thing about those disposable phones is a lot of times the phone numbers will expire if you don't use them every month ( I think after 3mo of no usage my Verizon phone lost it's account ).

Instead of an Ipod touch, I'd get a tablet for around the house. Maybe even one of those kid friendly tablets that can be locked down security wise. I could probably do the same on a regular tablet but it would take a bit of effort to setup passwords and all that.

 

[gothgymmom]

I do tell her no, that she doesnt need a phone. i was just looking for when the time comes.

 

[GymMomXcel]

My DD (11) got a phone a few months ago (S3 mini). She has to ask before getting apps and is not allowed to lock the phone.

The responsibility part comes into play that she has to pay for it out of her allowance. So, what our bill went up by adding her, she pays. Which is half her allowance each month. (Sort of... Our bill went up 30, we have her pay us 20/mo.) .. If she loses it/breaks it.. She still must pay us every month because it is essentially like she signed the 2 year contract. Since she is paying for it with her money, it isn't something we will feel comfortable taking away from her. But she knows there are still respect boundaries, etc.

 

[gymgymgymnast08]

There's also that amazing app called findmyiphone, so if she has her phone I know where she is!
.

I'm away at college and one time I turned off the findmyiphone so that I could get an update on my iPhone and literally less than 5 minutes later I get a text from my dad saying "you turned off findmyiphone. Where are you?" Haha.

But back on topic, I think the pay as you go phones are great for younger kids who only need it to be able to call their parents!

 

[OzZee]

When needed.
My eldest got one (an old iphone of mine) when she was 11 (mostly as she wanted an ipod touch for her birthday and I had just upgraded my phone). Minimal use until she started high school (middle school for the US) at 12. She walks to the station and catches the train (one change) to get to school. I like to know if she has train delays and is late for school before I get the school text! She also goes to the shops, dance etc by herself/with friends so for me it is a necessity.
I'd say 99% of her friends have phones and they do text each other etc (she is now on a plan with unlimited text, but low phone/data - she has the data off unless she needs to look something up eg train times when out). I guess as most of the girls are using public transport there is more of a need.

 

[Aussie_coach]

There is really no age where a phone is "necessary". A child and teen can get right through their childhood and adolescence without actually needing one at all, like every single child did before the 21st century.

This decision is of course a personal one, you may decide your child is really at 5 or you may decide not until the day they turn 18. No decision is wrong, but just make sure the decision is made based on careful consideration.

A few keys to remember.

Cell phones and teens don't actually make it easier for parents to keep tabs on their kids, it can make it harder. It is a lot easier to falsify information on a cell. It's easier to phone you up and say they are at the library studying when really they are at a party. Before cells people had to leave the number of parents they were with etc.

Phone addiction is a serious problem for many kids and teens. Internet addiction is now actually being treated in rehabilitation clinics. Many teens claim they can't live without it and when they don't have it they feel like a limb has been cut off. They can't even go to the bathroom without it.

Smart phones mean that your child has total unsupervised access to the Internet. They can access pornography, pro suicide sites, anything at all and you won't see it or even be aware of it. many adults take advantage of innocent unsuspecting teens on the Internet and pretend to be someone they are not in order to groom those children.

Children can be suspended from school for having a phone at school or using a phone at school. Check your schools policies. Most of our local high schools have a rule that being seen with a phone at school (ie not handed in to the office) is an automatic two day suspension.

Teens can unsuspectingly break the law with their phones. Ie taking personal photos. Kids have been expelled from school or even arrested for this behaviour without even realising they are doing anything wrong.

What about the bills? Are you going to pay them yourself or is there a limit? Just handing your child a phone and paying the bills teaches them very little responsibility. On the other hand many kids destroy their own credit rating before they even celebrate their 18th birthday by racking up huge phone bills. As a parent you are obligated by law to pay them or there goes your credit rating as well.

 

[billise]

I think it depends on the kid. We just got my 11 year old an older model iPhone for her birthday. My son on the other hand still doesn't have any kind of phone at almost 14 years old. He is just too easily distracted. My gymmie, who is 7 does not have a phone yet but if she continues with gym I could certainly see getting her one in the next year or 2. With 3 kids, all involved in different activities I often have to drop and run and I prefer to be able to get in touch with them in case I'm running late for pick up or if anything else comes up.

 

[raenndrops]

for an 8 year old who doesnt need a phone, what do you guys think of this?

www.myfilip.com

I wish YG was given this instead of a regular cell phone. She doesn't have a data package or anything - texting and calling only... but she is only 9-1/2. OG is mad because the "rule" in their family was you had to be 10 to have a phone. Circumstances led to one member of the family deciding she needed one early... so she has it. Only adults are allowed to delete messages 4 her. Dad monitors usage online and when she is with us, we limit her usage - mostly texting Dad, Mom, Stepmom, and me & Calling Dad, me, her bestie, and Stepmom.

 

[Shoebug]

We got our DD (gymnast) her first phone this past christmas at 12 yo.... she is going to practice 4 days a week during school, and sometimes g-ma "forgets" to pick her up from school in a timely fashion, and requires a phone call reminder. The deal was I have access to her phone at all times, I have a text monitor on her phone and if the texts on her phone don't add up to the texts on the bill, she's in trouble. I have access to all of her apps, and they are doubly installed on my phone, so when she gets an IM on instagram on her phone, I get it on mine, as I don't use instagram myself. Our decision was based on need, it just happened to coincide with her want. My 8yo son does not have a phone, doesn't need one, and probably won't get one until he reaches 12 either. By that time, phones will be the size of tic tacs and be able to pilot a helicopter across the world.

 

[MILgymFAM]

My girls are 10&12 and both have phones, but just basic ones. No internet capabilities at all. We gave them to the girls because we don't have a house phone, won't allow them on social media, and want them to be able to stay in contact with friends all over the country. Their phones were $15 each and their plans are $20- I wouldn't pay more at their age. Heck my husband doesn't even have an iphone! Ha ha

 

[Amusibus]

My girls ages 8 and 10 do have iphones, but there is no actual phone service on them. There is no internet either. The phones are mine and my husband's old phones as we both recently upgraded. The trade in value was pretty low, so we let the girls keep them. They only time they get internet is if a) we are home and they are on the wifi, or b) we are out and one of us turns on our hotspot. In either case, we are present, so no illicit internet activities going on. Also they don't know the itunes password and we have strict securities set up regarding purchases. So really they just use them for games, and to brag to their friends that they have an iphone.

 

[iwannacoach]

My youngest just turned 11 and asked for a cell phone.......

Better luck next year!!

His two older brothers have them (no browser) as part of our family plan because they roam a wider world than the little one and I want them able to get hold of me in a hurry. I'd say use a dime, but the last payphone I used was several dimes and took a near miracle to find.

I suppose payphones will be easier to find 3000 years from now when they're a treasured piece of the fossil record from our present era.

 

[profmom]

The fifteen year old has a phone, but my DD, who's twelve, does not. DS is lobbying hard for her to get a phone, because when she gets a phone, he can get an upgrade. It might happen this summer, because there have been a few instances when she's needed to borrow a phone from a friend to reach me. I think a phone is a good idea when the child needs it, not as a "want" because others have them. "Need" is when the child is old enough to be roaming about untethered in the world.

I don't think I'd get a phone for a child until s/he was old enough to be responsible for one with some bells and whistles (and be old enough to use some discretion), so around age 12 or 13 is the bar for us. (Doubly appropriate, since DS got his as a bar mitzvah present, and that's probably when DD will get hers.) Even with a very simple phone, there's the possibility of the phone number getting to the wrong person, and the child has to be old enough to deal with that.

 

[iwannacoach]

Mazel Tov!

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

My kids all had to wait till summer before middle school for their first phones (basic, no frills).