How young is too young for a cell phone? | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Friday 12 March 2010

How young is too young for a cell phone?
















My neighbour's eight year old daughter has a cellphone.
I find it ridiculous.
But maybe I'm the one being ridiculous.
So I ask - How young is too young for a cell phone?

5 comments:

mrs. marek said...

I don't have children just yet but I think early teens is a good time for a very basic cell phone with very limited functions, no text, I.M, internet etc. The phone should essentially be for checking in with home when they are out, period. And if s/he goes over their set minutes, they will pay for it out of their allowance. I do think that it can be used as a tool to teach a child responsibility too.

Unknown said...

there was a story about two days ago on CNN of how a seven year old boy saved his parents life and possibly his and that of his sister, Armed robber busted into there home and had the parents to gun, he ran and hid wit his sister in the bathroom and used he cell phone to call 911..... so i don't think any age is too young.

Anonymous said...

cell phones are not toys and i don't think kids below the age of ten or eleven should have one. i mean it might come in handy if ur five year old has one and a robber breaks in but hey, that's not enough reason to give them one. 0 to 10 are the formative years and you have to be careful what u expose them to. unless you can justify the need for one, i don't think it's necessary. .
but then again, mom and dad have to go to work and leave the kid with the nanny or house help... they might want to know what goes on with their kids when they're at work.
you know what Linda, it depends on a lot of things. people who give their kids cell phone probably have a good reason to do so. so the answer is "it depends"

Anonymous said...

Hm Linda, nowadays darl, restrictions on children is weakening.

... Condoms for kids between 10 and 12...
... Adult-type criminal prosecution for kids from 10 in the U.K...
...young Justin Beiber and his likes in Hollywood music industry..."making money".

So it really doesn't surprise me if cellphones are now considered "suitable" for 8-year olds.

Innocence is lost sis. I'm just afraid the term "childhood" won't in the future only refer to kids between the ages of 0 to 5.

Anonymous said...

That lil boy beta be talking to his mama. My parent let me have a cell phone in my junior yr in high school, it didn't hurt. So i will be doing the same with my children, ok, maybe middle school.

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