“I will buy my dauggter a smartphone when it is convenient and necessary for ME that she has a phone.”
I read this while browsing some interesting questions on Quora, and in my humble opinion, this should be your answer when someone asks if you will get your kids a phone. Why am I so strict? A mobile phone carries a big amount of responsibility, and we have to agree that children by nature are not very responsible creatures. Most phones have internet access and that has shown to be extremely dangerous, not only in the hands of a child, but in the hands of irresponsible and reckless adults too.
Why I won’t buy my daughter a smartphone
Well, you may say that they need the phone for the emergency purposes. I don’t agree, but ok. I won’t buy my daughter a smartphone until she is responsible enough. Do they need to have smart phone for emergencies? No.
So, if you are getting the phone for emergency only, then the phone should be a “simple” phone rather than a “smart” phone.
Before getting them a phone, you and your children need to be educated about the risks of having such unlimited access to the internet. It’s incredibly dangerous and I can’t repeat that enough times. If you think: “But not my kid, he is only 6 years old, what could he possibly do with his phone?”. You would be absolutely appalled at what children do when their parents aren’t watching.
Ok, you need to buy them a phone. But you are the parent and that is in fact YOUR phone. YOU and only you are legally responsible for what your child does with it. They don’t need privacy with an electronic device. You need to have unlimited access to all apps, photos, conversations… That will keep your kids safe on their phones.
Also, there are a number of measures you can take like: kids mode, restricted call access etc. As they get older and become more responsible you can start to lift some of the restrictions.
Smartphones are so dangerous in the hands of irresponsible people and can lead to some really devastating situations. That is why I won’t buy my daughter a smartphone, until ME AND MY HUSBAND think it’s necessary for us that she has a phone.
We’ve got a 14 year old without a smartphone! And yes people do ask about it!
You make some great points. My husband and I are both high school teachers, so even though our kids are only 3 and 4, this is something we’ve already discussed. We’ll definitely be counter-culture on this one.
I love Quora! I think the real question for me isn’t when I’ll buy my daughter a smart phone, but when I’ll buy ME a smartphone…
But really, when she starts to need to call home from various places, etc, and she needs a phone, I’ll be happy to get another phone and designate it the family phone. It won’t be hers, she’ll just use it when she goes out and needs to have one with her. Sorry to my daughter’s friends and future boyfriends, but you’ll still have to call our landline and do the preliminary small talk: “Hello, Mrs. Evans. This is so-and-so. Is your daughter home?”
Sadistic, aren’t I??
#MMBH
Great article! My sister is 13 and doesn’t have a phone and has a limited access to the internet. She spends a lot of time outside in the nature and playing with her friends; its so important to let kids be kids for as long as they can be, phones are for calls and important things, not to spend your whole childhood on it.
I agree with you, while she is with us there’s no need for a smartphone, I’m a bit control freak.
Hugs,
Pili
Oh I’m dreading this conversation when my daughter gets older. I feel like kids get phones way too young these days. Thanks for sharing on the Shine Blog Hop!
I completely agree! I didn’t have an IPhone until I was in college (mainly because they were available until them) and I turned out just fine! I sometimes hate how “available” I am nowadays! Thank you for linking up with us at the Tips and Tricks Link Party! I hope to see you again this week!
My kids are 6 and 3 1/2 so there is no chance of smart phones for them. Thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop,
Kudos on staying true to yourself. I’d be so nervous giving a kid a smartphone. #smallvictories
Us too! And he constantly informs me he’s the ONLY 14 year old without a smartphone. Now I can let him know he’s not the only one 🙂
My son is 14 without a smartphone as well. We gave it to him for emergencies because he walks to and from school. It’s funny that his friends can always reach him but there are times when I can’t! He’s always forgetting to bring the phone when we go places so clearly it’s not that vital to his existence. It amazes me that so many of his friends have nicer smartphones than I have. Thanks for sharing with Small Victories Sunday Linkup last week. Pinning to our linkup board and hope you join us again this weekend.
I absolutely agree! I know the pressure is high, so kudos to you, for sticking to your guns!
Hugs,
Mila
No smartphones before 14 – that’s my opinion! And even if you buy your child such a gadget, install KidLogger Parental Control to be sure he respects the rules of usage.