Cellphone for 8-year old

mmmig said:
You strike me has one of those parents that let their child watch whatever movie they want and if you do have a son he is probably playing all the latest violent games on his console
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Actually my 3yr old son rather wants to play Little Big Planet than BFBC2. His current favorite is NFSP2 on the PS2.

He also finds running around the yard with a toy wooden rifle more fun with his mates. But he also loves to fire off a few rounds off a real .22 or 7.62mm rifle.
 
viishrugged said:
My parents got me my first cell-phone at 13(but cell phones had just gotten greater market appeal by then). A friend of mine is a Grade 1 teacher and there are very few children in her class without a cellphone.
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My kid is in Grade 1 and I'm sure she would have been pestering me for one by now if all the kids had them.

There's no need as far as I can see for her to have one now, or in the near future. Maybe as a teenager.
 
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bwana said:
My kid is in Grade 1 and I'm sure she would have been pestering me for one by now if all her kids had them.

There's no need as far as I can see for her to have one now, or in the near future. Maybe as a teenager.
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huh? What now??????? lolz What kinda family you running there Mr. Bwana???? :-)
 
I only got my first cell phone at the age of 20. I bought it myself. My parents never got me one lol :D I don't think an 8 year old really needs a cell phone. What for. maybe from 12 or 13
 
I think the cellphone-or-not issue depends on the child involved. OP, if your daughter seems the responsible, trustworthy type (Yes, even at 8 years old) who understands the potential dangers involved in having a phone, agrees with you about what it's purpose is and what she should and shouldn't do with it... then go ahead.

However, she needs to feel responsibility for the phone and the airtime too. Possibly tell her that she can have the cellphone, but less pocketmoney each month so that she contributes towards the costs. Perhaps let her do some chores to earn money to help buy the cellphone. She also needs to understand that it should be looked after and there's a high chance of it being stolen if it gets flashed around too much. I would probably go with a second-hand phone to start with.

I personally think cellphones should wait until high school. At the same time, though, the world is a very different place for a 13-year-old today than it was when I was 13. When I got my first phone it was because neccessity dictated it, I had become responsible enough to own one, and phones were finally available commercially. It was a brick with a 3cm antennae. But it had a colour screen! I barely ever used it.

Today, however, cellphones have become more than just communication devices. They're entertainment devices. Information devices. Connectivity devices. It seems reasonable to me that the age at which kids start using tech will go down and down as we become more tech-centric.

I'll have my kids on computers and other tech as soon as they express an interest. Cellphones, Computers, Gaming Consoles... whatever.
 
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Why does a 8 year old need a cellphone?
 
Nowadays school kids get mugged & stabbed for a mobile phone.

Go on, make your kid a target.
 
Crazy.....do you want your daughter to be migrainegirl one day? If she is 8 then she should either be at home, school or maybe at a friends house. All those places have phones for emergencies.
 
Freshy-ZN said:
Crazy.....do you want your daughter to be migrainegirl one day? If she is 8 then she should either be at home, school or maybe at a friends house. All those places have phones for emergencies.
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Exactly!

When I was at school & felt sick, you would tell the teacher, he/she would sent you to reception or the secretary, she would phone your parents & then they would come pick you up. Has that changed?

And your parents know what the school hours are, you are with all your school buddies.....so who do you want to phone?
 
kingrob said:
Nowadays school kids get mugged & stabbed for a mobile phone.

Go on, make your kid a target.
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Freshy-ZN said:
Crazy.....do you want your daughter to be migrainegirl one day? If she is 8 then she should either be at home, school or maybe at a friends house. All those places have phones for emergencies.
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kingrob said:
Exactly!

When I was at school & felt sick, you would tell the teacher, he/she would sent you to reception or the secretary, she would phone your parents & then they would come pick you up. Has that changed?

And your parents know what the school hours are, you are with all your school buddies.....so who do you want to phone?
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Is it possible people with this backward mindset actually exist today? :wtf:
 
In my opinion no, but I would rather suggest talking to your daughter's friend's parents who was or is in the same situation. I can see the use of it in emergency situations, but like others said there are way too much dodgy information and people out there that I don't think an 8 year old needs to be exposed to.
 
A kid of that age with even a remotely expensive phone is looking to be robbed by unscrupulous peers to say nothing of adults, particularly in SA. I got my first cell in 2002 when I turned 13 (3330). Back then no one in grade 7 had cellphones, but in grade 8 we all started getting them. Before that none of us really felt the need to be in contact with our friends to the extent that kids are today. And this is the UK. Before that, if we needed to call our parents to pick us up we'd just use the coin payphone or make reverse calls :p

The richest kids had that first Nokia camera phone (can't remember its name) or the 9210 'laptop' one, which I got a few months later.

Kind of reminds me of the woman who bought a Macbook Pro from me for her 8 year old daughter... :wtf:
 
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