Does a 6 year old need a cell phone?

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Thu May 12, 2011 11:01 am

shibee;801617 wrote: Last week, a friend of mine was due to come into town. i told her to call me when she got closer to my area, and i would meet up with her and we'd hang out. Well, being that my friend has moved around alot, and had changed phone numbers several times, i didn't realize that i had her old phone number still programmed in my phone, and when i text her saying "where are you", that i was actually texting a 6 year old. in response to my text, i got an angry mother that text me sayingTHIS IS THE PHONE OF MY 6 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, WHO ARE YOU, HOW DO YOU KNOW HER AND WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE SHE IS AT? i looked at it, shocked, not only that i sent a message to the wrong person, but that a 6 year old has a cell phone... maybe its just me...i just don't see the need in a 6 year old having a cell phone...

i was having this discussion with a coworker of mine and they pointed out that in the event of emergency, that maybe its n ot such a bad idea for a child to have a phone and to an extent, i agree, but on the other hand, she said that having a phone may not be safe; meaning that child could give her number out to a stranger...etc...i dunno...im just kinda floored by it all...

it's not just you......no 6 year old needs a cell phone:rolleyes:

Post by **spot** » Thu May 12, 2011 11:33 am

I'd agree and besides, I don't think a six year old would either cope or be sensible of its proper use. I did, however, buy one for a rational eight year old not long back where both the need and the capability were evident.

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Thu May 12, 2011 1:42 pm

I say instruct them in the use of a good Smartphone before teaching them to ride a bicycle.

flopstock · Post by **flopstock** » Thu May 12, 2011 2:48 pm

Mine has had one for a few years now. She was either 7 or 8.

I got it so that her dad would feel comfortable calling or getting calls from her at any time without me monitoring it. I guess there are folks out there that get P.O.ed at the ex and ignore calls. I didn't want that to be a concern for either of them.

She got limited txting at 10 and was offered the data package recently, but opted not.

Patsy Warnick · Post by **Patsy Warnick** » Thu May 12, 2011 5:52 pm

I suppose just getting a allowance & earning your allowance is OLD School.

Times have changes. I do think 6 is too young - don't kids go outside & play any more - like kick a can.!

I don't think I'd like to be around a 6 yr. old child texting etc. - go read a book and maybe when your room is clean & your 10th birthday will talk about it.?

What emergency would a 6 yr. old have?

another unsupervised child..?

Patsy

Post by **spot** » Thu May 12, 2011 6:23 pm

Extreme cases are a bad place to make a judgement. Six is an extreme case. Where would you suggest is obviously old enough, so we can bracket the problem?

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Thu May 12, 2011 6:33 pm

What problem?

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Thu May 12, 2011 6:57 pm

Ahso!;1359419 wrote: What problem?

exactly.

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:05 pm

Patsy Warnick;1359413 wrote: I suppose just getting a allowance & earning your allowance is OLD School.

Times have changes. I do think 6 is too young - don't kids go outside & play any more - like kick a can.!

I don't think I'd like to be around a 6 yr. old child texting etc. - go read a book and maybe when your room is clean & your 10th birthday will talk about it.?

What emergency would a 6 yr. old have?

another unsupervised child..?

PatsyTexting is by no means the only activity one can engage in with a smartphone. I've had an iphone for a few months now and I've become dependent on it. The thing is like a little office in my pocket. I think it's a good teaching tool for kids to learn organizational skills as well as lots of other stuff.

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:09 pm

Odie;1359423 wrote: exactly.Odie, please do me a favor and try to resist the urge of using any of my posts to further any need you may have to sob or complain about Spot.

Thanks!

Patsy Warnick · Post by **Patsy Warnick** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:21 pm

Ahso

I never meant the phone had one function - Your right, I'm sure the phone can be a educational device. All I had was a Pee Chee. And perhaps Kathy Ellen has a point to bring these into school as a tool.? I think 6 yrs. old is young, and I'd prefer not to have a 6 yr. old using a phone in their pass time. I've thought about this & I think in this High-Tec world the phone could be educational and probably the earlier the better.

Some Old School Ways are still necessary - educational & healthy.

Patsy

flopstock · Post by **flopstock** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:25 pm

I don't see it as a problem. Family plan cell packages are the norm anymore, at least in the mid-west.

When I had a land line, there were several located throughout the house. Everyone fought over it - that doesn't happen with multiple cells.

If I'd still had the land line, she most likely wouldn't have gotten a cell until around age ten- when she became a lot more active in extra curricular activities.

Post by **spot** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:31 pm

Ahso!;1359419 wrote: What problem?

Patsy raised a list of what I described as problems for her. If you know a better word, please improve my sentence.

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:34 pm

Patsy Warnick;1359428 wrote: Ahso

I never meant the phone had one function - Your right, I'm sure the phone can be a educational device. All I had was a Pee Chee. And perhaps Kathy Ellen has a point to bring these into school as a tool.? I think 6 yrs. old is young, and I'd prefer not to have a 6 yr. old using a phone in their pass time. I've thought about this & I think in this High-Tec world the phone could be educational and probably the earlier the better.

Some Old School Ways are still necessary - educational & healthy.

PatsyThere's no question that many of the kids with more social personalities and needs will mainly use the thing for texting and talking about what I may consider unimportant, though it's obviously important to them or they wouldn't engage in the activity. For those kids with more curious personalities, there is a world of interesting and fun apps. I know I've enjoyed mine. Also, it's an opportunity for adults to engage kids in conversation.

I have a little credit card swiping gadget that plugs into the earphone jack of my phone when customers want to pay me by credit card. The thing fits in the palm of my hand. It's so handy. No more notepads and pens rolling around my vehicle, no more need for maps laying on the floor. I love the damn thing.

Patsy Warnick · Post by **Patsy Warnick** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:39 pm

Ahso

How cool for you.. Really - very cool.

As I stated I think this would be a educational tool - for adults like me tooooooooo!!!

Patsy

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Sat May 14, 2011 6:27 am

Patsy Warnick;1359413 wrote: I suppose just getting a allowance & earning your allowance is OLD School.

Times have changes. I do think 6 is too young - don't kids go outside & play any more - like kick a can.!
Nope. Sorry, that's out ... unless you're kicking it toward a recycle bin.

I get frustrated with my school rule of no cell phones. The kids ache to use their apps to do extra research and tie world history lessons into modern day. If they would relax the rule I think I'd blow a whole paycheck on a new phone and whatever apps the kids could teach me about.

Post by **spot** » Sat May 14, 2011 8:27 am

I may be wrong Acc, but I expect schoolchildren are banned from having their phones in their possession on school property because the phones have cameras built in. That, surely, means an unavoidable global ban in classrooms. If they're in the classroom, what rule can you enforce? Nobody respond to it ringing, muted or otherwise? Leave the room to speak if your parent rings you? Don't take photos of teacher? Where's the line once all the children are carrying.

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Sat May 14, 2011 11:27 am

spot;1359559 wrote: I may be wrong Acc, but I expect schoolchildren are banned from having their phones in their possession on school property because the phones have cameras built in. That, surely, means an unavoidable global ban in classrooms. If they're in the classroom, what rule can you enforce? Nobody respond to it ringing, muted or otherwise? Leave the room to speak if your parent rings you? Don't take photos of teacher? Where's the line once all the children are carrying.
It's a tool - a fabulous tool that has the potential of igniting genius in otherwise bored children. I think it's worth the trouble to figure out acceptable limits rather than banning them outright.

Post by **spot** » Sat May 14, 2011 1:03 pm

Accountable;1359561 wrote: It's a tool - a fabulous tool that has the potential of igniting genius in otherwise bored children. I think it's worth the trouble to figure out acceptable limits rather than banning them outright.

That's simple enough. Home school them, one to one. Putting twenty children into a room for an entire term with twenty camera cellphones at their disposal sounds like an arrestable offence just waiting to happen. I bet you'd have an array of parents watching every lesson too, using their monthly free minutes. You'd have your lessons streamed live onto the Internet, children in the room knowing it was happening and acting up just to show off to the invisible watchers.

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Sun May 15, 2011 10:04 am

spot;1359567 wrote: That's simple enough. Home school them, one to one. Putting twenty children into a room for an entire term with twenty camera cellphones at their disposal sounds like an arrestable offence just waiting to happen. I bet you'd have an array of parents watching every lesson too, using their monthly free minutes. You'd have your lessons streamed live onto the Internet, children in the room knowing it was happening and acting up just to show off to the invisible watchers.
I think the disruptions would only happen at first. New toys become old quickly. I don't know what you mean when you write "arrestable offence," but parents should always be welcome to look in at any time. I have so few interested parents that when one does show up it's like manna.

Scott Hetkowski · Post by **Scott Hetkowski** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:49 am

What happened to just being responsible instead of depending on technology?

Post by **spot** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:58 am

Scott Hetkowski;1361187 wrote: What happened to just being responsible instead of depending on technology?

Responsibility on whose part? The teachers? The pupils?

The technology is enabling, it allows things to be done that can't possibly happen any other way. That's not dependence, that's entering uncharted territory. Those who refuse to go there will be left behind. Exploring the educational potential of the Internet is the right and responsible thing to do and it has to happen in the context of a pupil-owned portable phone-sized device so that it can become integrated into their lives.

Expand a bit on the irresponsibility, Scott. You've not put enough detail for your idea to come across yet.

Scott Hetkowski · Post by **Scott Hetkowski** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:12 pm

spot;1361188 wrote: Responsibility on whose part? The teachers? The pupils?

The technology is enabling, it allows things to be done that can't possibly happen any other way. That's not dependence, that's entering uncharted territory. Those who refuse to go there will be left behind. Exploring the educational potential of the Internet is the right and responsible thing to do and it has to happen in the context of a pupil-owned portable phone-sized device so that it can become integrated into their lives.

Expand a bit on the irresponsibility, Scott. You've not put enough detail for your idea to come across yet.

First of all, my response was vague because I didn't read through every single post in the thread. I was asking, what happened to being responsible (as a parent) and watching your child instead of depending on a cell phone to find him/her when you lose track of them. Second, those who refuse to give their children cell phones will not be left behind. Third, the internet CAN be a source of education, but since anyone can post anything on it, it can also be a source of misinformation. Choosing to live a life of dependence on technology is not the responsible thing to do. Obesity rates have SIGNIFICANTLY increased over the last 30 years due to a growth in technology... why? Because people are too lazy to get up off their butt to make a phone call, or spend all day on the computer instead of going out and meeting people. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the US. Leading your kids down this path is not smart. How you can say this is being responsible is beyond me. Of course, I probably misunderstood your post anyway, LOL.

Post by **spot** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 10:03 pm

You dropped into the thread where what was being discussed most recently was the use of Internet-enabled cellphones in a classroom setting. If you've reservations on bringing the Internet into the classroom then you're simply Luddite - of course the classroom benefits from the Internet.

Whether the cellphone is the right tool for the classroom I'm not sure, since cellphones without built-in cameras are rare at the moment and the ground-rules and sanctions against playing around with them are still fluid and unsettled. On the other hand it's a tool they'll have with them wherever they go.

Perhaps the main benefit a classroom can bring to children is teaching them how to distinguish good sources from bad. In the past the only source in a classroom was the textbook and the teacher, neither of which could easily be challenged. If the range of sources now includes a spectrum from the ridiculous to the sublime then quality of source is finally an issue, and not before time - many teachers and textbooks having been ridiculous but unchallengeable before. Now they'll have to meet the same scrutiny.

Scott Hetkowski · Post by **Scott Hetkowski** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:19 pm

Ah yes. I am a bit of a Luddite. I do feel that some of the technology we have now is just excessive--apps on iphones, ebook readers, etc. But internet in the classroom isn't so bad. I was referring to the original post of the six year old with a cell phone.

Post by **spot** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 4:37 am

Then it depends on whether you live in a part of the world where a six year old can be responsibly let out of sight for any period of time, either alone or with friends rather than with an authorised adult. If you do then giving the child a cellphone to ring home or be spoken to is a major safety benefit as well as a convenience. If you don't then a cellphone's a pointless fashion accessory for bragging rights at school. Where I live, six isn't acceptable but eight is. Where you live, even eighteen might be too young.

rp218 · Post by **rp218** » Thu Jul 21, 2011 8:52 pm

If a six year old child is constantly out of the sight of his parents or guardians like he constantly goes into his friends’ house, attends activities, etc., then it is practical for him to have a cell phone to enhance his safety and his parents’ peace of mind about his whereabouts. But parents’ should carefully choose the kind of cell phone to give to their children. It’s not ideal to give them a cell phone with advanced features as these are not necessary for them at their age. The most proper cell phone for them is the one equipped with simple features and emergency response system. The emergency response system is a very advantageous feature for children as this further secures their safety.