Mobile phone at aged 9?

emsywoo123

samwich1979 wrote: »

My son is only 1 but i know already i wont be spending out that sort of money on such a young child for something they dont need.

I went to friends houses etc at primary school age and although mobile phones didnt exist then i certainly wouldnt have been bought one OR needed one.

I agree with whoever said people are mental for buying iphones for children at this age.

You are so rude! Or jealous? Who knows. Either way, have a good time on your high horse.

meer53

samwich1979 wrote: »

Why waste serious money on a phone which is just going to sit in the bottom of a school bag??

Buy a cheap £10-20 phone with a cheap PAYG sim if all they are using it for is an odd phone call or text.

I think it must be a status thing for the parents to say "ooooh look my child is only 8 and has an iphone how good are we"

I don't waste money on phones, the only phone i have ever bought her is the Blackberry at Xmas. Her Daddy provided the others. She's always used her phones for listening to music and playing games too. She also has a laptop and has had an Ipad, which she sold to her brother as she didn't think it was very good !

You still haven't said how old your son is ?

jungle_jane

ilikewatch wrote: »

I must admit that I've never understood why teenagers are so obsessed with Blackberries - I can fully understand why they would want an iphone or decent Android device, but I just don't get why they'd want a boring business phone.

Blackberry has BBM. That's a free messaging service similar to MSN/Skype that teenagers (and younger!!) use to chat, stay in touch etc. Teens use that even more than Facebook. I wouldn't allow a pre teen to have a Blackberry for that very reason - it's almost worse than Facebook for bullying and sniping.

I think that a mobile phone and everything that comes with it (online access, BBM, messaging, apps) is a device for older children and adults - it's a total minefield that youngsters have no need to be exposed to. The exception to this would be a basic phone with phone and text only in circumstances where children walked home alone/catch public transport etc and might need to contact an adult in an emergency.

meer53

samwich1979 wrote: »

My son is only 1 but i know already i wont be spending out that sort of money on such a young child for something they dont need.

I went to friends houses etc at primary school age and although mobile phones didnt exist then i certainly wouldnt have been bought one OR needed one.

I agree with whoever said people are mental for buying iphones for children at this age.

Ok, your son is 1, i'd stake my life savings on your son having a phone before he goes to secondary school !

Whats the obsession with Iphones ? It's a phone !

samwich1979

pulliptears wrote: »

Why should she buy a cheap phone though? If she can afford it then why not? Her money is hers to spend how she sees fit.

It could well be an old iPhone 3G which will be worth best part of about £60.

As for a status thing, doubtful, probably much easier that the kid can listen to her music, play games and make calls on one device rather than have 3 to potentially lose.

Im sorry but it IS all about status now, why else would you buy an iphone for a young child? whether you can afford it or not it is not really necessary is it?

My point is at that age you dont need one iphone never mind 3 different things to make calls, play games on or listen to music.

Why cant children have proper toys instead of all these expensive gadgets?

balletshoes

emsywoo123 wrote: »

Friendly people on this thread!

I'm (usually) friendly .

I've long since given up being remotely judgemental about what parents choose to spend their money on for their kids (although occasionally I still inwardly initially go :eek: at the though of a 2-year old getting an ipad for instance). But hey, its none of my business.

meer53

jungle_jane wrote: »

Blackberry has BBM. That's a free messaging service similar to MSN/Skype that teenagers (and younger!!) use to chat, stay in touch etc. Teens use that even more than Facebook. I wouldn't allow a pre teen to have a Blackberry for that very reason - it's almost worse than Facebook for bullying and sniping.

I think that a mobile phone and everything that comes with it (online access, BBM, messaging, apps) is a device for older children and adults - it's a total minefield that youngsters have no need to be exposed to. The exception to this would be a basic phone with phone and text only in circumstances where children walked home alone/catch public transport etc and might need to contact an adult in an emergency.

I agree, thats why i won't pay the extra £5 per month for BBM for my daughter. You don't have to have BBM on your Blackberry.

19lottie82

samwich1979 wrote: »

Why cant children have proper toys instead of all these expensive gadgets?

Nice idea, and I wish it could be like that, but sadly those days are long gone

samwich1979

emsywoo123 wrote: »

You are so rude! Or jealous? Who knows. Either way, have a good time on your high horse.

Im neither rude nor jealous, just giving my opinion.

emsywoo123

samwich1979 wrote: »

Im sorry but it IS all about status now, why else would you buy an iphone for a young child? whether you can afford it or not it is not really necessary is it?

My point is at that age you dont need one iphone never mind 3 different things to make calls, play games on or listen to music.

Why cant children have proper toys instead of all these expensive gadgets?

For the millionth time, I have never said she needs one. But she has one. AND she has toys. Get me, I'm rolling in it :rotfl:

Seriously, stop being so angry