Phone given to a six year old?

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  • ska_lover wrote: »
    Now she actually has it OP, if it is sim free and monitored, I cant see how you can remove it (without causing arguments and upsetting daughter). She wont be the only six year old with one

    Really you and your ex need to have conversations about how you both wish to raise your daughter , and should have done before now, as this is like bolting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

    For me, I wouldn't want a six year old to be introduced to the technology crazed world we live in these days, not at that age...whatever happened to kids playing with toys, dolls, prams, skates etc lol

    if it really is just for games, surely an ipad or similar would be more suitable - maybe I am missing the point of a sim free phone

    I am glad I had my childhood before all this come along
    Technology is a fact of life these days and delaying children's introduction to it holds back their development, acceptance and understanding of it.

    My nephew (age 8) does "coding club" at school. I'd have paid way, way more attention in primary school if we'd had something like that.
    Proud member of the wokerati, though I don't eat tofu.Home is where my books are.Solar PV 5.2kWp system, SE facing, >1% shading, installed March 2019.Mortgage free July 2023
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,551
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    NineDeuce wrote: »
    Yes, if you give your kid a phone at 6 and grow them up to be dependent on a screen.

    Otherwise, it isnt 'the reality'... How about teaching kids to enjoy other things? And if all you can say is 'nothing we can do', you are just lazy and cant admit it

    How about teaching them to enjoy the games on the phone and other things - the two aren't mutually exclusive.
  • NineDeuce
    NineDeuce Posts: 997 Forumite
    Mojisola wrote: »
    How about teaching them to enjoy the games on the phone and other things - the two aren't mutually exclusive.

    Why do you need a phone to play games?

    It is ridiculous and sad that there is even a debate on whether to kids phones at 6 years old... especially when the excuse is that they can also play games....
  • NineDeuce
    NineDeuce Posts: 997 Forumite
    Technology is a fact of life these days and delaying children's introduction to it holds back their development, acceptance and understanding of it.

    My nephew (age 8) does "coding club" at school. I'd have paid way, way more attention in primary school if we'd had something like that.

    Just not true. Kids can still have access to technology without owning and having unmitigated access to it.

    What on Earth does an Instagram account for a 6-year-old give them in terms of child development?
  • Oakdene
    Oakdene Posts: 2,560
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    The ex has got her that phone to wind you up.


    Ridiculous giving an iPhone to a kid that young, but there are plenty of brainless parents out there who'd do the same, and there's not a lot you can do about it, sadly.


    I'd just encourage her to do other activities so that the phone's not such an attractive option.


    That would be me then when I gave my 6 year old my old iPhone so I could keep in touch & call him in the evenings to see how he was after I moved out.



    Admittedly this was because if I called my ex wife's number she wouldn't answer but still....
    Dwy galon, un dyhead,
    Dwy dafod ond un iaith,
    Dwy raff yn cydio’n ddolen,
    Dau enaid ond un taith.
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,551
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    NineDeuce wrote: »
    Why do you need a phone to play games?

    It is ridiculous and sad that there is even a debate on whether to kids phones at 6 years old... especially when the excuse is that they can also play games....

    Because her Mum has given it to her - if Mum wants to cause trouble between Dad and child, undercut her machinations and go with the flow.

    If the child has the same games available on an ipad, chances are she'll prefer to use that and the whole issue will go away.

    Our kids had access to a computer at home long before their peers because we had it for business use - learning to use it and play games on it didn't stop us also getting them outside for adventure play, using tools to make things, inventing stuff, doing art work, etc.

    It's just another thing that will always be part of their lives.
  • lewisa
    lewisa Posts: 301 Forumite
    I imagine that half the people in this thread, were they to have lived 2000 years ago, would have refused to let their child have a wax tablet because they might draw a !!!! and balls on it.

    Jeez. The kid will likely be already using tablets at school and will soon start to be doing simple If this > Do that logic on them.
  • pjcox2005
    pjcox2005 Posts: 1,014
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    NineDeuce wrote: »
    Why do you need a phone to play games?

    It is ridiculous and sad that there is even a debate on whether to kids phones at 6 years old... especially when the excuse is that they can also play games....



    Depends on the games, some will improve problem solving, could improve spelling and vocabulary, maths ability etc. Others may improve reaction time for example.


    And if they don't it may well help the child socially if they chat and play the game with other kids when together.


    My daughters are younger, I do worry about the technology and in particular social media when they come to that stage. I encourage them to already do a lot of outdoors stuff, be mobile, have fun and get creative in other ways whether baking or painting, but there has to be an acceptance that tech and modern world will play a big part in their lives so I don't panic when we occasionally use an ipad together.
  • onlyroz
    onlyroz Posts: 17,661
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    NineDeuce wrote: »
    Why do you need a phone to play games?

    It is ridiculous and sad that there is even a debate on whether to kids phones at 6 years old... especially when the excuse is that they can also play games....
    Or listen to music, the radio or podcasts.

    Or to take photographs.

    Or to learn another language (Duolingo is excellent, and my daughter has been using Google Translate to speak to me in Spanish).

    My also daughter uses hers as the controller for her Just Dance game on the PS4.
  • takman
    takman Posts: 3,876
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    NineDeuce wrote: »
    Why do you need a phone to play games?

    It is ridiculous and sad that there is even a debate on whether to kids phones at 6 years old... especially when the excuse is that they can also play games....

    But how is having a phone with sim card in it somehow worse than having a tablet?
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