Opinion: Your Grade-Schooler Doesn't Need a Cell Phone

my kids turn 7 and they got one for their b-day,,the gps tracking on them is great , i always know where they are and if they are allowed to go over to a friends house I can always call to make sure everything is ok,,,I have 4 kids I am 29 my kids are 13,9,7 and 1,, they don't use the phone like a teen does, it stays in their backpack during school with the volume turned off, and when the come home from school if they want to go anywhere they have to have it so I can keep track on them. I didn't get my first cell phone till I was 20, but with the way things are going now at days and the way killings at schools have been happening I fear for my kids lives. You are right about some man trying to pick up girls or boys after school. When i was a 4th grader walking home from school a man came up to me in a car and showed me his privates then got scared when I screamed and drove off, but that is not how things happen now at days,these people take more risks and these kids end up dead at the end of the day,,I will keep track of my kids and know where they are at.

Nice Story 50 feet away I'll call BS

I live in NY and what she says is exactly true. These incidents may not be everyday,but they do happen. I want my kids to be able to call me immediately.

i would say anyone who is so uninformed to give a 10 or 7 year old child a phone. doesnt realize the sexting and the network social dependence this world is falling to maybe we should put a camry on every corner. yeah that would be great we could watch our children take every step from school to home. soon enough your child has a child at twelve because of sexting and a facebook hook up.

And just how is a cell phone supposed to prevent any of those things from happening? If approached by a perv offering candy or indecently exposing himself, the child should RUN, RUN, RUN! What? You think he/she should stop and take time out to call you or the police, even on speed dial? As a former teacher, I KNOW that those phones will NOT be turned off or left in lockers at school! And guess who, more often than not, is calling the kid - IN CLASS? MOM!!! or some other relative! I know that it's a new day out there, but for the most part, things are not that different for kids. Teach kids the rudiments of self-awareness and self-protection. Having a cell phone in the heat of an emergency may be no help at all. In fact, if a child attempts to use it at the wrong time, it may prove to be a hindrance.

just wondering...what is it with so many people letting their kids walk home from school at this age alone...at least get in contact with the parents of other students who live nearby and have them walk in groups...that would help. i know with both parents having to work in more and more families including mine its almost impossible to accompany your child home but at least try to form some sort of buddy system or find out if one of the childs parents is a stay at home parent who can see your child safely home until you get there? just some suggestions. anyway...i completly understand in this kind of situation why a preschooler would need a cell phone..a definite safety must. if however your child is just over at a friends house why would you need a gps tracker on them? are you that insecure or does your 4- 7 year old really lie to you that much? you can't just call their house? and if you don't have any information on where your child is other than their cell number and a gps blip..no name on their friend or his parents...no face to said names...well you should probably try being a slightly less relaxed parent where it counts.

Teach them to protect themselves by yelling no or fire to get peoples attention THEY DO NOT NEED CELL PHONES.

In the first place, a cell phone WILL NOT prevent your child from being offered candy or seeing a flasher. Why you think it is going to do something wonderful for her/him to call you about it when you are in the middle of a client meeting rather than discuss it with you that night I cannot imagine. We were instructed to run into the nearest store in those circumstances, which is a far more practical immediate response than calling Grandma or even the police.

I certainly hope that your six year olds are NOT walking home from school alone, or, for that matter, going anywhere aalone.

I understand that there are restrictions on phones. These work for six year olds, not twelve year olds.

Finally, and most importantly, THE QUESTION OF BRAIN DAMAGE AS A RESULT OF HEAVY CELL PHONE USE HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED. Are you really prepared to take the risk with your child for the sake of the spurious sense of safety it offers to YOU? Make no mistake about it, the sense of security is yours, not the child's.

Times have changed. A cell phone for emergencies or kid tracking is appropriate. They have NO PLACE in schools (I am a retired principal). A restricted phone for preteens that does allow texting, and a limited account for teens is appropriate. Emergencies do happen, and unless you are able to supervise your child 24/7, besides school, a cell phone for any child 9 and up is appropriate.
Again, restrictions are needed. I would like to tell you that everything is as safe as it was in the 1950's when I grew up, but it is not, and even then things were not so safe. I was approached by a man in 1963, who wanted to have sex with me--I ran. I was too far from home to get help there, and didn't have a dime for the pay phone. Now things seem to be much worse, and we should consider the worst case scenarios--what about a terrorist attack after school, while your child is out playing? Don't think it can happen? Are you willing to bet.
Discretion is the better part of valor. Let the kid have a cell phone and teach him or her to use it responsibly.

I took umbrage at someone (Emma) who spewed at you!! I know just what you are talking about, and only you know the things that occurred in your family. I commend you for speaking out. Times change (as we grandmothers know) and there are evil and sick people in each generation, and each generation seems to be worse that the previous one!! We are just better equipped to handle these things in today's world. Speaking from a Law Enforcement point of view, I am truly happy that laws and enforcements have changed from what they were "Back in the day"!! I truly pray that no one was permanently scarred from those past incidents. As for the phones? I did not buy them for my children, either; they grew up and bought their own. Actually when my older children were growing up, what WAS a cell phone? Their children recieved them when they received work permits. The best to you!!

OMG! Where do you live? I don't even know anyone who has experienced one of these situations let alone all of them!

i wish they had those phones when my kids were that age .mine are now 24.26.27 spent a lot of hrs waiting in schoolparking lots waiting for sports/other after school activities back then they had 1 pay phone in each school..it was tough..i bought my kids their
first cell phones when they graduated high school and going off to school..

It's not our kids we don't trust, it is other people!

I agree Carole!!!!! There are no pay phones anymore. They used to have "safe" houses or "watch houses"..a place you could go to on your way to/from school if something happened. Now most mother's work and nobody is at home in the whole neighborhood.
While my two kids are grown and gone..I do have two grandchildren 7 and 10. I can't see letting them have a cell phone.

I think kids are not as safe as they were say, 20 or 30 years ago...but I also know that some of the stuff that went on..we never heard of because most newspaper/tv news only reported local stuff or BIG national news. Now we have Amber Alerts, and internet, i-phones, twitter etc give us instant access to ALL bad things.

It is sad when we think we have to have 24/7 on our kids. I didn't on my boys..I just told them that if I had to get in touch with them they had better be where they were supposed to be. (This was in the early to mid-90's before everyone and their uncle had cell phones). You have to trust your kids and let them have some sense that they are not in constant mortal danger.

While I do agree that 14 is old enough to be left at home without a sitter, perhaps the parent is doing this based on the behavior and not the age. I think Bill Engvall said it best when he said, "There are some kids I'd trust to perform open-heart surgery and others I wouldn't trust with a butter knife."

I agree Carol! Well said. I was babysitting at 14! You made a great point about being two years away from driving a car at that age.
If your children can't be home alone for a few hours at 14 than it's going to be a brutal and steep jump gaining the responsibility to drive a car shortly there after. Is there no transitional period anymore?

The world is wonderful, dangerous, safe, cruel and kind all at once. If children (and many adults I've met) aren't made aware of how to tell the difference from the start than they will never become productive members of society!

I was cooking meals at 9 and staying home alone at 12 unless it was longer than 4-5 hours, then it was usually just a case of being checked up on by someone.