DR. BOBs DAILY: CELL PHONES FOR KIDS: WHAT RULES DO YOU ENFORCE? Weve had a family policy that each child doesnt get a cell phone until 7th grade. And weve stuck to it. Our youngest child, Joshua, just hit this age and was very happy to finally enter the world of texting. You always wonder as a parent if your pre-teen is going to disappear into his or her phone and youll never see them again. Its funny, though. None of his friends are into texting yet. So he barely texts. OMG. With our FIRST teenager, it was the classic mistake of only having a cellular plan that had about 100 monthly texts for free. This was ten years ago, back when sending more than 100 texts a month was unheard of. I mean, who in the world sends more than a couple texts a day, right (remember, this was ten years ago)? I remember when we discovered how far over the limit our first teen was that first month, and how much it was going to cost us (or HIM - I dont remember if WE paid because WE were stupid or we made HIM pay for being . . . well, a teenager). Well, with our third child, so far so good. I was pleasantly surprised when he got his first during dinner text. Our rule has always been no cell phones at the table, at all. So, when my child heard it go off as he was coming to the table for dinner, he quickly texted his friend back - Cant talk . . . having dinner. I was very proud that hed grown up seeing his two older brothers follow this rule, and we didnt even have to tell him. Another rule weve had is no cell phones when they go to bed. They leave em downstairs on the kitchen table. We dont want our kids staying up texting, or getting woken up by a friends middle-of-the-night text. Even our 18-year-olds left them on the table. So far, we havent even needed to tell our youngest - he just does it. So, what other rules do you enforce? Whats the right age for a cell phone? Smart phone right from the start or just a regular cell? How about no cell at all? Dr. Bob
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:23:46 +0000
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