Giving kids smartphones



a1970man said:
My kids all got smart phones when the started secondary school.
Partly because all the other kids would have them but mostly so I can see where they are.
Once they're out of the cosseted world of junior school, they're just turned loose at 3pm every day and I just wanted to be able to contact them if needed.

You really need to limit use of them when they're younger.
My mates 6 year old talks with an American accent as the TV and tablet are his go to babysitters full of cheesy yank cartoons.
Click to expand...

For me, its Middle School which reduces that age to 9! Tricky
Epping said:
Even if you want them to have a phone have a basic Nokia or something.. phone call and text
Click to expand...

The tricky bit is the peer pressure. Everyone else having a posh phone using all the fancy apps then your child goes in with a crap phone and no apps to join in. Very tricky thing to manage.
 
Last edited:
Charmless Man said:
Ye Da shares Britain First memes on Facebook.
Click to expand...

Genuinely saw some fat mess walking around with a BF hoodie on yesterday. Genuinely couldn't believe my eyes.
pavarotti1980 said:
My 6 year old niece has one and it is better than mine. It was SIL's hand me down when she got new one. I think it might even be iPhone 13. Not sure why a 6 year old needs a phone but I certainly wouldn't be doing it as a parent
Click to expand...

If it doesn't have a sim and she can just use it for games and such, then I get it, but actually letting them on socials is mental.
 
Keawyeds said:
Genuinely saw some fat mess walking around with a BF hoodie on yesterday. Genuinely couldn't believe my eyes.


If it doesn't have a sim and she can just use it for games and such, then I get it, but actually letting them on socials is mental.
Click to expand...
Not on social media. Must just use Wifi for messaging. Cheap babysitter I guess. She has a good teacher in my brother who is surgically attached to his phone
 
My kids both have tablets which they can iMessage and FaceTime selected family members. Apples kids security is pretty good. They can’t access any content that’s unsuitable, songs with explicit lyrics etc. but I’m tech savvy. Not all parents are. Had to talk a mate through setting it up the other week as his bairn was googling “willies and vaginas” as the kids in school were talking about it and he was curious :lol:

I did a thread a while back asking about phones as my daughter wants a phone as most the kids in her class have one but I refuse to get her one. She’s 9.
 
mcq10 said:
My kids both have tablets which they can iMessage and FaceTime selected family members. Apples kids security is pretty good. They can’t access any content that’s unsuitable, songs with explicit lyrics etc. but I’m tech savvy. Not all parents are. Had to talk a mate through setting it up the other week as his bairn was googling “willies and vaginas” as the kids in school were talking about it and he was curious :lol:

I did a thread a while back asking about phones as my daughter wants a phone as most the kids in her class have one but I refuse to get her one. She’s 9.
Click to expand...
My 9y/o is pushing more and more. The compromise I think will be she can have one of the many old phones we have for use in the house to FT her couple of best friends which she already does on the iPad anyway. She doesn’t need one outside.
 
My daughter got one when she went to secondary school, and even then I thought it was too soon.

It's been by far the biggest source of arguments since she had it.
 
I was 12 or possibly 13 when I got my first mobile phone and that was a Sony Ericson with about 5 functions in the mid noughties. Only used it to text or call my mam and dad using top up credit, don't think I even used it to contact my friends on at the time. Had MSN on the shared home computer (so I'd get an hour 2 on most nights) for that on a 1 or 2 mbps connection. Just prior to social media being a thing.

A large part of me wishes things were still like that.

How times have changed barely 20 years on.

Horrid.
 
Last edited:
HoxtonMackem said:
I was 12 or possibly 13 when I got my first mobile phone and that was a Sony Ericson with about 5 functions in the mid noughties.

How times have changed barely 20 years on.

Horrid.
Click to expand...

I think mine was a Sony Ericson, but I sent off 40 ringpulls and probably a tenner or something and got a special edition one from Coke.
It had the Coke ringtone built into it.
It was limited to calls, texts and I think it had a game in it.
That's it.
 
Keawyeds said:
I think mine was a Sony Ericson, but I sent off 40 ringpulls and probably a tenner or something and got a special edition one from Coke.
It had the Coke ringtone built into it.
It was limited to calls, texts and I think it had a game in it.
That's it.
Click to expand...
:lol:

A full charge would last about a month. Could chuck the thing at a wall or down the stairs and it would be totally undamaged.

Sending daft audio files to mates in school using Bluetooth too. Cutting edge at the time.
 
HoxtonMackem said:
I was 12 or possibly 13 when I got my first mobile phone and that was a Sony Ericson with about 5 functions in the mid noughties. Only used it to text or call my mam and dad using top up credit, don't think I even used it to contact my friends on at the time. Had MSN on the shared home computer (so I'd get an hour 2 on most nights) for that on a 1 or 2 mbps connection. Just prior to social media being a thing.

A large part of me wishes things were still like that.

How times have changed barely 20 years on.

Horrid.
Click to expand...

Agree- it's absolutely crap and I would go back in a flash to before.
 

Back
Top