do you think its ok for an 8 year old to have there own mobile phone ?

R34P3R said:
So you would be happy for your 8 year old to be 2 miles away with a few other 8 year olds this day in age? Are you mental?
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depends where you live doesnt it. if they have friends in the next village a few miles away, sure why not let them ride round on their bikes or whatever. there arent any more kiddnappers/pedos/murderers in "this day and age" than there were back in the 80's/90's. id feel happier knowing they or their friends can phone for help if they need it
 
Whatever you do. Don't take the phones away from them. It will just create conflict and your children will favour your sister over you.

Be happy that they have them and tell them how to use phones properly and not lose them.
 
I know kids are born into a different age and time than we did AND I'm all for giving kids all the technological advances at my disposal to get them a good start in life..

But....

8 years old, facebook and mobile phones errr NO.

An 8 year old is not half a 16 year old !
 
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I would say its fine as long as they're not contract. Surely they don't have enough money to top it up so they'll just have it on them for you to call. Just make sure to tell your sister not to top it up for them.
 
Definately some different approaches to parenting in this thread.

I would never allow my 8 year old to bike ride miles away from home for 1 thing, they would not own a phone and they would not own a facebook acount. They could play out in the local area, But not outside of shouting distance. Not at 8 years old
 
Nah you're not over reacting and if it was me I'd remove them from their possession straight off the bat. Parenting is not about being liked and if taking them off them meant they'd favour the mobile giver..so be it tbh I could care less! An 8 year old has no need for a mobile phone and should never be far enough away from a parent for it to be a handy safety thing either. It's an irresponsible gift for someone to give without consulting the parent personally I wouldn't be happy about it and I'd let the person know that as well..
 
s-man said:
Nah you're not over reacting and if it was me I'd remove them from their possession straight off the bat. Parenting is not about being liked and if taking them off them meant they'd favour the mobile giver..so be it tbh I could care less! An 8 year old has no need for a mobile phone and should never be far enough away from a parent for it to be a handy safety thing either. It's an irresponsible gift for someone to give without consulting the parent personally I wouldn't be happy about it and I'd let the person know that as well..
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Parenting is about looking after your kids... giving them the skills to look after themselves and make the right decisions... hiding them away from all the dangers != good parenting. Theres no problem giving an 8 year old a phone aslong as your responsible about it and its approached in the right way for the right reasons.
 
Well there's the possible long term health risks and likelihood your childs grasp of the English language will include using numbers, plus you're also making your kid an easy target for mobile phone thieves.

As you can tell I'm not a big fan of the idea.
 
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Rroff said:
Parenting is about looking after your kids... giving them the skills to look after themselves and make the right decisions... hiding them away from all the dangers != good parenting. Theres no problem giving an 8 year old a phone aslong as your responsible about it and its approached in the right way for the right reasons.
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I agree with the gist of your argument but, in this case, not with your conclusion :) I think when it comes to young children ( I'd consider 8 to be young) there are limits to the amount of responsibility you can either instil into, or expect, of them and a mobile phone would fall into the risky category to my mind. Hey I may not be right in every case, and certainly children of the same age are very different in terms of their maturity level but I'm basing this on my own experience. In any case, as I asserted above, to my mind there is no strong case, or argument for an 8 year old to own a mobile phone in the first place.
 
Also the fact they will start learning text speak before they have even learned correct English.
 
RedDanDoc said:
I just thought there was an element of danger with radiation etc. Also I want my kids to be kids and not minature adults.

She (sister inlaw) even made a Facebook account for my daughter who is only 9 years old.

I guess I'm over reacting though.
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I dont think your over reacting at all , my daughter got her first phone when she was 13 and she was allowed on the web at 12 i think it was ( homework ect ) and even then only if one of us was is the room.
 
s-man said:
I agree with the gist of your argument but, in this case, not with your conclusion :) I think when it comes to young children ( I'd consider 8 to be young) there are limits to the amount of responsibility you can either instil into, or expect, of them and a mobile phone would fall into the risky category to my mind. Hey I may not be right in every case, and certainly children of the same age are very different in terms of their maturity level but I'm basing this on my own experience. In any case, as I asserted above, to my mind there is no strong case, or argument for an 8 year old to own a mobile phone in the first place.
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True I was thinking that after I posted... the main point I'm trying to get across tho is that it should be something you think through as a parent as to whether its appropriate or not, rather than just prevent it coz knee jerk it doesn't seem appropriate or you can't be bothered to deal with it.

I think it does depend a lot on the child too.
 
Rroff said:
it should be something you think through as a parent as to whether its appropriate or not
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Thats the key here for me.

The sister in law is not the parent, she really should not be buying them phones or signing them up for facebook accounts. She wants to do that she should go get her own kid to play barbie with.
 
It's safer. My kids will be lucky if I don't put a tracking chip in them (when they're born). Granted the phone wouldn't be contract and it wouldn't be an iPhone etc.
 
Tombstone said:
I'm guessing that your sister-in-law doesnt have kids of her own?
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She has two sons. I think its because she's older than my wife and a bit of a control freak weras my wife is a passive person.

I'm well in the doghouse today as I started sounding off about it. I mean she could have at least asked.:rolleyes:

I just think 13 is about the right age.
 
they will either lose them or someone will steal them she gets the wow your the coolest ever ansd you treat me like a friend.

you get the crying and whining for a new phone or trip to the hospital if someone punches your kids to steal the phones
 
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