What is your opinion on kids having cell phones and Blackberry cell phones? | Blackberry and accessories

4 Comments to “What is your opinion on kids having cell phones and Blackberry cell phones?”

1. Leigh says:

   July 13, 2011 at 6:57 pm

   i think its okay for an older teenager to have a cell phone as long as they have a use for it besides “all my friends have one” and if they are responsible with it and treat it like the electronic tool it is. i also think a teenager having a blackberry is just ridiculous, and this is coming from a teenager (im 18). theyre an expensive professional business phone, they were invented for business workers and salesmen, not for teenagers who just use them to text their friends. any average cell phone will have what a teenager would use a blackberry for, for a fraction of the price.
2. BraxOwl says:

   July 13, 2011 at 7:15 pm

   About a year or so ago, I got my children a prepaid cell phone. On days it was not used, it cost nothing. On days it was used, it cost $1 a day and it could call anyone on our service provider’s network for that $1 a day (so they could always get in touch with their father and I). After a certain time in the evenings, calls to other numbers did not cost more than that $1/day so occasionally they would call friends.

   About six months later, I converted that prepaid phone into another line on our account.

   Just recently, I added another line to our account so that they now each have their own phones. They are 12 and 10.

   There is no right or wrong age. This was what was right for our family, in our circumstances.

   I want them to be able to contact us at all times, and they are often dropped off at practices and such- especially since it seems they usually have to be in different places at the same time. As well, I could never find walkie talkies that had as good of coverage as they say they do on the package, and we live on ten acres. With the cell phones, they can contact me no matter where they are on our property.

   My son’s friend had a phone at 5- he has a medical issue and his parents wanted him or anyone with him to be able to reach them IMMEDIATELY in the event of an emergency.

   That said, my children do not have a fancy phone like the Blackberry (I do not, either). If the iPhone comes to our provider, I will be getting one but they will not. Their phone use is also carefully monitored and heavily restricted (they can only call/text certain people, use it at certain times, etc.).
3. Heart to Heart says:

   July 13, 2011 at 7:52 pm

   I think by the time that they start going to extracurricular activities or school functions, like football games, without their parents then they should get cell phones. I can remember being in 9th or 10th grade, going to a football game by myself and having to set a time with my mom so that she could pick me up. Back then, cell phones (and certainly reasonable cell phone plans) weren’t booming like they are now. It would have been easier to have had a cell phone in that situation.

   I think by the time they are about 14/15, they should have a cell phone, since they are more independently active in school activities, friends, and things like that. They could have a Blackberry if they worked for it, but if I’m footing the bill, no, I don’t see the purpose of such an expensive phone for a young teen.
4. Gina P says:

   July 13, 2011 at 8:41 pm

   There is no “good age,” depends on their maturity. As long as they are not using it to call long distance firends and start making rediculous bills, it is not a problem. Emergencyies can happen any time. It is not a bad idea to have your kids have a cell phone on them. Better be safe then sorry. Now, if I foudn out that they were making astronomical phone bills, then yes I would confiscate it from them and keep a better eye on what they are doing.

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