Dot on i

Not so many years ago, cell phones where, quite frankly, the size of half a house brick and were mainly used for business due to their bulkiness. Today’s models are very slim and sophisticated and its hard to find someone who doesn’t own one. They have become so popular that landlines are being removed from homes as the cells are now working out cheaper.

While we’d love to give our children cell phones for obvious safety reasons, we also don’t want to see them glued to one through the course of the day.

It’s a question all parents should ask themselves; at what age should I give my kid a cell? Do I have the answer? Well I have an opinion.

For me, the right time to give a child their own phone is when they are around fourteen or fifteen. They will be going out a lot more and visiting other kids houses without needing supervision.

A teenager of that age is more trustworthy and will appreciate that it is for emergencies.

Sticking to the premise of emergency only, there’s no need for a pre tee to have a phone at all. They should never be going to the movies or concerts unsupervised so will have no reason to ring you. They will abuse the privilege as they are simply too young to take on the responsibility.

Pay as you go cell phones are perfect for kids; they have to top it up to use it so there are no horrendous and unexpected bills at the end of the month.

Knowing that they will have to pay themselves to top up their phones will give them an increased sense of responsibility and they won’t then spend hours on it talking to someone they last saw 10 minutes ago!

See more of this writer’s writing about products like wireless surround sound speakers and home theater speaker systems.

categories: kids,parenting,cell phones,communications,multimedia,safety,shopping,product reviews,family,advice,society,electronics,internet,education