popcornjack wrote:Granted, i have no kids (that I know of) so my thoughts are of a more "philosophical" nature, if you will....
Understanding that this isn't the world the one we grew up in, how important is it to actually have a phone? How often would it really need to be used? It's easy to think of the extreme situation--something happens while at school, or when she's out with friends that would require immediate resolution--but how often will something like that happen? It's a good way to keep tabs on her, but it seemed to work fine when I was a kid and my parents couldn't. yes, there are far fewer (if any) payphones left in the world so the ability to make contact if there were an emergency situation is limited, but once again, how often would that happen? And if it did, odds are likely that someone she's with would have a phone anyway.
Which is another aspect of it. From a social standpoint, how important is it? Just like when cable/atari/cabbage patch kids/whatever new thing it is came out, who had one versus who didn't became an issue--"Wow that person has a xxxxxx, that's cool, I need to have one." Granted, with the relative ease of getting one, I think some of the "coolness" factor of having a cell phone has worn off, but can still be that stigma of "you don't have one?"
There's no reason not to do things differently because of the new technology and changes in the world just because we didn't need them as kids, but that doesn't mean things should be done differently just because the opportunity exists. Ultimately the decision rests with you, because it's your child and determining what is best for her (and her family) is the most important factor.
You make some great points!
For me as a parent, it's more about convenience of communication than about true emergencies. However, once they're at the age where they're not with a supervising adult 100% of the time, I want my kids to be able to contact me directly, not have to rely on someone else having a phone or being able to find a public phone.
I survived middle school without things like seat belts and most medicines, too. It's a different world now! Adults in the community don't keep an eye on other people's kids like they used to; it's much harder for kids to be independent and safe at the same time.
The coolness factor is always a big issue. We pay for simple phones and basic service for my kids; if they want a fancy phone or lots of texting, they have to pay for that themselves.
Your last line is all true! Each child and each family needs to make their own decision. And pronouncing what you would do "if" you had a kid isn't really helpful to me - parenting is completely different "in real life" than what I expected, and a lot of my old philosophical ideals just don't apply.
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