Too young for mobile phones?

TheZohanS

A friend of mine is giving her 6 and 7 year old sons mobile phones for Christmas.
Is it just me or is that waaaay too young to be giving kids mobile phones?

AnonoBoy

TheZohan wrote: »

A friend of mine is giving her 6 and 7 year old sons mobile phones for Christmas.
Is it just me or is that waaaay too young to be giving kids mobile phones?

It's waaay too young but possibly not waaaay too young.

It's a grey area really.

ScumLord

If it was one of those restricted kids phones then maybe not. There shouldn't really be any need to give such a young child a phone but this is consumermas and she has to buy something. They'll probably break or lose the things within a week anyway so I wouldn't be too worried.

toiletduck

I can't imagine why they'd need one.

It's not as if they'll have to have it to hand for an emergency call to the auld pair at 3 a.m. saying they need a lift after getting kicked out of a club and realising they spent all their cash on a round of baby guinness.

Atavan-Halen

Depends really on how responsible the kids are. I got a phone at 7 because my Dad lived in Greece and it was just really so he could call me.

TheZohanS

ScumLord wrote: »

If it was one of those restricted kids phones then maybe not.

They're not restricted, regular mobile phones. She's planning on not telling them their phone numbers so they can't have people ringing them. I would imagine that it would only take one older kid to take their phones off private.

Gone Drinking

TheZohan wrote: »

A friend of mine is giving her 6 and 7 year old sons mobile phones for Christmas.
Is it just me or is that waaaay too young to be giving kids mobile phones?

That depends.. is she hot?

genericguy

TheZohan wrote: »

A friend of mine is giving her 6 and 7 year old sons mobile phones for Christmas.
Is it just me or is that waaaay too young to be giving kids mobile phones?

im glad you said this, i always give out about members of my family having phones when they're barely old enough to string together a conversation and people just tell me i'm a sour old cnut.

now, i may be a sour old cnut, but that's too young to have a phone.

IvySlayer

Yeah it's a bit young imo.

I was 13 when I got my first one :pac:

admiralofthefleet

its way to young, my mates son wants one and he is 6. nedless to say she told him where to go
i got my first on when i was 17 but the eircell ready to had just been launched

jenzz

My 2 are 6 & 7 & the last thing they need or will be getting is a phone.... For what ! to ring who !

Looking at it from the other side of the fence - I worked for one of the mobile operators for years. The saddest thing to deal with was a parent in , in tears cancelling a number or blocking a handset as the child had been mugged for the phone ( It would have been teenagers at that time - being the youngest to have a phone)

Ask the question would you shove a kid out on the street waving €200 in their hand - you wouldnt dream of it.. so why would you do the same giving them a phone ?

AnonoBoy

IvySlayer wrote: »

Yeah it's a bit young imo.

I was 13 when I got my first one :pac:

Sure that's nothing my Ma was in her forties before she got a mobile phone.

IvySlayer

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Sure that's nothing my Ma was in her forties before she got a mobile phone.

Guess that was her calling.

scheister

i got my 1st phone at 13 and this was simple as i was doing an early morning paper round and been able to contacted was important but this is one thing that annoys me. at 7r8 are they really going that far away from the house on there own that they need one. there is no real need i think till 2nd level. that may just be me

NothingMan

atavan-halen wrote: »

Depends really on how responsible the kids are. I got a phone at 7 because my Dad lived in Greece and it was just really so he could call me.

7! Mobile phones weren't wide spread til I was about 14/15 and even then I only got my first one when I had a job at 16 and bought it myself.

I do like the idea of those locked down kids phones with just a call and hang up button and can only make and recieve calls from/to the people the parents put in the phone book.

Damn you kids, enjoy your childhood while you can, play kick the can or go skiddin on yer bikes.

AnonoBoy

IvySlayer wrote: »

Guess that was her calling.

Doubtful. Her stroke has left her with very limited hand mobility and no speech whatsoever.

But big points to you for making a completely new and original joke.

Ginger Nut

TheZohan wrote: »

A friend of mine is giving her 6 and 7 year old sons mobile phones for Christmas.
Is it just me or is that waaaay too young to be giving kids mobile phones?

I do think this is too young. My daughter is 12 and only got her phone during the summer - I still think she could have waited until Secondary school - but due to family crisis I had to give in!

Kiera

atavan-halen wrote: »

Depends really on how responsible the kids are. I got a phone at 7 because my Dad lived in Greece and it was just really so he could call me.

Yeah my niece (in France) got one at 7 because my brother wanted to be able to contact her.

There is no way my sister would allow my 7yr old nephew have one now. There is no need for it.
It would only get taken off him from the older kids.

ScumLord

I was 15 or 16 when I got to use my fathers mobile phone once so that me and the sister could ring him to pick us up. That was back when mobile phones where new flashy bricks of things, I spent most my time hiding it in case someone tried to nick it.

BDR

Got one when I was 11 or 12, my older brothers old one though, Most of my friends got one for their confirmation.

If she were to give them an old phone of hers just to have in their bags or something, then yes it'd be ok.

I think it's too young, like 6 year olds are only in senior infants?

Rhyme

Saw one of my younger cousins (7) with a mobile phone yesterday. I asked his father and as it turns out the phone has no sim card, they gave him the phone so he can learn about it and play with the camera. Nice idea.

Ginger Nut

Who would a 6-7 year old be ringing - at this age they would not be anywhere without an adult with them - have they so much that its the only thing left to buy them!

monkeypants

She's the one that'll be paying the bills, right?

mikom

TED: Dougal, this is a dog toy.

DOUGAL: What? No it's not Ted, it's a joke telephone.

TED: Dougal, this is a toy for dogs. This is something people give dogs on their birthday.

DOUGAL: Now seriously Ted, it's a joke telephone. You just give it to someone and tell them it's a phone and they'll try and make a phonecall on it.

TED: Dougal, who would think this was a telephone? Even a dog knows this isn't a phone.

DOUGAL: Well, Ted, we'll agree to differ alright?

TED: No we won't agree to differ, because you're very very wrong. Look, did the picture on the on the packet not even give you a clue? Why do you think the dog looks so happy? He's happy because someone has given him a yellow rubber telephone that makes a noise.

DOUGAL: No! No! He's laughing because someone's trying to make a phonecall on the telephone.

H1tmonlii

I'm 13 and I don't have a phone..

builttospill

As long as they aren't Ashley Cole fans they should be ok.

Trekker09

My daughter is nearly 9 and has one. I was out shopping with her last Saturday and she got lost. Thanks be to feck for the phone!!

AnonoBoy

Trekker09 wrote: »

My daughter is nearly 9 and has one. I was out shopping with her last Saturday and she got lost. Thanks be to feck for the phone!!

In my day my Ma used to just keep an eye on us.

Gummy Panda

TheZohan wrote: »

They're not restricted, regular mobile phones. She's planning on not telling them their phone numbers so they can't have people ringing them. I would imagine that it would only take one older kid to take their phones off private.

tbh, thats pretty silly. If they need a mobile, it should be the likes of a firefly. They're designed so parents can call their kids without worry of the child being contacted by someone else e.g. Pedo Bear.

Firefly

RobbieTheRobber

NothingMan wrote: »

Damn you kids, enjoy your childhood while you can, play kick the can or go skiddin on yer bikes.

I dont know these games are they on the xbox or playstation?

I didn't get a phone until i left school and needed one. How do young people these dasy get away with not being were they are suppossed to be if they have a phone with them all the time.
So they can be contacted and made go to the places they dont want to be


"But ma i couldn't ring you I was out and nowhere near a phone" my standard excuse, the good old days

Naos

AnonoBoy wrote: »

In my day my Ma used to just keep an eye on us.

Whenever we walked into somewhere like a shopping centre, my folks would just point to a tall & obvious marker and say "Thats our meeting point. If anyone gets lost, go back to here" - it did the trick.

With regards to the phone issue, when I was 6/7, if I wanted my mates I'd get off my lazy arse and go knock on their door. Had very little interest in a phone.

Besides I'm sure my phone would have gotten smashed to pieces whilst I was busying playing chicken on my bike, scrambling over walls in a game of Garden Grand National, falling from trees, playing manhunt (not the pc game) etc.

F*cking lazy kids.

mikom

Trekker09 wrote: »

My daughter is nearly 9 and has one. I was out shopping with her last Saturday and she got lost. Thanks be to feck for the phone!!

An ould game of snake kept her busy while you looked for her.........

billy the squid

me grandpa was nearly 80 when he got his first mobile. faught eicell tooth and nail to keep his analogue phone as the GSM ones interfiered with his hearing aid.

Those firefly phones are all that a kid that age would have any need for.

mikom

mikom wrote: »

An ould game of snake kept her busy while you looked her.........

The original snake was the best game ever on a phone I wish they put it on the new phones!!

Your usefulness to society was decided by your top score.

Vain

If i have learned anything for EastEnders is that pedofiles like children with mobile phones.

pickarooney

A pair of oul walkie talkies should be more than enough for anyone.

poisonated

I got mine when I was 11...that was a grand age really.I don't think you go too far before then.

Fighting Irish

Sort of depends how good the parents are at parenting

Duiske

IvySlayer wrote: »

Yeah it's a bit young imo.

I was 13 when I got my first one :pac:

Enough about your sex life. :P

ToniTuddle

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too young!

Sure at that age they should only be places an adult is nearby like their friends house. Think of the bills them kids will run up!

God save yer friends bank balance :eek:

3hn2givr7mx1sc

I got one when I was 9, everyone in my class had a phone and they were all the same, except the covers were differnet. I miss changeable covers, one day it was a Simpsons one, the next it was a hash leaf.:D

stovelid

AnonoBoy wrote: »

In my day my Ma used to just keep an eye on us.

Translation: tied a dog-leash to us.

LionelNashe

Thinking about it, who actually needs a mobile phone. 15 years ago nobody had them and we didn't miss them. So if adults don't need them, and yet they have them, then I don't see any reason why kids can't have them.

_Roz_

I wouldn't buy my kids phones until they were old enough to be going far enough away from trusted adult supervision for a long enough time to potentially justify the use of a phone during said time span. Which I reckon amounts to about 13 years old.

I was 10 when I got my first one, but only because it was a hand-me-down. I didn't really start using them until I was about 13.

BlitzKrieg

I can see the positive side of it.

It is entirely possible for a household today to have no actual landline, especially with younger families. I know my family is actually getting our landline cancelled because pretty much no one uses it anymore. With a Ready to Go mobile there's an oppurtunity for a child to learn financial responsibility with the parent putting a set amount on themselves every month and the child having to manage it, but also giving them freedom to contact their friends and so on.

But I also understand the dangers and fears a parent would have over a mobile phone.

I guess it comes down how much of a good parent you are and its almost the same pros/cons as getting a child a puppy and expecting alot of responsibility from them (without the life of an adorable animal left in the hands of sadistic children)

_Roz_

My parents don't have a landline, they just use their mobiles. But that's only because they weren't using the internet much and the phone was dying.

OutlawPete

TheZohan wrote: »

A friend of mine is giving her 6 and 7 year old sons mobile phones for Christmas.
Is it just me or is that waaaay too young to be giving kids mobile phones?

Too young.

Restricted kid's phone or get to your room.

http://www.fireflymobile.ie/

OnTheBalls

I don't have one and i'm twenty. Got rid of it six months ago. Hate the things. If you are not expecting a phone call then a phone only delivers bad news.

Dudess

pickarooney wrote: »

A pair of oul walkie talkies should be more than enough for anyone.

Honestly, did the tin-can/yogurt carton/string thing actually work for anyone?

Hate how this thread is making me feel old...

I got my first mobile phone at 21 (1999). Exact same number still.

Dudess

Dudess wrote: »

Honestly, did the tin-can/yogurt carton/string thing actually work for anyone?

Hate how this thread is making me feel old...

I got my first mobile phone at 21 (1999). Exact same number still.

088? :eek:

I got my first phone in 1998 it was one of those eircell bricks with the gigantic big aerial!

I just can't understand why a 6/7 yr old would possibly need a mobile phone?

Seloth

Dudess wrote: »

Honestly, did the tin-can/yogurt carton/string thing actually work for anyone?

Hate how this thread is making me feel old...

I got my first mobile phone at 21 (1999). Exact same number still.

Its 9


I got mine when I was 11 or 12 aand didnt really use it till I was 14