Cell phone madness starting younger and younger these days

[prolesunited]

Just another sign of the collapse of civilized society by the use of cell phones. <-- OK, so I'm being a little dramatic here.

I was out riding my bike and I had my typical encounter with a driver so engaged in a cell phone conversation that she almost blew through a stop sign and hit me. Unfortunately, that situation is not that unusual.

I was riding on the sidewalk. (I know, but I was going really slow on a heavily travelled two-block stretch with cars parked on either side.) What really got me was a mom and a child who looked about 3 were in front of their house. The girl was riding a tricycle.

I watching in amazement as appeared oblivious to my approach and rode right in front of me. OK, the kid's little. Cut her some slack. But the reason for inattention wasn't simply age — she was talking on a FREAKING CELL PHONE! I guess her mom is starting her driving lessons early. :eyes:

What are you cell phone pet peeves? What do you think when you see kids with cell phones? If you are or were a parent, at what age would you buy your child one?

[Nlighten1]

1. They are giving cell phones away in cereal now.

I kid you not. I saw a commercial advertising this just a few minutes ago.

[prolesunited]

3. Working ones!

:wow:

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. Are you certain it was a real cell phone?

The triplets got toy ones for their 2nd birthday (think they have since been destroyed in the mayhem that usually surrounds them, but at one time loved playing with them) but they were very realistic looking. Even if they are "Hello Kitty" ones. The triplets' mother has a yellow phone with butterflies on it, because her father was allowed to take the girl triplet with him to buy...and choose.

[prolesunited]

5. I did a double take

so I'm sure that it was a real one. I highly doubt it was the little girl's, though. It really was a strange thing to me and I found myself shaking my head.

I refrained from saying "Kids these days," so apparently I'm not too old and cranky yet. ;-)

[radwriter0555]

4. I got one for my daughter last summer when she was 10, so I could stay in

touch during the day while she was in surf camp.

I like knowing I can ALWAYS get ahold of her whenever she's not with me. She's not a phone flapper YET... But it's a nice leash.

[silverlib]

7. I did the same thing several years ago, but be very careful..

she is not a teenager yet. Teenagers are very clever. They can call you from their cell phone and you have no idea where they REALLY are when they make the call. This drives me crazy!

I think cell phones are better suited for three year-olds than teenagers.

[Skittles]

14. make her send you a picture

:D

[silverlib]

17. That's a great idea...

but I'm sure it would be a close-up. She's really good, but typical, and I never say never, as I have two that are grown now and know better. None of my three girls were scary in the same way - they like to keep me on my toes. When my older two were teenagers, cell phones weren't around. If I had it to do over again, the cell phone would be "check out" only and not a possession to keep with one at all times. It is the first thing to go if her grades start falling or she commits typical teenage mischief. She does keep me young.

[prolesunited]

8. Well, that certainly sounds reasonable

and responsible. I'm sure times will change on that one.

[Skittles]

13. lol

when I was a kid that was the last thing I wanted - for my folks to be able to find me at any time. :)

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

6. My nine year old wants one

and keeps dropping hints, but I told her nothin' doin'. No nine year old needs a freaking cell phone. When she's a teenager, we'll DISCUSS it, but not before then.

I have one, in the interest of full disclosure.

[prolesunited]

9. What does she think she needs one for?

Do her friends have them? Is she talking on the landline a lot yet?

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

15. She just sees people with them

including me. And she sees younger and younger kids with them. One friend of hers is 11 and has one. I still think that's too young, what is the point of THAT? An 11 year old can't drive, can't get too far from home without the parent knowing about it, so what's that for???

[Cybergata]

10. Cell phones at school!

Suddenly every one of my 7th & 8th grade students has a cell phone. It is impossible for me to every get to a phone at school, and when I do someone is on it already. All I have to do is ask my class, "Who has a cell phone with time they can spare," when I need to make a phone call, and just about ever kid pulls one out of their backpacks.

That is the good aspect, but the kids don't pass notes anymore because they all have cell phones. They send text messages back and forth to each other. Actually, from their point of view, this has to be much better than passing notes. Notes get picked up by teachers.

I can see why parents would want their kids to have one, but I have found them very distracting in my classroom. Ringing phones in class, kids calling each other in class, kids panicking because they misplaced their phones, etc. Oh well, if it wasn't phones, it would be something else.

I don't mind kids with phones nearly as much as I do those people who talk on them while they are driving. One young woman flashed past me (and I always drive fast) with phone in one hand, a cigarette in the other and a baby in the car. Talk about an accident ready to happen.

:hippie: :hippie: :hippie: :hippie: :hippie: :hippie:

[prolesunited]

11. That's AWFUL!

I can't beliveve she would smoke with her baby in the car! :mad:

Study after study has shown how bad second-hand smoke is for kids. If she wants to smoke, fine. But she shouldn't be forcing the kid to smoke as well.

[Cybergata]

12. Me either!

...but she was pushing that poor child close to death with her driving. I wanted to notify the child protection services, but I barely caught a glimpse of her as she flu by. Believe me, I'm the one who is usually speeding, so she had to be going fast. And how she was steering with a phone and a cigarette....ahhhhh.

:hippie: and FORMER smoker who didn't even smoke around my cats!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

16. In our district they are not allowed to take them out or use

them during the school day. That takes care of that.

[Cybergata]

20. At our school, we don't allow them either....but

parents screamed at a rule that they weren't allowed to bring them to school. So we changed the rules. Now they are suppose to keep them in their backpacks, and not use them on campus. Good luck! Middle School kids can find just about every way around this rule there is. 11-14 year old people can find more sneaky ways to do things. It is just part of their nature. If I took cell phones, or anything else they do too seriously, I'd be totally crazy after 30 years of teaching them.


:hippie:

[Colin Ex]

18. Fark had a hilarious article awhile ago.

The title basically amounted to:

"If your daughter is a teenager and has a cell phone, she might be a whore."

Hilarity ensues.

-C

[Momgonepostal]

19. I know 3 little girls who got cells at age 9

And one of them told me her little sister got one, too. Her sister was 6! This was about a year ago so I have no idea if they still have them. And I know they were real, becasue one of the girls got a call while I was talking to her.

I can't imagine why a parent would think children that young need cell phones.

At this point, I can see me getting phones for my kids when they start driving. I don't see the point before that.

[tigereye]

21. I don't really like them

but I just got a new one for emergencies, etc. My son likes to play with the games on it. I think they are good for teens/high schoolers in terms of when they need to call their parents and vice versa, and I guess they are a social necessity on some level. I remember being on the phone all the time when I was that age; I suppose the only difference is the ability to do it all the time wherever you are, plus the text and e-mail functions. As far as how young is too young, younger than 10 or 11 seems too young.

The weird thing about cell phones for me is the constant "need?" for people to be in contact with each other all the time. When I had a cell phone and a pager for work, I came to hate them since there was an expectation that I/ or anyone with one, should be available all the time. And that still seems weird to me. Plus I don't really want to hear other's mundane conversations everywhere I go.

Good question.

[AlFrankenFan]

22. My god?! Three?! The youngest I've seen is about six here

(Course this is OC) In my sister's kindergarten class I'd say half the kids own a cell phone and know how to use. All my friends have one, and, at age fourteen, I am proud to say I do not own a cell phone! :eyes:

My peeves are seeing drivers talk on cell phones, kids my age or younger owning them, and just their existance in general. Do people really need to talk to their friends when they're going to the store? If I was a parent I would never get my kids a cell phone. Let them be an adult and wait. Damned technology. :grr:

[shanti]

23. well

i have four sons (first three are long grown up). i WISH they'd had them when my older sons were younger. my youngest is 14 and he has had a cellphone since he was 12. i feel MUCH safer with him having one, but you have to be careful. kids this age aren't necessarily responsible, and he has either lost, had stolen or destroyed (one time was my fault - it was in one of his pockets and i washed it) three of them! i'd cut the phone off, but i signed a contract so i'm stuck. best case scenario is to get the month-to-month unlimited for kids. that's all they really need and you don't have to worry about going over their minutes. (this happened too and i was jolted by an extra $200 tacked onto my cell phone bill - ouch!!!!

make sure you get insurance when you buy your kid a phone. it will save you some money in the long run.

[CanuckAmok]

24. Nobody ever has anything important to say...

Which conversation will yu most likely hear:

"Hi...what are ya doin'?...Me neither...I'm on my phone...nothin'...nothin'...do you wanna get sushi?...why not?...okay...call me...I'm losing you...hello?...hello?..."

or

"...okay, what you have there is the 'medula oblongata'. What you need to do, see, is find that little grey bit beneath the cerebral cortex, and make a precise shallow incision from there to the corpus collosum..."