I recently ran across an opinion piece about kids having cellular phones. It caught my attention because my own pre-teen has one. It said that cell phones are just another way for parents to monitor their children when they are not around. How, ‘back in the day,’ all our parents had were the proverbial village that consisted of neighbors, coaches, teachers and other parents to help take care of our kids. Handing a child a cell phone is like attaching a GPS to their pockets and possibly opening up a world of trouble via media exposure. It goes on to say how much more trouble a parent is allowing their children to get into by handing them a cell phone.
Well, hand your kid a television remote and access to a computer with Internet and you will surely be sending them straight to hell. And kids are kidnapped everyday by members of that proverbial village that parents might rely on. While I agree there can be problems with kids having cell phones, I feel a lot safer knowing my daughter has a mobile device capable of possibly helping her in an emergency. For most parents, it’s not about nosing into their kids' business. It’s about being able to have comfort in knowing their children are safe.
When I was 16 years old, I remember going to the mall with my brother, his friend and a girlfriend of mine. My brother and his friend went one way, my friend and I went the other. My girlfriend and I ran into these two older guys and they convinced us to go to a movie with them. In a taxi. After the movie, they taxied us to Pizza Hut before I convinced them to take us home. I didn’t have any quarters for a payphone or I would have called my dad. They eventually dropped us off at my house where my parents and hers were furious at us for being so reckless and stupid. It was totally our fault and, in hindsight, that situation could have gone wrong in so many ways. Someone was definitely looking out for us. If I had a cell phone, I would have called my parents. If I had had sense at the time, that would never have happened.
One point the author of the article was trying to make was that we don’t need to monitor our children. That they should be allowed to make their own mistakes and learn from them on their own. True enough. But with the technology available to give your kids a way to call for help if they need it, why not use it?
As for cell phones opening up a world of trouble to our kids … they will find trouble with or without it. This is where communicating with your children and explaining things to them comes in. That’s right, actually talking to our kids instead of being involved in our daily TiVo marathons and Facebook updates that are between dinner, homework and bed. You give them the knowledge they need to have to make good decisions. Tell your daughters that texting boys her goodies will eventually lead to social suicide. Let your sons know that sharing said texts of underage girls could get them in serious trouble. Talk to your kids about sexting, bullying and any other trouble that’s out there.
I’m not saying every grade-schooler should have a cell phone. It’s up to the parent and depends on the situation. My parents didn’t buy me a phone, but that was before cell phones were affordable and available. Times have evolved technologically. When I decided to buy my daughter a phone it was hard to hand over such an enabling piece of technology to a 12 year old. But I talked to her about it and explained that there were consequences to certain actions. Surprisingly, I haven’t had an issue with her and her phone yet, but the teen years are coming. It's a personal decision for every parent whether they want their children to own a cell phone. With that decision, it's also the responsibility of the parent to make sure the privilege isn't being abused.
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