Wife wants cell phone for 11 Year Old Daughter

[TallTom]

Tough spot. I dated a mom of an 11 year old that was dead set against her daughter having one. So her fabulous sister (girl's aunt) got her one for XMas and had paid for the first however much time. Mom got stuck with the rest of the problem of renewing the time etc.

They (the 2 adult sisters) haven't spoken since and the daughter now insist she needs a smartphone.

Thank you god once again for not trying to talk me out of a vasectomy.

 

[880jedi]

She will call you when something goes sideways. That's good to know that the phone will provide that option, right? ???

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

The fact she can instantly get ahold of daddy should help you make your decision. And vice versa. Face it she's growing up.

 

[zukracer]

we are facing a similar issue soon. My thoughts have been this:

Fear: She will have unlimited access to various things and will be texting/calling people all the time
Fact: She's going to find a way to do it regardless, at least if I provide the device I can control/monitor/track it all.

Fear: She can't get a hold of me or her mom if something happens.
Fact: She probably can even without the phone at 11, hell she's probably good until she's mobile on her own. Since mine doesn't venture beyond the neighbor friend's house on her bike, less of an issue IMHO.

Fear: The bills could get out of control.
Fact: Prepaid or unlimited plans are all over these days.

Honestly what I have come up with is that getting her one is probably just as bad/good as not doing it. When the time comes I'm sure we'll get her something, perhaps an iPhone. Apple does have ways to limit what can be done on the phone via profiles and you can install stuff to track what is going on with the device. You can also use it as a GPS locator, Sprint (my carrier) has a service where you can quickly find any phone you enable for the service and track it. The billing side of it I'm sure I'll work out a way to "charge her" out of an allowance (earned via chores) for her cellular use but in reality I'll just add her to the unlimited plan to hedge my bets

So if you are losing the battle, take control of it and run down the path that gives you the control you want. Look at the iPhone profile capabilities, you might find you can get her the cool new thing but control it for what you want/don't want to happen. If you do it right, it could be a win win

Good luck either way, I know I'm not looking forward to it but thats more from the side that I have to realize she's getting older and one step closer to being a bit more independent

 

[Gpmo]

I say yes. No kids of my own but. Kids have cellphones. Parents keep track of their kids with cellphones. It all works out.

 

[chrisjp]

i didnt have to give my kids cell phones when they were that young. they rode the bus to and from school... no after school activity's. we were and still are in control.

 

[GNBRETT]

ur underestimating the GPS feature

 

[Fastfrog007]

i didnt have to give my kids cell phones when they were that young. they rode the bus to and from school... no after school activity's. we were and still are in control.

Your 10,000th post!

 

[VaBusa]

I'm against handing cell phones out to kids. I know, I know...in case of emergencies, but we all know that's never what it's used for

My vote is to keep your child an 11 year old that isn't burying her head in a cell phone to text 24/7, because that's what they all end up doing. Thank goodness neither of my boys care enough to beg for one...have fun and best of luck!

 

[outlawbusa]

Look into Life 360 or Latitude apps. If she would agree to one of those programs you might be more comfortable. (of course it would be up to her to leave the GPS on unless her phone has a parent mandated feature). They allow location, check in, and phone pinging options also.

There is also a safety feature and she can tell you at the push of a button that she needs you and it will pinpoint her location on her phone without her needing to do anything else.

There are other apps that also only allow texting and/or calling while the phone is not moving more than a preset MPH (in other words the phone will not operate while moving in a vehicle).

 

[Gpmo]

Another feature to look at is photo streaming. Make sure every photo that's take. Is auto uploaded to the cloud storage and is views me by you. It's super easy to set up.

 

[outlawbusa]

That is a good idea, I use the dropbox app. It uploads to a main folder on one of my computers automatically.

You can also retrieve pics or vid from the folder to any other phones or computers on the network without having to hook up.

 

[skydivr]

My daughter has been a good kid. She's got great grades, and her mother is making her into a fine young lady. I'm not as worried about her as I'm worried about Rico Sauve texting pictures of his private parts for which I'd have to I'd just like to keep her a little girl as long as possible. I'd like to find some way to limit her ability to surf/text/call, with complete overwatch. I know Charlie this is not a battle to stake my marriage on, so eventually I'll have to give in.

Here was one my wife found last night:

Cell Phone Parental Control from Kajeet | Prepaid Cell Phone Plans For Kids

 

[skydivr]

Look into Life 360 or Latitude apps. If she would agree to one of those programs you might be more comfortable. (of course it would be up to her to leave the GPS on unless her phone has a parent mandated feature). They allow location, check in, and phone pinging options also.

There is also a safety feature and she can tell you at the push of a button that she needs you and it will pinpoint her location on her phone without her needing to do anything else.

There are other apps that also only allow texting and/or calling while the phone is not moving more than a preset MPH (in other words the phone will not operate while moving in a vehicle).

Ok, i like the life 360 app, but not google (too much tracking by google going on). Is there an app that can limit who she can call?

 

[RussellJ]

Ok, i like the life 360 app, but not google (too much tracking by google going on). Is there an app that can limit who she can call?

Honestly, if she is very smart and good with electronics she can root the phone and make a backup file of what you set on there then reset the phone to do whatever she wants and switch back and forth between the backup files in a matter of 2 minutes. These phones are as easy to bypass things as a computer.... Nothing is 100%

 

[1busa]

Very nice

 

[skydivr]

Honestly, if she is very smart and good with electronics she can root the phone and make a backup file of what you set on there then reset the phone to do whatever she wants and switch back and forth between the backup files in a matter of 2 minutes. These phones are as easy to bypass things as a computer.... Nothing is 100%

She's not that smart - yet...but give her 3 more years I'll have to be on my toes...

 

[RussellJ]

She's not that smart - yet...but give her 3 more years I'll have to be on my toes...

Just remember all she has to go is google it... it takes 3 minutes to root a phone with just downloading a simple app lol. And all the videos are on youtube.

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

My daughter has been a good kid. She's got great grades, and her mother is making her into a fine young lady. I'm not as worried about her as I'm worried about Rico Sauve texting pictures of his private parts for which I'd have to I'd just like to keep her a little girl as long as possible. I'd like to find some way to limit her ability to surf/text/call, with complete overwatch. I know Charlie this is not a battle to stake my marriage on, so eventually I'll have to give in.

Here was one my wife found last night:

Cell Phone Parental Control from Kajeet | Prepaid Cell Phone Plans For Kids

Stop being so suspicious and just get her a phone already dad!

 

[skydivr]

Just remember all she has to go is google it... it takes 3 minutes to root a phone with just downloading a simple app lol. And all the videos are on youtube.

Not with a blacklist of google or youtube it won't