Another milestone for my 9 years and 7 months old girl when we gave her a mobile phone last month. She has been requesting for one for quite sometime but we only gave her my old Samsung Galaxy S3 few weeks ago.
There is always one question in every parents on whether should they give mobile phone to their children and if do, at what age. For me, a mobile phone is a big responsibility for a young child; it is not a privilege or novelty. Having a mobile phone comes with big responsibity and trust between parents and children.
Initially I agreed for Jan to have her own mobile phone when she is entering secondary school or even better, when she goes to college. And I myself only owned a phone when I were studying in college in West Malaysia!! Old age to own a phone, I know. Lol
However somehow few weeks ago when she went to a school holiday camp organised by a church, hubby and I started to talk about it and finally agreed on giving her one. Only to be used to call me when to pick her after the camp.
When she was in Kapit, I whatsapp with her almost every day to check on how she and Jay were doing. Other than whatsapp, calling and photo-taking, she is not allowed to do anything with the phone. No games or internet definitely. We would not want her to be too besotted with the gadget.
It is using a Pre-paid plan so we could control on her usage. We agreed that she would not be allowed to use it on normal day other than afternoon classes and tuitions. After all schools would not allow students to bring mobile phones.
If you ask me, there is no right age but control and supervision are necessary. Talk to your child on do's and don's. I just hope I did the right thing to my girl and she would cherish this responsibilty well.
Initially I agreed for Jan to have her own mobile phone when she is entering secondary school or even better, when she goes to college. And I myself only owned a phone when I were studying in college in West Malaysia!! Old age to own a phone, I know. Lol
However somehow few weeks ago when she went to a school holiday camp organised by a church, hubby and I started to talk about it and finally agreed on giving her one. Only to be used to call me when to pick her after the camp.
With 2 of her classmates in the camp
When she was in Kapit, I whatsapp with her almost every day to check on how she and Jay were doing. Other than whatsapp, calling and photo-taking, she is not allowed to do anything with the phone. No games or internet definitely. We would not want her to be too besotted with the gadget.
It is using a Pre-paid plan so we could control on her usage. We agreed that she would not be allowed to use it on normal day other than afternoon classes and tuitions. After all schools would not allow students to bring mobile phones.
If you ask me, there is no right age but control and supervision are necessary. Talk to your child on do's and don's. I just hope I did the right thing to my girl and she would cherish this responsibilty well.
It depend on individual child . Some can take care of their belonging and be responsible the okay la
ReplyDeleteever since I have a baby, my husband and i often discuss on things that we should / shouldn't do to our kid. Using phone is one of the matters discussed. Seriously, we are still unsure of this (though still many more years to come when our kid is going to use the phone..hahaha.) but yes.. like you say, it's the trust between parents and children.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of when my girl went to Khidmat Negara - they would take and keep so I let her bring along my old 3310, so old already finally got to use a handphone - that way, she could get in touch with us on weekends when they gave the phones back. There were some stealing cases, of course, the newer nicer handphones got stolen.
ReplyDeleteThe last day of Khidmat Negara, we went to pick her - she was sitting by the side...and when she saw us, she got up and the phone fell out of her shirt pocket into the deep, grill-covered drain with fast flowing water. Bye bye forever, 3310. LOL!!!
For little kids, better use pre-paid, top up RM10 so cannot use for much else. Hehehehehe!!!!!
There's no harm giving the child a gadget as long as parents know how to supervise & limit the usage. Nice post, dear! xoxo
ReplyDelete9 years old already got handphone?? Wow, very 'xin fu'!
ReplyDeleteBut true also la, kids these days all want handphones.... Hehe!
Is it safe for her to bring it to the camp as in are there lockers with locks for them to keep their belongings secure.
ReplyDeleteIt depends on individual child how he or she handles her responsibility and I fully agree with you about the trust between parents and children.
ReplyDeleteMy April has a phone when she was 9 years old too, but it was a smart phone. It was only a small phone for her to call us and we to call her. That it is. She was 12 next year, I am still not planning to give her a smart phone.
ReplyDeleteIt seems reasonable for her to have a phone for the usage you've stipulated on and with your supervision.
ReplyDeleteI would give Ethan a phone too should he go off to a camp or anything. These days, they'll need it for their extra activities so we can contact them easily.
ReplyDeleteThat is wise parenting. *thumbs up!*
ReplyDelete