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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

..To think this is a totally inappropriate present?

19 replies

74slackbladder · 07/02/2011 16:40

I think I know the answer but am curious as to other people's view
Random family friend (friend of MIL) bought a mobile phone for my DS for 4th b'day without any prior consultation etc.
AIBU to think this a bit premature ? I was hoping for another 5 or so years without having to make sure he was armed with the latest mobile-ok its not a super dooper one but its a mobile phone all the same. She says it's for the games on it - but again, i thought I might have a few more years grace before DS had his head stuck in games etc.
Am i deluding myself ?
Is this not an odd present for one so young?

OP posts:

Aims80 · 07/02/2011 16:41

It is odd yes, just don't give it to your son! Explain it to her if you think she'll be offended. I'm not sure what the average age to get a phone is but I'd say it is closer to 10, not 4!

mommmmyof2 · 07/02/2011 16:45

It is odd that out of all the presents, she thought of a mobile phone.nice of her to buy a gift but there are less expensive and more child friendly games or toys.

And it werent as if it came direct from your MIL but her friend! Bit strange.

BurnAfterReading · 07/02/2011 16:46

Send the mobile to me - my 16 week old dd needs one to keep in touch with me whilst her incompetent (23 yrs) big cousins take her out to play mummies & daddies :)

Sorry - my comment is about my own thread and off the subject but saw the opportunity and took it.

I do think that it's odd to give a 4yr old a mobile phone and certainly without consultation - I dont even buy my nieces and nephews anything without consulting my sister and brother...

bubblewrapped · 07/02/2011 16:46

Have you given it to him? If you havent then dont, and if you have, I would make sure its battery runs out very quickly and it doesnt work any more.

A child that age does not need a bloody mobile phone, ever.

Original poster

74slackbladder · 07/02/2011 16:50

i accidentally left it at MIL's when we left there to last night...ooops! DS not asked for it yet, so I think i am ok!

OP posts:

Ladyofthehousespeaking · 07/02/2011 16:56

That's so weird! Have you looked whether there are any numbers stored in it?
I'm not trying to be precious, but the idea of someone knowing a direct number to you DS makes me very very uneasy..

GwendolineMaryLacey · 07/02/2011 16:58

Bonkers. I wouldn't really mind if she was offended. Anyone who thinks a mobile phone is a suitable present for a 4 year old is clearly a bit strange.

FindingStuffToChuckOut · 07/02/2011 16:59

weirdly inappropriate!

ENormaSnob · 07/02/2011 17:01

Bizarre

bubblewrapped · 07/02/2011 17:01

That's so weird! Have you looked whether there are any numbers stored in it?
I'm not trying to be precious, but the idea of someone knowing a direct number to you DS makes me very very uneasy.

sorry but that is just OTT paranoia!! nobody would expect a 4 year old to ever be in a situation where he can answer a phone and chat to someone, or be able to read or send a text message either!

Ladyofthehousespeaking · 07/02/2011 17:10

bubble I actually have a goddaughter who was given a phone from a family friend who phoned her as 'their secret' after she had gone to bed, nothing untoward happened luckily, but this girl was only just 6 and having night time conversations with a forty year old man.

So go judge someone else.

saffy85 · 07/02/2011 17:13

Inappropriate imo. If they wanted to get your DC a game surely snakes and ladders would suffice?

zipzap · 07/02/2011 17:16

Do you think it is an old one that she had lying around that she thought she would give to him rather than buy him something else?

There are some incredibly cheap PAYG mobiles out there - I bought one recently as a spare for the car that cost me £2.50 - and that wasn't the cheapest; it has a fully functioning camera and radio...

It costs more to buy a cheapy plastic toy mobile with just a few electronic squeaks on or even a comic with a freebie pretend mobile with no squeaks on, just a few wonky number stickers on the front than it does a fully functional mobile these days. Bonkers. (AIBU to think toy phones should cost less than real ones...)

So maybe she thought it was a good deal and bought it for your dc. Not that that makes it right of course!

SandStorm · 07/02/2011 17:22

Did she think it was a toy one?

cutelybananas · 07/02/2011 17:36

OMG,how mental.well best u get saving for the laptop for christmas,lol.i dont think its over cautious to b concerned in the slightest,in this sad world...actually can u really BE over cautious,wen it comes down to any subject regarding your kids?ridiculous gift for a four year old,maybe the 'gift buyer'is a little mental?not used to kids?or not of sound mind?either way i think i would of laughed,handed it back n quietly said..er no thanks!:)

junktrunk · 07/02/2011 17:45

Very strange gift to give a 4 yr old, my DD yr old got a phone when she was 6 i made sure soon as the battery ran down i told her that was only how long they worked for and there was no credit on it she soon got bored of it cos she had no one to call!! she now uses it as a play phone with her little sis.
Maybe the lady didn't realise what implications a gift like this has???

MoonGirl1981 · 07/02/2011 17:49

Some people have no clue about present buying!

mumbar · 07/02/2011 17:53

yes very wierd. Must be some kind of logic behind it - not sure I can rathom it out though.

lessnarkypuffin · 07/02/2011 17:56

Lose the battery and it's a prop for imaginative play. Sorted

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