...to think that kids really don't need mobile phones?

[Arana]

I've noticed a lot of occasions where a child (usually between say 10 and 16) has committed some misdemeanour, and is to be punished. So often though I hear "oh I can't take away DS/DD's phone, they need it for emergencies."

What sort of emergency does a 15 year old need a phone for all the time? For a true emergency (fire, car accident etc) there are phone boxes (there's still plenty around), and I'm sure nobody would object to someone borrowing their mobile phone to call an ambulance.

Mobile phones make life more convenient I'll admit - it saves you coming home first if you want to pop round to your friend's house etc, but surely part of the punishment of having your phone taken away should be curtailment of the lifestyle it enhances?

My kids aren't old enough to (allegedly) need phones, but from a personal point of view if I leave my phone at home when I go to work, it just means I have to keep my commitments, and make a phone call using a land line if I have to change anything important.

I can't believe how old I feel writing this, but I never had a mobile phone until I was 17 (30 now) and I feel like kids are in more danger from having mobiles (exposure to unsolicited texts, photos, bullying) than I ever was from NOT having a phone.

Personally I think they create a false sense of security. You can never be 100% sure that your child is telling the truth of their wherabouts or if a text message that it is even your child at all.

I think they're fantastic for keeping in contact with my children.

We're separated and it makes life much easier.

You could say, what's the point of the Internet, we don't need it and never had it when we were younger'

I remember my dad saying the same about Videos, Colour TVs, computers...

I used to think DC didnt need mobiles and to some extent I do still.

However, when DS1 went to senior school I reluctantly let him have a simple PAYG with no camera. What really annoys me is that the school bans their use during teh day on a offical basis but actually the teachers actually totally encourage kids to ring parents to organise pick ups etc.

It annoys me that the school basically is so disorganised that they dont have a way of communicating with parents by global text message and instead every child has a mobile - which they sometimes confiscate.

"Personally I think they create a false sense of security. You can never be 100% sure that your child is telling the truth of their wherabouts or if a text message that it is even your child at all."

Bloody he'll- never even thought of that!

A phone isn't a great need is it really it is a want but they like to have them they communicate with friends and no we didnt have phones when we were younger but we didnt have the internet either so you would't be able to moan to strangers ont he internet about kids having mobiles,

We had a twin tub and a mangle when I was young

This takes me back to my mum doing the washing and be lurking so i could sniff the hot DAZ

I remember life before mobile phones. It was deeply tedious, and I remember at least two parents completely traumatised by their children going missing for hours. Am I the only one old enough to remember missing a rendezvous completely because of a mix up in which entrance/Red Lion we were meant to be meeting at?

I would no more go back to those days than I would replace my washing machine with a twin tub.

OP things happen all the time where it is far better to have a mobile.

Bus breaks down. There tends not to be a pay phone on it!
Bus doesn't turn up. Nearest pay phone is vanadalised.
Child lost and can't find you. No pay phone on venue.

I could go on...

And you're never met a parent who's been traumatised by not being able to get in touch with their child because their phone is flat/switched off/out of earshot?

Or a child who simply doesn't know what to do in any sort of crisis because they are used to being able to ring mum?

OP, you are free to have an opinion and free to not give your children mobile phones. HTH

But I would like the DC to ring me in a crisis.

seeker, there is a middle ground between the two.

Of course it's better to have a mobile! It's just not a magic wand.

But as an adult I feel safer with my phone. Not invincible, but safer. I know I can summon help on the last train, or a lift if there are no taxis at the station...

No it isnt a magic wand and it doesn't cure all I agree with you seeker and most of the time my girls have the bloody thing on silent i didnt get my children a mobile for my benefit they got them because they wanted them , first mobile at 11. I know children can manage like we had too without mobiles ,

Agree, Seeker. Dad used to go out with the Mountain Rescue sometimes. To quote them, once mobiles were becoming common, 'People used to take precautions. Now they take mobiles, and think that'll do the job.'

And to be frank, my DC's mobiles make my life easier...

If their school bus is running half an hour late, I don't want to be waiting for them at the stop. Ditto sports fixtures. Do those things ever run on time? No, so I'd rather DC call me with an ETA.

DS1 has a mobile that he uses to text his dad and to take out if he's playing out with friends. Granted he doesn't need it but I feel much better for being able to ring him and check he's ok while he's out, and he adores texting his dad who otherwise doesn't bother to keep up regular contact

I agree that kids don't need a phone, however they have their uses. I do think though, that if they are needed simply as a means of communication between (mainly) perents and kids, that a bog standard pay as you go phone is sufficient.

A 10yo I know recently got a Blackberry and my god the hassle her DM has has with BBM and bullying is ridiculous.

Mobile phones are certainly very useful. I was in a shop with a friend recently and we came upon crates of wine that were such a bargain that we couldn't miss it. My friend was able to ring here daughter to see if she'd like a crate, too. Yes, she did.

On the other hand, they are not always useful in emergencies. I might have this wrong but didn't Milly Dowler have a mobile? By all means, tell me off if I'm wrong.

"Personally I think they create a false sense of security. You can never be 100% sure that your child is telling the truth of their whereabouts or if a text message that it is even your child at all."

My DSSs' location can be tracked on their iPhones at all times. It is a condition of their having a phone that they keep the tracking facility switched on.

this BBM causes loads of problems doesn't it well from what i have heard, mine don't have blackberrys so I don't know much about it, Bullying will go on regardless , when one of mine were a bit younger it was MSN and bebo bullying it just progresses to different things ,

my eldest is off to secondary and has a cheap PAYG for my benefit - mainly to let me know if plans change.

She also wanted it to contact friends over the summer - saves me shouting upstairs that there is someone else on the bloomin' phone for her.

It is merely a tool - there to aid in day to day life. We still teach her what to do in an emergency, have a bit of extra cash for a bus, about going into a shop/library/etc if there is a big problem. A phone does not in any way make them safer, but it provides an extra help in dealing with the unexpected.

I know bullying can happen regardless, but the BBM facility seems to mean the bullied kids get no respite - it's no longer just 'at school' or on the walk home etc, but in their own home, in their downtime.

Is it a free networking thing ? Its horrible to have your child bullied at home TBH i wouldnt allow them to have phones with BBM or when mine were first having phones internet, I also checked who there contacts where, with a phone comes responsibility.