Kids with smartphones?

Smartphone for 11 year old boy


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Taking a poll. My 11 year old son desperately wants a smartphone. He has an IPod touch 5, can cruise the net, and has WiFi most of the time.

He's a good kid most of the time. Does well in school, and also plays 3-4 sports. The reason I am on the fence is that we pay a lot of money for travel ball, etc, and also he has the IPod that does most of what he is looking for. Do I need the Extra expense?


So, should he get a smartphone?
 
On vacation i saw an 11 year old girl with one and playing on snapchat. All i could think of was them sending sext pics at 11 years old.

He doesnt NEED it, just wants it. You'd basically be paying to have him stop asking for a smart phone.
 
you could always get him one of those phones with a few numbers you program into it.
 
LG Migo with his Ipod touch. Done!

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Does he have a phone of his own already? I can understand kids in extracurricular activities having phones for contacting parents and what not. But that doesnt mean it has to be a smart phone.
 
an 11 year old has no need for a damn smart phone. especially if he has a touch that can do most of that shit already.
 
Hey him a Trac phone or something cheap he has to put minutes on if he wants to be able to call. He's already got a smart phone basically.
 
if he puts up the money for half then i think this will be a great opportunity to teach him about finances and money
i'd prob go with a used iphone off of amazon and one of the prepaid wireless
like a verizon prepaid with a data cap, or if they have some type of straight talk in your area, 45 bucks a month unlimited everything.
if the kid doesn't work and can't pay the bill then there is no contract to worry about
you don't pay, you don't have a phone that month
he'll learn quickly.
i can't help but think that money could be better spent else where, but cell phones are part of life now.
better off he has it and doesn't need it. than the other way around.

i'd also make sure he can handle the responsibility and understands about the nudes and having the register for the rest of his life as a sex offender and all that shit. if he has an ipod touch then he already has email and a camera so you can't really avoid that conversation if you just avoid the cell phone.
 
check into the retail outlets like Cricket, Ting, etc. unlimited access for dirt cheap. buy a phone off craigslist or ebay. they shut off if he doesn't pay him. if you really think he has EARNED it, let him earn it month to month. good way to reach responsibility to a kid.
 
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Make him do some extra shit around the house and if he doesn't one month take the phone away.

If he is paying sports and needs a ride early there probably aren't pay phones anywhere so a cell could be an asset.

Its good to see a proactive parent and not a shove them behind a screen so they leave me alone parent.
 
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but EVERYBODY with a smart phone loses sleep. I've seen studies on this for a while. Anybody that has access to their phone at night and keeps the volume on is going to lose sleep.
 
Looking at the device messes up you eyes for like an hour.

phone off by 7pm, period.

still, i wouldn't get him one. my kid would have a POS that does nothing, for emergencies only.
 
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