I was at the pool the other day and fell into a conversation with some moms from the neighborhood. They were talking about giving their kids cell phones. I had always been opposed to it, but I have to admit that one mom's argument definitely changed my point of view!
One of the moms (Jane) gave both her kids (ages 6 & 9) a cell phone. Yes, yes - I can hear the gasps of alarm now, but suspend judgement for a few minutes and listen to her back story. She is a working mom. With her kids in a very active summer camp this year, she felt her kids needed a cell phone and that they were mature enough NOT to use it for idle chit chat but to save it for emergencies. She explained that it gave her peace of mind.
Flash forward to me! My 6 year old Is going to summer camp for the first time ever this year. Everyday they leave "home base" to go to the beach or a park and there is a weekly field trip to various local museums/zoos/aquariums, etc. After speaking with Jane, I realized that it might not be such a bad idea for my daughter to have an emergency cell phone with pre-set emergency numbers -- just in case. My husband and I took a lit of time and "prepped" my daughter for this momentous occasion (she was of course thrilled beyond words)! It has been two weeks now and I am glad to report that she has acted very responsibly with her phone and it truly is an emergency phone.
Moral of the story is that no one answer will fit all. In my case and in Jane's case, our kids were in a situation that warranted a cell phone. I'm so glad to have heard Jane's point of view!
Long Island Suburban Mom
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