Cell phone for a second grader

"Nan" wrote in message
...
On 10 Sep 2007 10:42:23 -0700, Banty wrote:

Arrgh.

Why does a seven year old need a cell phone?

Banty

Well, my second grader doesn't need one, but I can understand someone
her age needing one if they're involved in a lot of activities and may
need to get in touch with home base.

Nan
How many activities is a 2nd grade involved in where the parent isn't going
to be taking them and picking them up (or arranging a carpool to do so?)

I know that when I've had 2nd graders in choir, I have not allowed them to
start attending until there was a transportation arrangement in place, and
until I had confirmation from the parent on what I needed to do (have the
child call home, have the child meet an older sibling at after school
tutoring, several children walk together, and so on). And I know that as an
adult activity sponsor, I've made very sure that I had access to a telephone
so that children COULD call home if needed.

"Laura Faussone" wrote in message
...
Donna Metler wrote:

How many activities is a 2nd grade involved in where the parent isn't
going to be taking them and picking them up (or arranging a carpool to do
so?)


Not that I think a 2nd grader *needs* a phone, but ...
What if the picking-up parent is unavoidably and unexpectedly delayed due
to traffic or a flat tire?

Which is why the group sponsor or teacher or parent at who's house the
playdate is taking place needs a phone-not why each child needs one.

I don't see that a child NEEDS a cell phone until they're doing things
completely independently, and I am hard pressed to imagine many situations
where this would happen for a 7 yr old. 11 or 12 yr old, maybe, teenager who
is starting to drive and who has friends who drive, sure, given that
payphones are largely nonexistent now.

Hi -

Any recommendations for a very simple, very kid-centric cell phone?

Nice to haves:
Simplified list dialing (Downkey Mom downkey Dad downkey Grandma)
Fewer and larger buttons
An _absence_ of junk features (video, ring tones, camera)
A vibrate ringer, one which has to be very explicitly set to make
noise if at all

Looking for essentials.

Appreciate any feedback.

On Mon, 10 Sep 2007 08:21:02 -0700, genkuro wrote:

Hi -

Any recommendations for a very simple, very kid-centric cell phone?

Nice to haves:
Simplified list dialing (Downkey Mom downkey Dad downkey Grandma)
Fewer and larger buttons
An _absence_ of junk features (video, ring tones, camera)
A vibrate ringer, one which has to be very explicitly set to make
noise if at all

Looking for essentials.

Appreciate any feedback.

I don't have one, but I've heard of this:

http://www.fireflymobile.com/

Nan

Hi --

I'd consider getting one of the pre-paid ones so that you don't open
yourself up to high charges if it gets lost, stolen, borrowed or
misused.

--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

In article , Beth Kevles
says...


Hi --

I'd consider getting one of the pre-paid ones so that you don't open
yourself up to high charges if it gets lost, stolen, borrowed or
misused.

Arrgh.

Why does a seven year old need a cell phone?

Banty

On 10 Sep 2007 10:42:23 -0700, Banty wrote:

Arrgh.

Why does a seven year old need a cell phone?

Banty

Well, my second grader doesn't need one, but I can understand someone
her age needing one if they're involved in a lot of activities and may
need to get in touch with home base.

Nan

On Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:45:29 -0500, "Donna Metler"
wrote:



"Nan" wrote in message
.. .
On 10 Sep 2007 10:42:23 -0700, Banty wrote:

Arrgh.

Why does a seven year old need a cell phone?

Banty

Well, my second grader doesn't need one, but I can understand someone
her age needing one if they're involved in a lot of activities and may
need to get in touch with home base.

Nan
How many activities is a 2nd grade involved in where the parent isn't going
to be taking them and picking them up (or arranging a carpool to do so?)

Probably not very many. Although, a lot of the people that live in
our area do not have land lines in their homes. If my child needed to
call home she'd need to have her own phone available to her.

Nan

Another thing to look for is one that you can track the physical
location of the phone with a GPS tracking service (almost all cell
phones have GPFs receivers built in). This can tell you where the child
is at any time the child has the phone.

You can talk to the major cell phone companies about this. I think most
or all offer this service.

Jeff

"Donna Metler" wrote:

In the days before cell phones, I once accidentally left my son at
football (grade school - Pop Warner) for a half an hour past the time
I was to pick him up because I started out to get him and got
distracted drove past the turnoff and went to work instead. If either
he or the coach had a cell phone available, they could have called my
husband to come and get him.

In the days before cell phones, my sister and I would go to the
dentist on the streetcar, and sit and wait in the lobby of the Medical
Arts Building (which had many various medical and dental offices) for
my mom and dad to pick us up on the way home from work - sometimes
they would be late because something would hold them up - it would
have been nice for them to be able to let us know.

When I took the swim team (on a school bus) to a meet, we had to stop
at a pay phone to activate the phone tree to let the parents know to
come and pick the kids up (kids from about 5 up to about 18). If we
had cell phones, it could have been done that way.

My son was once accidentally left at the pool by his coach (she forgot
that she had taken him to the meet). He was only about 6. He tried
to walk home, but it was at least 20 minutes by car down the highway
from us. Eventually he was picked up by some local people and taken
to their house to phone me. I had been trying to get ahold of the
coach (an older teen girl) to find out where he was.




"Nan" wrote in message
.. .
On 10 Sep 2007 10:42:23 -0700, Banty wrote:

Arrgh.

Why does a seven year old need a cell phone?

Banty

Well, my second grader doesn't need one, but I can understand someone
her age needing one if they're involved in a lot of activities and may
need to get in touch with home base.

Nan
How many activities is a 2nd grade involved in where the parent isn't going
to be taking them and picking them up (or arranging a carpool to do so?)

I know that when I've had 2nd graders in choir, I have not allowed them to
start attending until there was a transportation arrangement in place, and
until I had confirmation from the parent on what I needed to do (have the
child call home, have the child meet an older sibling at after school
tutoring, several children walk together, and so on). And I know that as an
adult activity sponsor, I've made very sure that I had access to a telephone
so that children COULD call home if needed.

Even though those arrangements have been made - sometimes stuff
happens and they fall through.

My children very often went to activities on the school bus. They
would go to 4H to the leaders house and I would pick them up - no
problem with that because the leader of course had a phone.

But they would also go riding to where they were just in pastures or
sometimes a pasture with a barn. Now they didn't go at age 7 by
themselves - their siblings were with them. And there was a payphone
at one place in the barn, but now, when pay phones aren't so
available, it might be helpful to have a cell phone.