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mara williams
on May 21 2013 - 06:00 AM
Summer break has this mom on a house upkeep war path.
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Lindsay Metcalf
on May 21 2013 - 06:00 AM
When that tornado siren sounds, I'm in the basement
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"I could just get him his own cel phone!" I said jokingly to a mama friend a few years back. I don't remember what the details of the conversation were, but I think it had something to do with my son calling her son an awful lot from my cel.
I was joking, of course. A seven year old certainly has no business having his own phone.
"Oh, no," my friend said with severe seriousness. "They are way too young for cel phones."
I'm pretty sure I was joking. Maybe my jokey voice and my serious voice are the same? Maybe this was a serious issue for her, not to be joked about? But I agreed with her. Seven is way too young. In fact, Marc has asked me for a phone of his own repeatedly. I always tell him when he's twelve, we'll talk about it. I meant it.
Well, I meant it when I said it. Sometimes we say what we mean one day, but situations change and we mean something else. Marc is ten and half, and well old enough to be left alone for twenty, thirty, sometimes sixty minutes. Maybe a couple of hours? I've never left him alone longer than an hour, and every time I've let our accross-the-street neighbor know since we don't have a landline.
Wait, we don't have a landline! This dawned on me recently. Plus, summer is coming up and he's not going to do summer school. With working parents, staying home alone will be a necessity. I absolutely and completely trust this child. But we don't have a landline!!!
What if he needs me? What if the house catches on fire? What if a bad guy tries to break in? What if he falls and can't get up? What if we run out of Cheetos?
We investigated a lot of options, and we realized that getting a cel phone was actually cheaper than getting a landline. So, I did it. I got my ten year old son his first cel phone. Not that he has anyone to call besides his mommy, of course.
On his first day, he learned how to text. His texts looked like this:
Marc: I will be outside.
Marc: I'm peeing.
Marc: Farrrrrrt.
Marc: Fart.
Marc: I'm haveing fun!
Me: Good!
Marc: I love you.
Me: I love you too!
Marc: Best mom ever.
Marc: Fart.
This was in addition to the prank phone calls I recieved from some ambiguous pizza delivery place claiming I owed money for several anchovie pizzas I didn't order. Coincidence? I think not.
Then, when Marc was at his dad's last night, I got a text around nine o'clock. It said "Good night mom. I love you." And that was when I became very, very glad that my little boy has a cel phone. For eight years I have absolutely hated being separated from my son due to our custody agreement. I always get wistful around nine o'clock. That's around the time he goes to bed, and I miss him desperately. But last night, a night when I would usually be missing him, I got to actually connect with him. He communicated to me in a real way. He wanted me to have a good night, and he loves me!
So, do I think he's too young for a cel phone? No. No, he certainly is not.
What age do you think is a good age for kids to have their own phones? Personally, I think it's different for everyone. I'm certain we made the right decision, even though I am a little weepy that my boy is growing up! Fart.
I agree that it is different for everyone. The expanded questions should be - at what age do you allow your kid to get a smartphone? I love those love texts too --' Yeah, you're right - it'll be different for everyone. But that matter of independence and time spent alone will have a lot to do with it for us. We don't have a landline either, and don't plan to get one - but I admit the whole kids-at-home-alone thing never occurred to me. Good thing the oldest won't be that age for a while. _
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