loving parents that we are!!!!

[Tigger]

i am just curious mike bought one for nicole so we can keep in touch with her and it is nice for us because we can always find out what is going on so i am just curious on how many are out there like us

[misty]

Let me tell you.....I used to be of the "I don't think kids need one at all" mindset, but then Shannon started wanting to walk to her friends houses & she'd be late coming home & I'd go crazy with worry! So now she has one & at least I can call & see where shes at & she can call me if shes running late or runs into any problems. It puts my mind at ease a bit (But I still make her take the Pit Bull if shes going to be walking alone).

[jj]

I tell ya what, if I had a preteen ...you bet they would have a cell phone in this day and age. My thought was like Misty used to think but I changed my view as well.

I didn't vote tho.

[Tigger]

ok i just voted but i agree nicole mainly got her cell because she babysitts adam every once in awhile she does good but at the time that is all we had was to cell phones and it was begininng to be a big problem because i would leave my cell with her and i didnt have voicemail so i was missing important calls and on top of that i needed my cell to so for christmas before mike and i split up mike bought me a new razor and nicole got my old cell and i am so glad we did because even if she is not babysitting it is so nice to be able to call her and know where she is at or what is going on i dont think i will get rid of it at all so i am so glad there are parents out there that has the same concerns as me

[charliegirl]

My son has one. His sister got it for him when she worked for a cell phone company. She no longer works there but we kept the plan.

Before he had his own I sent mine with him whenever he left the house.

One benefit I love is that when we go shopping, if he wanders off to look at boy stuff, I can call him to locate him and if anything were to happen, he could reach me with the push of a button.

I think today, every kid who is out of your sight for a minute needs a cell.

[lcdc1]

MY oldest got her first one when she was in 5th grade because she had a paper route and I told her the only way I would let her do that was if she had one. cells are a life saver for a single parent like me - I know where my kids are at all times and they check in with me after school and when they arrive at their practices, etc.....

I bet if they had them back when I was a kid, I would not have been in half the trouble I got in for being late or for my mom not knowing where I was.

[unicorn]

Since Tiff is really still too young, and at this point I am still saying no. But when she hits middle school, I may change my mind, especially if she will be walking home from school, just so she can call for help if she needed to.

[katiekat]

Joe's had one since last year. It's really just for my peace of mind so I can always get a hold of him.

[lisacap]

Christian 11 and Mikayla 9 both have one. I started letting Christian walk a few more places and he has been hanging out in a different neighborhood so he really needed one to let me know when he needed to be picked up, or if he was moving from one place to the next. Mikayla got one as well, because she is now old enough for open gym on Friday nights and I want her to be able to call me if she ever wants to leave before 8 p.m. when she gets picked up. Plus with baseball and softball starting, I can drop them off at practice and they call when they are done to be picked up, same thing with her dancing, she is at the studio 9 hours a week, so I don't have to wait, or go up to get her.
I think it depends on how responsible they can be. I bought Virgin Mobile phones for them for 20 bucks with 20 dollar top up cards that are good for 3 months, Mikayla still has 17 dollars left on hers since Febuary, but we all know Christian is another story, he had to let his lapse and go to work with his dad in order to top up his phone, so after 3 months he is finally starting to use it more responsibly, the rule was you get it topped up by me every 3 months, if you blow all your minutes your on you own. So far so good.

[bugsmom]

OK...I'm the odd ball here. I personally don't children need cell phones at ALL! My son is almost 11 and I can't believe how many kids his age have them. I don't care if they cost only 10 or 20 bucks more a month, mine is not getting one. I can't tell you how many friends of mine have given their kids phones and they have run up the bills like crazy. My neice who is 10, just ran her bill up to $390.00 dollars in text messages. She had no idea that every text she made cost so much money. Now you can blame her parents, but people have to realize that most children are not responsible enough, at that young of an age, to really understand what their doing in regards to a cell phone. Yea, all the kids have them, they text their little hearts out and talk like crazy...oh well, not mine. I understand the safety issues, but Josh has never been in a situation where he needs to have his own phone. If he rides up to the local McDonald's on his bike with friends, I give him mine. Now, teenagers are different, they are all over the place, and I could see a need for that, but I won't have society push me into buying my kid a phone because everyone has them. Buy the time they are teenagers, they can get a job and pay for in themselves and that would be fine and dandy. But they must buy it and pay for the bill...until then, no phone.

Geez...I sound mean, but its just how I feel.