Parents of growing kids always face the dilemma about buying a cellphone for them. Conflicting views come to their mind considering the fact that technology and social networking tools/gadgets have been associated with negative attitude, poor performance in school results and a general lack of attention in co-curricular activities. On the other hand, in these violent times kids are not safe the moment they step out from their homes, hence having a mobile phone at least guarantees of a quick establishment of contact, in case of an emergency.
Considering both – the pros and the cons, it seems a wise decision to give basic phones to the tweens and elder children. Tween years are the age when children begin to learn being independent and do things at their own. This is also the age when children begin to feel more comfortable in their peer group and want to stay without adult supervision most of the time. Having said that, one cannot ignore the fact that at this age children quickly succumb to peer pressure and begin to hide facts from parents.
In such a quagmire, the best thing would be to give a cellphone to kids so that they can keep in touch with you when they are out of the home alone and set some ground rules of using the phone. For example, they will get only a basic phone and not a Smartphone, they need to call you up once they step out of home alone and text you once they reach the destination, the phone should be kept switched off during school hours and after 9 pm, etc.
You can also contact the mobile services provider company to tell you about some supervision tools through which you can keep a tab on your child’s activities. That way, you can be assured that your child is safe and learning to see technology as a tool to add quality to life, rather than a medium to kill time and waste precious growing years.
