Mom...When Can I Get My Own Cell Phone?

My husband and I held off as long as we could, but we knew the day was near when we would have to break down and finally get our two middle schoolers the thing they most wanted in the world—their own cell phones. 

We argued that they are never really too far away from us without access to a phone to warrant getting them their own. Plus, I reasoned, how could we trust them to handle a cell phone when we still had to remind them to brush their teeth twice a day?

But the turning point came a few weeks ago. On this particular day my youngest child had a fever, so I had to drop the older two off at junior golf. With an unpredictable end time, I gave them my cell phone to call me on their last hole so I could pick them up. Besides being inconvenient, I was now left without my phone and all the crazy thoughts begin:  What if I get into an accident between the golf course and home? What if they drop my phone in the water? Or worse…what if they read my texts and emails?  It was time to act.

I knew we made the right decision when a few days later I called a friend on her cell phone. In my usual way, I started right into my conversation. After a few minutes of my rambling a boy’s voice interrupted saying, “Mrs. English! I am out riding bikes with my friend and I have my mom’s cell phone. My mom’s at home.”  How embarrassing and, again, inconvenient. I phoned my friend at home and gently attempted to persuade her to look into getting her son his own phone. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for him.

For me it boiled down to convenience, meaning once it became inconvenient to me for my kids to not have their own phones is when I knew it was time.  I briefly second guessed the decision when my very smart nephew tweeted a link to this article about some dangers of giving kids mobile devices.  http://www.nymetroparents.com/article/Should-Kids-Have-Cell-Phones-#.Th9SLgeQ4xQ.tweet  But in my quest for information, I also found a great contract for both parents and kids to sign and simply altered it to fit our family’s needs.  http://tweenparenting.about.com/od/tweenculture/a/Parent-Child-Cell-Phone-Contracts.htm

It’s been about a week now and the newness is wearing off already, which I expected. But it’s nice to know I can get a call if practice ends early or a text just to check-in. If necessary, I can even add GPS tracking and always know their exact location, though that seems a little too Big Brother at the moment. 

Now if I can just get them to brush their teeth without reminders. Maybe I'll just text them.