She Gave Her 11-Year-Old Daughter A Phone For A Year But Ultimately Took It Away Because She Regretted Her Decision And Felt The Device Was Creating Too Much Drama In Her Daughter’s Life
While living in the digital age, there’s a decision every parent is forced to make now. Every parent has to decide at what age they will allow their child to have a cell phone.
There are so many pros and cons to weigh. If you give your kid a cellphone before they’re a legal adult, you give them an easier way to get in touch with you if they need you.
But, if you give your child a cellphone, particularly a smartphone, at too young, they may gain access to things you don’t want them to see.
Parents have been weighing in their thoughts and feelings on this subject for years on social media, and the stakes change as phones evolve.
Kailey (@the_geriatricmillennial), a mom and content creator, recently went viral after sharing that she recently took away the cellphone her 11-year-old had for a year because she felt it had a negative effect on her life.
“I took away my 11-year-old’s phone after she had a phone for over a year,” says Kailey at the start of her video.
“What’s going to happen? I don’t know. I have an 11-year-old and almost 13-year-old, and I regret giving them phones.”
Kailey gave each of her kids a cell phone after they turned 10, mainly for safety reasons. She wanted them to go where they wanted in the neighborhood and visit friends’ houses without worrying about being unable to contact her. Plus, there was some extra assurance for her, as she could track their locations if she didn’t hear from them.
Additionally, Kailey had issues with some of the parents in her community, who wouldn’t take the time to meet her or give her their cell numbers before having her kids over.
Drobot Dean – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Kailey went back and forth about giving her kids phones for a while. She took comfort in knowing there were so many parental controls regarding social media she could use to protect her kids.
However, when her daughter began using her phone to address and get involved in kid drama, she became uncomfortable.
Any drama that her daughter was getting into with her friends involved social media or their phones. Little arguments about exclusion, hanging out with different people, and things like that were getting addressed over the phone instead of in person, and Kailey didn’t like that.
“There’s always jealousy with teenage girls; there’s always going to be that layer,” says Kailey.
“But when we were younger, we didn’t have access to say whatever we wanted or what was on our minds right then and there. My daughter’s not in trouble or anything; it was just a decision I came up with. I just decided it’s gone too far [and] I’m not comfortable with this.”
Overall, Kailey feels that her daughter’s cellphone was causing her more harm than good, as it was an easy way to escalate drama in her life, and she didn’t want her daughter to deal with that kind of negativity.
“Phones and social media are all a part of society and the teenage experience now, [but] like, at what expense?” asks Kailey.
Now, Kailey feels her daughter should start using her cell phone when she turns 15 or 16 instead.
If you’re a parent, how do you feel about this issue? Do cell phones just add unnecessary negativity to your child’s life, or does that not matter, as kids need to have them for safety?
@the_geriatricmillennial Taking away my 11 year old daughters phone agter having one for a year because its feeling like more negative than positive lately. No opinions needed, parentinf kids in the digital age is hard enough but would love to hear what other parents are doing to maintain their kids independence while also being safe #momofteens #momoftweensgirls #momofdaughters #parentingadvice #teenswithphones #millennialmom #momsover30
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