Katharina Buczek
Knowing when it’s time to give their child a cell phone is the latest – and arguably, most divisive – question facing modern parents.
On the one hand, so many safety threats in local communities make moms and dads feel like their kids need a way to contact them in the event of an emergency. Plus, peer pressure and the “fear of missing out” can cause children to feel excluded if they don’t have their own tech devices.
At the same time, there are just as many worries surrounding safe browsing for adolescents online, with inappropriate websites, damaging social media apps, and cyberbullying representing real concerns.
This man is currently grappling with the same tough question since his 12-year-old son really wants a cell phone.
It may come as a surprise, but already, all of his son’s peers seem to have their own.
“My son feels left out because many of his pals have phones, and he has been expressing a wish to obtain one of his own recently,” he detailed.
Even so, he and his wife have decided not to give their son a phone right now. They simply believe he’s too young to handle the potentially harmful capabilities of smartphones today, such as using social media and surfing the internet freely.
“We would rather our son spend his time engaging in non-phone activities like sports or in-person conversations with friends,” he reasoned.
As you can probably guess, though, his son isn’t very happy about this. He feels disconnected and alienated, and he doesn’t get why his friends are allowed to have cell phones; meanwhile, he can’t.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
