Yes, I did say it…. I did actually say, “Well if three of your friends got their nose pierced, would you?” – I’m not proud of that, but it did come out of my mouth. And next thing you know, this flew out of my mouth – “And all of your friends can ride a bike but you have no interest in that” – yes, less proud of that one.
And the odd thing? After those two PROFOUND statements came out of my mouth, her argument was unfaltering steady.
Many of her friends – her homeschooled friends – friends that are almost ALWAYS with their parents – have cell phones. Its true. She just discovered that another friend got one for her 10th birthday. And lest you say that she isn’t 10 yet (she’s coming up on nine and a half), she would quickly point out that she has two 8yo friends with cell phones.
She quickly suggested that if we get her just this one thing for xmas, she would be delighted with receiving no other gifts (to which her 6yo sister chimed in with “ME TOO!”)
I ask her why..why does she need one, she can use my cell phone whenever she wants, and you know what else? We have a house phone! She really only has one friend she talks to on the phone – she is never really anyplace that I am not, where she would need to call me or something – when I pointed all this out, she said she wants to play games on the phone, she wants to carry one around with her, she wants to call her friends whenever/where ever she wants. I suggested she carry mine around. Nope, won’t cut it. I suggested she use the house phone to call her friends. Nope, not good enough. I suggested she play games on either her DS, her gamecube, her Wii, her gameboy advance, her sisters’ Leapsters, or any one of her billions of toys. Nope. Apparently nothing rocks game play like a cell phone.
Alas, I am ruining her childhood. After all, EVERYONE else already has one.
Steve and I were just talking about this yesterday! We don’t have a house phone so we’re wondering at what point we’re going to have to be forced to either get a land line or get our kids their own cell phones. We were both noting the number of young-looking kids we see with cell phones now.
LOL – We’ve had the cell phone discussion in our home too, and last I knew, it was the primary item on Celeste’s Christmas list.
I’m with you. I don’t care if every other person in the world has one, there’s no reason for a 9 (10, etc.) year old kid to have a cell phone. When they’re driving, that’s different, and my kids won’t have one until then.
If I saw a reason for it, I’d be fine with it – we got my oldest daughter one when she started using public transportation to get to a volunteer job – she was 13 – if my daughter had tons of activities that I was dropping her off at, or if she was roaming the neighborhood or something, I might consider it – maybe her friends that have cell phones really do have reasons for needing them….but really, my daughter’s activities are ones that include her sisters, so the whole family is there, or are short, so I usually stick around – if she is somewhere without me, then she is usually with another mother – who probably has a cell phone in case of an emergency. She doesn’t roam the neighborhood – doesn’t really have any friends in the neighborhood. I mean really, I see no reason for it. She’s always with me. And I have a cell phone should she need it
just to want one for the games, and to have one to carry around and because she has friends with cell phones? Um, not good reasons in my book..