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Texting Toddlers, How Young is Too Young?
theodp writes "Toddlers don't need to be texting, concedes the NYT's Lisa Belkin, but since they have always had toy typewriters and toy telephones, why not toy Blackberrys? If your little tyke is itching to text, the NYT has a round-up of texting devices aimed at children as young as three who want to talk with their thumbs. The question of, 'when is a child is old enough for their own cell phone' has been replaced with the question of, 'what type of texting gadget is appropriate for which age group.' But don't forget to lay down the law: 'Our 13-year-old got a phone with an unlimited plan as a reward for good grades,' says HiTechMommy.com blogger Cat Schwartz. 'Each night he is required to turn the phone in at 10 p.m. and then gets it back first thing in the morning.'"
In most cases kids quickly lose interest. "I want I want I want" quickly becomes "I'm bored" as the novelty wears off and the phone disappears into a drawer.
I was discussing this with my boss a little while ago, and he said his kids destroy half the stuff he buys for them, and that when we were growing-up we appreciated things more. And I replied, "That's because we didn't have anything. I had one record player and I treasured it like it was gold." He laughed and conceded the same was true for him.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
This sounds like a load of trouble to me. I will certainly teach my children to spell and write properly before allowing them to own any texting-enabled device. Imagine a generation of people who learned texting before proper spelling and grammar. The horrors!
When they are old enough to buy their own texting device and pay their own bills then I'll let my kids text.
Looking at how my daughter handles things vs. how my youngest brother-in-law (a teenager) handles things, or even how I believe I handled things as a kid, I think most of it comes down to teaching a kid to treasure the things they have. My brother-in-law breaks or loses something, and he ends up with a new one that's better than what he had before. He's almost better off breaking stuff than taking care of it. My daughter asks for something, if it's of any significant cost and/or value, it could be a while before she gets it, and she may have to give something up for it. If she breaks it, it could be a long while before she sees a replacement. She seems to value things much better than her uncle, and she's 12 years younger than he is.
On the other hand, there are some people, like my wife, that simply don't value physical things. In a lot of ways, it's a gift, because she doesn't miss it when it's gone, and she doesn't really want much. In other ways, though, not valuing something means not caring enough to think about the way things should be treated, and generally putting more value in what she can get for something than in what she paid for it, or would have to pay to replace it.
-PainKilleR-[CE]
In my day, if we wanted to send a text message to a friend, we used an instant messenger! Or we even wrote out an email. It took time to sit down and put some thought into composing that message. None of this Twitter Trotter Twatter flim-flarn-flith. We had more than 140 characters to work with and could take the time to say something that was worth taking the time to say! And we sat at a keyboard. With a chair. Typed with our fingers instead of with our thumbs like savages.
If the little ankle-biters offer you any lip, send 'em to their rooms with nothing but bread, water, and 56k dial-up.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
>>>think its great to teach 5 year olds Sex ed.
Sure. Why not? When my 6-year-old nephew asked, "How do babies get in mommys bellies?" I just told him straight-up. The daddy puts his "pee pee" into his wife's private area, and that puts his seed into her belly, and then it grows into a baby. He went "ewwww" and then went back to watching TV. If he wants more info, he'll ask when he's ready to handle it.
We discuss other "disgusting" things with our kids, like how to pee into the toilet, or how to wipe the brown stuff off their butt, so I see no reason to withhold the sex information either. In fact I think it's better to them them NOW when they young, rather than wait until they become self-conscious teens who are easily embarrassed.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
I even got them cell phones when they were 4
The same is the argument for texting. Dont text while driving,
As a parent, I send my six year old to his room when I catch him texting while driving.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
The day my toddler texts me from the other room to tell me he wants some "gam cackers n apple joose" is the day I climb the clocktower.
Sure. Why not? When my 6-year-old nephew asked, "How do babies get in mommys bellies?"
Show 'em the face-hugger scene from Alien.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne