Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Suitable Phone For a 4-Year Old?
blogologue writes "I have a kid that's turning 4-years old soon, and I'm not able to be with him as often as I want to. To remedy this, I'm looking into whether or not getting him a phone could be a good idea to keep in touch. Being able to have a video chat is important, and as it is rare that a 4-year old has a mobile phone, and because he's got other things to do, it would be good to be able to turn off for example games and so on during time in the kindergarten. So other kids don't go around asking their parents for a smartphone. The main reason for getting the phone is keeping in touch, and as a bonus it can function as a device for games and so on during allowed times. Are there any phones that are suitable for such use? I don't mind if it's Android, iOS or something else, as long as it can be used to make video calls to other Android/iOS phones, and if it features other applications such as games, have limited, pre-defined functionality during certain periods of the day."
Why did you have the kid if you can't be with him? Seriously, don't fuck his head up with a phone at that age. If you can't be with him, make the best of when you can, or stop choosing whatever you chose instead of him. Your fault if he grows fucked up.
Are you serious?
The most "suitable" phone for a 4 year old is one without a battery.
Really, you need to focus on more important things for your child at that age.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
a rooted Android phone with some sort of toddler app mode or custom ROM.
No hone is suitable for a 4 year old.
buy him a book, an erector set, lincoln logs. Do not get him hooked on the electronic teat at such a young age. My father was an engineer and even though he worked late hours, he still would take me to the ice cream shop at night and help me with my homework and have dad and son time. The time he spent was quality.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
https://www.kytephone.com/ Looks like it's a device administrator app or something like that. Worth looking at...?
Direct store link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kytephone Looks like it's got pretty good reviews.
In other words: Maybe get a super cheap android phone and stick this on it...
64GB iPhone 5 with gold plating plus $10,000 iTunes credit.
Get that over-reaching sense of entitlement embedded early.
Cryonics - Keep cool and carry on.
If you can't be with the kid, then find a way to be. It's not healthy for your kid to develop the idea that a Smartphone is how he "finds his daddy" and has "good fun with games, but only when he can". How messed up in the head is he going to be with this kind of reality you're bringing down upon his developing brain? Think, man, think!
Is this a joke?
I'm really not sure it's such a great idea to get the kid hooked on the blinkenlights at age 4. You do realize these devices are literally like crack to them, right?
The best phones are the plastic ones you buy at the local bric-a-brac store. Sometimes these phones even let you call Elmo who will say "Hello", sing a song and wait for you to call the next person
. .
A 4 year old can't seriously have cell phone. Besides, they will lose it almost immediately. Have them use the phone of the adult that is caring for them. Buy that person a phone, and tell them how it should be used.
Dude, just don't. I understand you want to speak and see your son, but the reason 4yo don't have phones is because they are not ready for their use. Let the kid play with playmobil and later lego. Let him be a child and when he's ready for a mobile, he'll tell you by putting it on his christmas-list. I wish you wisdom with your decission and hopefully you'll find a beter way to keep in touch with your kid.
Don't let the phone be the kids parent.
Eventually your capillaries will merge and you will form one all-knowing toddler-adult hybrid. I, for one, bow down to you, Todd-lor.
Is this a joke?
No.
Just
No.
They make great phones for toddlers. Get them one that says the numbers in Ernie's, Big Bird's and Cookie Monster's voice. It will teach them numbers, although, they should know numbers by age 4...
If you aren't looking to make an immediate purchase, the Omate TrueSmart watch works out very well.
Still a few bugs to get sorted out with the current developer edition, but it is a phone with GPS and a few other niceties in a watch form factor making it difficult for a child of that age to lose.
Thirty four characters live here.
He's freaking 4 years old, he doesn't need a phone !
What is so important to you that you choose to leave your kid? Whatever it is, stop! These are the years during which your kid will confuse batteries with gear wheels! The years where he will think cars are magical things that make the world move around him, and where nothing quite makes sense, although it somewhat seems to him like he does. If you blast him with "daddy on a phone", and a "phone that plays games when you touch it", as well as other complicated concepts to infants, you will most likely damage his development and understanding of the world!
You should probably kill yourself and your child; just sayin.
Are you crazy? They should be under constant supervision and human interaction. Don't let them turn into zombies at that age.
Speaking as the parent of a former 4-year-old, I don't think this is going to work the way you imagine. You're better off getting an adult to help your son initiate a Skype call on a computer or tablet. A preschooler simply doesn't have the cognitive ability to read and respond appropriately to error messages and prompts, nor will he have the attention span to carry the phone everywhere on the off chance that you'll call. And, once the call comes through, it will be hit and miss as to whether he would actually respond the way you hope (it's not unusual to see a child of that age say "Hi!" to a close relative over Skype and wander off - they don't mean to be offensive, it's just that it's hard for 4" screen to compete with whatever draws their attention in the real world). That said, I understand your desire to be in touch as much as possible and hope you can figure something out.
My step-son keeps in touch with his grandmother and cousins using his iPod Touch. It is the 5th gen version. It has great Facetime and Skype support. They are around $300 but you don't have to pay for a contract. He also has a cheap cellphone to call when football practice is over but a 4 yr old doesn't have that need.
NO.
Not only would I recommend against doing this entirely, but there is no phone that can actually do what you're asking. Some phones can do parts of what you'd like, but are you really going to trust a smartphone to a 4 year old child who does not have the capacity to understand what the device in their hands is capable of? Here is a better idea -- give the person who is chaperoning your child the phone and have them schedule with you to allow your kid to chat with you when you're away. When they are in school, there is no reason to have a phone. The teachers and administrators of the school have phones if there are emergencies. Not to mention that some schools flat out disallow it or confiscate such items. Don't read this as completely negative, its just feedback based on what I've seen. I didn't have a personal phone until I was in college. I'm not suggesting that at all, but not at 4 years of age. Maybe double that is reasonable.
Seriously dude/dudette, if you give a 4 year old a mobile phone, you are part of the problem.
Don't be that guy!
If you really want to get your kid a phone, get one by Fisher Price. The one with the googlie eyes is a classic.
If you're really serious, get them a wall mounted device that can do basic video chat on your internal network. It can double for a simple game system as well and can play videos. Keeping it out of their hands will prevent damage (unless they like to throw objects).
A Nokia phone is the only thing that will survive a 4 year old. Now teaching someone how to use a phone before they've even learned to read is another matter entirely, as is the issue of what kind of a parent would want a 4 year old to have a phone, since at that age the kid shouldn't be away from the parent for any length of time. It begs the question of how involved the person asking the question really is with this child, and their motivations for giving them a device whose express purpose is remote communication at a time where being remote, either physically or emotionally, is considered by most to be child abuse.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
First - get a used smartphone that isn't on a contract. Your kid *WILL* lose it at some point. If you're lucky, you'll find it in short order.
My daughter just turned 9, and as her birthday present, we (re)activated the hand-me-down iPhone 3G that she had been using as a "glorified iPod touch" for a few years. The "Find my iPhone" service was wonderful, although since the conversion to iCloud (from MobileMe,) Find my iPhone has stopped accepting iOS 4 devices (and the iPhone 3G can't be upgraded beyond iOS 4.) We're probably going to try to get her an iPhone 4 for Christmas used. (Her brother just went off to college, and he has an iPhone 4, so FaceTime is a big draw now.)
To my knowledge, though, there is no way to limit functionality to "exclude" certain things by time on iOS - only disable them completely, or lock it down completely to one specific app. (So you could lock it so that it is only in FaceTime.) But even that is limited, as it forces the iPhone to remain on the whole time - a definite battery drain.
I do not know if there are Android apps that call for what you are asking. But to be blunt, nobody designs a smartphone for 4 year olds.
Get an iPod Touch. It isn't a phone but does video conferencing with facetime. There are a lot of kids apps for it as well.
If you need to get in touch with him, call his sitter or day care and ask if they will put him on the phone. No way in hell a 4 year old needs a phone.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
http://www.fisher-price.com/en_US/brands/laughandlearn/products/38776
You're welcome.
A witty saying proves you are wittier than the next guy.
Go find yourself one of those old nokia phones. Preferably, get one with that still has an antenna. I guarantee he cant break it, you rarely need to charge it, and because it has an actual antenna you can get service even if he happened to be in Antarctica. Truly the best option if communication is your only goal.
I've got friends who have 2 and 3 year olds that can use iPads. (in suitably armoured cases).
They play with other things, but they can quite proficiently use the tablet - and in at one case, could do so before they could talk.
In one case, the kid talks to her dad all the time on the iPad in FaceTime. That's because Dad has to travel to make money - and that's just a reality. Props to him for having kids. The world needs more smart people.
These kids will turn out fine. A phone isn't going to fuck up a kid.
My advice: Get your kit a tablet and put one of those armored goo-tolerant cases on it. If there's times when they shouldn't use it, explain it's not available. This seems very straightforward.
Classical kid-activities and technology are not mutually exclusive sets.
..don't panic
A 4-year old shouldn't have a phone...how old were you when you got yours? just get the kid a Skype acc't. Or...actually spend some time with him. How did this even make Slashdot?
This is fake. It has to be fake. It it's not fake, the authorities should be visiting your house.
> because he's got other things to do, i
Really? His days are booked? All those board meetings are interfering with, you know, BEING A FOUR YEAR OLD.
No four year old should have their own mobile phone. Not one.
Skot Nelson music is my saviour / i was maimed by rock and roll
Why did you have the kid if you can't be with him? Seriously, don't fuck his head up with a phone at that age. If you can't be with him, make the best of when you can, or stop choosing whatever you chose instead of him. Your fault if he grows fucked up.
Listen, the kid's mother is a cunt, OK? There, I said it. A year ago she decided she was a lesbian and that our son would not grow up under the influence of a "misogynistic pig". OK? The reason we can't Skype is because her and her fat flabby "she-husband" run around the house naked. So go fuck yourself and your self righteous bull shit, you fucking asshole.
You need technology to free up more of your time so you can spend it with him.
Perhaps automation can help?
Futurist Traditionalism
I understand you want to keep in touch, but I'm at a loss for why this needs to be a mobile device, particularly one that a 4 (!) year old is likely to use, and that's not even approaching the problems with having a 4 year old use a multipurpose device like this.
Perhaps it would help to clarify why this has to be mobile? Why do you need to bug him at school? If he's at a home, why is Skype insufficient? Why is using a mobile device required? He will forget to charge it, lose it, and be unable to use for anything else if you lock it down.
Fisher Price. The classics endure.
This must be a joke, right? You are not seriously proposing to establish a dedicated video line to your four year old so you can chit-chat about how is his day in the kindergarten progressing? Leaving alone the absurdity of the idea of granting a toddler unsupervised access to a telecommunication device, have you even thought about how capable this spawn of yours is in properly maintaining and handling an electronics device? Things lake taking deliberate care not to drop it (or not to throw it at random people for fun), making sure it is charged and up to date, being capable of acknowledging the device operating state (network connection for example) or malfunctions like the ones the Li-Ion battery will experience after after being banged on the ground, chewed and then peed on. These are things that are not at all intuitive to a four year old.
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=toy+phone&client=firefox-a&hs=50p&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=cupIUse4D-qKiQfk4YDgBQ&ved=0CFQQsAQ&biw=1242&bih=681&dpr=1
Enter your credit card details in advance so that he can buy "smurf-berries" or "gems" in an emergency.
Don't bother with insurance, it's a waste of money.
Obviously you have a whole box of screws loose, and have no mental capacity to raise a child. Please contact your local Child Protective Services office immediately.
This is the obvious solution to the problem.
Seriously. No 4 year old needs his own phone. Do your fucking job.
I have a 4 year old that knows how to FaceTime, knows where to look at in contacts and knows who is who. You can lock the phone down. I'm assuming you are traveling or getting divorced and reserving judgment unlike most on here.
Shop around for a good deal on a lot of fifty phones. A four year old will lose them, drop them in the toilet, throw them away, throw them at the dog, and every other conceivable way to get rid of a phone because he's four years old and cannot comprehend the notion of external value. So, if you are hell bent on doing this, buy at least fifty phones so you won't spend all your time shopping for another phone. I assume you must be rich to even be asking this question in the first place.
Ok, let me try, too:
First, there's something called Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), a measure of how much non-ionizing microwave radiation a phone emits (check the manual and current standards).
I've seen a few of these manuals state a phone shouldn't be used by a kid under 6.
That said, and to solve your problem, here's what I would/will do (I got a 3-year old myself):
a) get a tablet without a cell chip -- my understanding is that wi-fi is way less powerful (and dangerous);
b) or get a phone and use plane-mode to let your kid play previously downloaded games;
c) or combine a and b to get a hot-spot connection.
Good luck.
A 4 year old shouldnt have a phone, a 14 year old shouldn't have a phone. We really need as a society to get off the cell phone kick. Very few of the people who have a phone need one.
If you read the comments on Facebook you will see it has it's share of problems, however:
The Nabi is an Android tablet aimed at kids including 4-year-olds. It has age-appropriate software and parental controls that let you lock it down and install Skype. All the child needs is a wi-fi connection and a parent to help set up and explain.
(Flame war tags: Facebook, Android, lock down, child, age-appropriate, parent, Skype)
My first computer was an Apple ][e from a garage sale at the age of eight (circa 1993) and it took me very little time (maybe a year) to figure out how to dial up the local freenet on my 1200/300 baud (couldn't get a stable connection at 1.2 kbaud!) modem, register an account with a completely fabricated credit card number and fictitious identity (I recall I specified my address as 123 Pooskin Rd.), and enjoy several months of access to lynx and pine. Ah, the good old days...
Of course, when my parents found out, they freaked out and made me call up the freenet folks and apologize. I pretended to leave a message on their answering machine but (thanks to text files I'd read) I knew to put my finger on the "hang-up" switch while reciting my apology and explanation. The account worked for several more years (bless those techno-anarchists' hearts for recognizing a kid in need), but my dad went ahead and purchased PPP dial-up service shortly afterwards to prevent any more "incidents."
The moral of this story? If your kid needs mobile LTE internet, better give him a phone. Otherwise, he's going to get an early start on subversive behavior, perhaps stealing other people's phones.
Fisher Price is the only maker of a phone you should give to a 4-year old.
Your 4 year old doesnt need a phone asshole.
If you mean you can't keep in touch because you're a business traveller or divorced or something, get a laptop with a webcam, or a tablet, and have him leave it at home. If you want video games, get a DS or something... It's better at games than the phone will ever be, and the times when he's not allowed to game are easily managed by not letting him have it (or open it, or whatever) during those times.
If you mean to keep in touch during the day... Please don't. At this stage in his development he needs to learn how to live without his parents a couple hours at a time.
The kind that takes 14 years to deliver. You know, like when your kid is old enough to legally enter into a contract with a cell phone provider.
It lets you put controls on the phone, so he cannot use the phone when he is at school or any specified hours. It is well supported on any android phone. You can see who he is talking with, texting (if he does :)) and when. You can also see how long he is playing a game. You can selectively allow
him to talk with only specified people and use specified apps.
Similar features can be found on Sprint network, with Sprint Mobile Controls.
If you happen upon a used iPhone, such as a hand-me-down from someone that upgraded to the newest shiney, you likely can find a good deal on an older 3g or 4 model.
Then you can use the free enterprise/IT software iPhone configuration utility (Link is to the Windows version, but there is a Mac version as well)
This will let you create policies to push to the phone to limit resources and lock settings down.
You can give it a fixed set of contacts that can't be modified (for you and other close family),
limit facetime calls and data usage to avoid extra charges on your cellular bill,
lock the apple store to varying levels (including completely - highly recommended if you link it to your own itunes account!),
as well as enforce other app and setting limits.
The idea is normally an IT department would get in a batch of phones, link them all to the company itunes account, and push predefined settings and limitations. Then they are assigned to employees.
In this case, just think of it as crazy detailed parental control settings.
It also provides for IT department control during use, where it would be inconvenient to get your hands on the device. You can push apps to it if/when needed, to location finding and locking, etc.
You can even go all advanced and set it to keep a permanent VPN to an openvpn server you run, so you can reach the phone as long as it has some form of 3g or wifi connectivity.
Personally I couldn't really recommend purchasing a new iPhone for a 4 year old, but if your the one that ends up with the relatives old computing gear, free would be a good deal to take advantage of.
The only other functional equivalent setup for a smartphone that I'm aware of would be a Blackberry device... But unfortunately this needs way more always-on infrastructure on the back end to even make work, such as the blackberry information server, and something to link that to such as an exchange server. Not too many people have that already setup however.
I've not yet found any such equivalent software features for Android.
Assuming it does and it's something you can run without a full IT department of resources behind it, the phone itself might be a more attractive option to purchase new or used.
Lastly, if you are willing to drop the video conference call requirement - dumb phones would be a perfect fit for a child.
They have some pretty rugged models out there for very cheap, so losing $25 on the phone isn't as big of a deal if it gets lost, stolen, or broken.
Just be mindful of data connections (aka avoid that cell plan option if you can!)
Todays dumb phones seem to purposely go out of their way to rip people off in data charges.
Most phones these days have dedicated "mail" and "web" buttons that can not be disabled, will always charge the minimum 1 minute of data usage no matter how fast you exit the app by slamming the end button (something you may remember to do, but your child will not), and they seem to locate these always-on rip-off buttons right around the most common functions such as send/end/ok and the dpad.
IMHO a lot of models are also lacking in the parental control department, so do your research before buying a model.
Good luck!
When my son was 4 I gave him my Droid Incredible, which was deactivated when I upgraded. He liked it, and would play angry birds sometimes. He also took pictures (the camera isn't great but it's better than pretty much any kid's camera available) and listened to music on it. It was pretty impressive the way he customized the device, too.
My friend gave his son, who is a little younger, an iPod Touch and an iPad around the same time. I know his son uses his devices more than mine.
Contrary to the bulk of these responses, both children were up to the task of having and caring for a modern touchscreen device. You'll want to slap on a good case, and you need to know you can trust your child with it, but they're fine.
As for the recommendation... Well, this is an area where Android is playing catch-up with iOS. iOS has lots of parental controls so you can lock down default apps and prevent installation of unauthorized apps. I don't think either OS is particularly easier to learn, but the ability to control some aspects of the OS might make this an easier sell to the child's other parent, or just easier to monitor for you. If you get an Android device, I suggest you get one that can use the user profile features in Android 4.3 (it was added in 4.2 but there's more control in 4.3.)
However, I'm not sure a phone is really necessary. In fact, I think a phone would be more likely to be dragged around when not needed and more easily lost. It's more likely to become a nuisance. Since your son won't be with you, you have to consider the people he will be with. You don't want the device to become a problem and be taken away.
I would suggest an older device, this way it's less of a loss if it's broken or lost. At this point, you could easily get an older iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. A first generation Nexus 7 isn't a bad choice either. I'd go with one of the tablets, personally. They're better for video chats.
Any reason why you cannot make arrangements with said 4 year-old's guardian to have conversations with him/her? This is quite ridiculous.
Blogologue's 3.9 year old son wants a phone, but doesn't know how to ask daddy for it. So he hacked blogologue's /. account and posted the question. Later he is going to spike his coffee, and make him think he wrote the post himself during a late night of slashdot reading.
That makes the most sense.
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
There are a number of child-hardened Android tablets (mostly against drops). They aren't cell phones, but if you have wifi available it might work for you with Hangouts or some other videochat app. You'd save the monthly fee and accidental 911 calls.
Nabi Jr is the one we have, for 1 and 2 year old. The toddler mode won't communicate, but parent mode does. I suspect the Nabi and other tablets with interfaces for older children have more capabilities even in the locked down mode.
To answer your questiong in lieu of judging you, giving you parenting advice, and prying into your personal life (as everyone else seems to be doing) I would suggest this. LG Migo VX1000 is very robust, can dial 4 pre-programmed numbers, and also 911.
:)
Smart phone and video chat is probably out of the question for a few years. At 4 years old I would be concerned he's too young to even handle a device like a Migo. Be prepared for lots of accidental calls to 911
Best of luck with everything!
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I'm a firefighter, my wife's a paramedic...we're away from our kids (not simultaneously) for 24 hours each shift.
Facetime is a wonderful thing for when one of them needs, well, a little facetime with whatever parent is at work. They get to chat with grandparents as well.
We bought a couple of refurbed iPod touches, put them in otterboxes, threw a few apps on them, and handed them over. They can facetime us as long as they have wifi (at our house, family, close friends), their texting is limited to iMessage and locked down to the existing contacts...this way they have an opportunity to learn proper etiquette and manners about the phone and texting and pictures.
They're 7 and 8, have had this for two years, and they're not little tech junkies. Also, I'm not paying an extra $40 per month per kid for connectivity that's only occasionally necessary.
I'd say a flipphone configured to only be able to call you, but the hinge will most likely be broken by a kid that age.
They don't need a "smart" phone at that age. (Though I could enter an argument in saying they don't need a smart phone at any age, but I would probably be shot down here)
They sell those for like $80 and you can throw them on the ground and they don't break. I'm not sure why your 4-year-old would need one since most 4-year-olds need parental supervision but I suppose "life" is all that's needed for explanation. Phones don't fry brains and they don't disrupt growth. However, TV/Games can cause ADD/ADHD if used a lot during the brain's development (prior 21), although it can be overcome through strict discipline. Just weed the fact from fiction and you should be fine.
No.
Google research into rat experiments with cell phones. Your child is in his developmental years, the microwave radiation could cause him damage. He is too young to know to hold it away from his head or use speakerphone. Buy him a laptop and skype him. This way he can see his dad and it won't turn his brain to mush.
Does anyone remember the 90s movie Richie Rich, where he had that crazy GPS/video phone system that let him video chat with his dad? This guy just wants that for his son, just mobile. Still though, I would never trust a 4 year old to not destroy a phone.
Uh. The kid is like...FOUR!
Not saying they're too stupid to use a phone or too irresponsible to keep/maintain one.
But they're four years old.
Try to remember back to the time when YOU were four.
Remember how adult and responsible and totally "with it" you were?
Kinda tough eh?
If you want to keep in touch with your rugrat, talk with his care provider and look at possibly setting up a computer with Skype or something.
But a phone at that age is just way too much, way too soon.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Kid probably has wifi at home so why not just give them a tablet? My son can make skype calls when he wants. Usually netflix. There is a time for everything, and my son is very active and always outdoors. Not teaching your children how to use technology well is stupid. My son uses Scratch to make simple programs, can't even read yet! Your kids will be the slow ones in class.
Your 4-year old will stick around the home most of the time anyway. Get him a WiFi iPad. Lock it down, put some games on it, call through Facetime.
Avoid that Android stuff, it is way too hackable and not nearly as easy to lock down. 4-year olds are crafty IT demi-gods.
If programs would be read like poetry, most programmers would be Vogons.
As something for gaming and learning it could be useful, and could provide a way of contact with the right app. But please, that it won't be his only toy, a lot if learned by touching and feeling things and textures, and using and abusing devices with a flat cold surface could harm his development, no matter how attractive are for them.
facetime works great. no need for monthly charge. Also, giving a 4 year old a phone is like giving dog a bone - it will be lost soon enough.
there are a lot of education games, especially for that age.
I really don't see the purpose in giving a mobile phone to a kid who cannot read; just getting them to use it properly and be able to interpret problems with it in a coherent manner would be a huge barrier. Besides you don't want him using it while in school; so why not get him a tablet to keep at home for your videoconferencing?
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
Ask Slashdot: Which video card for my great-grandmother?
They are simple and work great, and he can factime or skype w/you on it or on an ipad.
If you are ok w/him just having access to wifi instead you can get a latest gen ipod which is an iphone w/out the cellular radio. ipads work great too, a mini would be just right for that age.
Just like when we were kids.
As others have mentioned, arrange a time and have an adult help your child use Skype (or something along those lines). After all, you need to keep in touch with your child. You don't need to be able to contact them 24/7, nor do they need to contact you 24/7.
The benefits of this approach are enormous. It is much less expensive. You don't have to worry about the phone being lost or broken. You don't have to fret about them using it at inappropriate times since it is much easier to monitor a computer (or livingroom game console if you let them play video games). It will be easier to encourage them to get out and play with friends, or to play with toys that they manipulate physically. That's important, since toys encourage more imagination than games (or videos, or books for that matter). Scheduled calls also help to establish routines, rather than impulsive behaviours.
Think about it.
Why should the child die?
Don't get HIM a phone. If you must, get a phone that you hand off to his teachers/day-care/babysitters when you aren't around, so you can call in an emergency and so they can call you from a number you recognize in an emergency.
Once you've established that it will be adults in control of the phone, just get any old phone that can do video chat and which is on your network.
But a 4 year old with a phone in his possession, for him to be responsible for? Unless you have very unique requirements and a very responsible almost-4-year-old kid, this is probably not a good idea.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
I would be more concerned about exposing a younger human to rf radiation than anything. I would say no don't get him one. Maybe set up a land-line instead.
Stupid article nets stupid comments. IF YOU ARE SMART ENOUGH TO READ THIS WEBSITE, YOU SHOULD BE SMART ENOUGH TO PICK YOUR OWN DAMN PHONE, INSTEAD YOUR DESIRE FOR 15 MINS OF INTERNET FAME CAUSED YOU TO PUT YOUR DICK ON THE TABLE TO GET CHOPPED OFF BY TROLLS.
My sympathy for the OP is at all time low. this thread should be called "bad parenting made easy."
I'm sorry to say this appears to be a sociological problem, and not a technological problem. I sympathize with your situation.
If I'm reading between the lines correctly, it sounds like you are not in full custody of your child, and the person who is, isn't allowing you the level of contact you want, so you believe giving the phone directly to your son will short-circuit the custodial guardian. It will not.
At four years old, a child is not nearly responsible enough prevent a cellphone/tablet from being lost or stolen, let alone realize the value of it. If your child was four*teen* this might be a different story.
Even then, there is nothing to prevent the child's current legal guardian from simply confiscating the phone anyway.
As much as you want to be in your sons life, asking a child to shoulder that level of responsible is not going to succeed.
Others have mentioned this, but the answer is no.
There is no phone suitable for a four year old, and there never will be.
Tech is not going to -fix- this. It could help, but I would recommend a more structured approach, i.e. a schedule, and another adult facilitating the connection.
Now, as to having him be able to get in touch with you when needed, unless things have changed drastically, or are different where he lives, you will find that schools do not allow students to have phones on their persons during the school day. If you are lucky, they will permit it, powered off, in the locker, which is hardly of practical use in situations where he would NEED it, and my kids did not get lockers until grade 6 or 7. Set him up with a phone at age 4, the schools will deprive him of it at age 6 or so, defeating the purpose, and causing unneeded stress.
Short answer, bad idea, for a lot of reasons, not the least of which it's just impractical.
-Red
And seriously, make time for him. This is not a substitute. It's a way to contact him on the weekdays.
So I didn't:
I lived on Mare Island Naval Shipyard at the height of the Vietnam War in 1968.
Well, actually I did cross the street, but just once.
Michael David Crawford, who can't be bothered to recover his password.
need a phone, he or she needs a human being from whom he can learn, to whom he can turn whenever he feels the need to, who will protect, comfort, and support him. If you can't be with him or her long enough, find someone who can. You sure aren't the only person facing this problem. Technology is not the solution you're looking for, after all we're talking about raising a human being.
Get him one with an app that will. Give instruction on how to avoid creating. Sentence fragments. ;)
My nephews and nieces are doing just fine with an iPod Touch. It's basically just an iPhone without a cell radio, and they have WiFi anywhere they'd want to use it. You can pick those up for $199.
My 4-year-old has his own 7" Kindle Fire HD. The 8.9" is a bit too bulky for most little hands. It has excellent parental controls and, with a subscription, a large variety of books, apps, and shows he loves to explore. Best of all, you can set a daily time limit on each kind of media. I know I don't care how many ebooks he reads. I installed Skype on it and gave him access so he can call Grandma, any of his uncles or aunts, or me when I'm on the road for work. It's about the same as an iPod Touch.
Whatever you get, make sure you set rules and limits. It can't just be a free-for-all.
There is a difference between "insightful" and "inciteful" other than spelling.
Apart from all the twisted psychosocial stuff, the attention span issues, etc..,
I believe that at this point and with this kind of research questions being asked:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNNSztN7wJc&feature=player_embedded
(4 min and onwards - LONG) .. allowing a child anywhere near a source of modulated microwaves is irresponsible,
and for the supposedly well-informed slashdot audience, in my view borders on the criminal:
Time will tell what that kind of exposure will have done to us.. As adults, we can decide
for ourselves whether the risk is worth the benefits, but as children we cannot make such
decisions and we're supposed to have adults to protect us.
Even if you still believe that the research results are "inconclusive", and you're willing to take
the bet for yourself, this is just not a risk you take with a child!
I'd suggest you find an alternative technology..
WKR,
-f
There's the Jitterbug Touch 2. This is intended for seniors, but useful for kids. Big buttons and icons, limited functionality.
It doesn't do video calls, though.
You can lock a jailbroken iphone down pretty well. iblacklist can be used to whitelist numbers that can send or receive text messages or phone calls. Paired with the built in restrictions you can limit the phone to just what you want your child to be able to do.
I imagine it's far easier to do this on any android phone.
The only phone for a 4-yr old is full of candy.
When I was 4 I wasn't allowed to cross the street. WTF? Phone for a 4 year old? Then at 5, I had to stay on the block and play with the other kids, and the moms knew where we were. This was in the early 70s in suburbia. Today? 4??? WTF??? I wish we were being trolled; but we probably aren't.
I don't know what my sister did with my nephew when he was 4. If I had to guess, I'd say they piled into the car and got driven someplace for supervised play with other kids. I mean, seriously the kid needs a phone? Why not just hang a sign around his neck that says, "here pedos, fresh meat".
OK- that may or may not be true... but it wouldn't surprise me if it were true.
This guy proves there is a market.
I know there have been companies / people who have made real phones aimed at pretty young audiences.
It probably isn't appropriate to give a kid under the age of 8 or 9 a phone in most circumstances. I figure if they kid can't even be left home alone by themselves or be regularly left unattended / unsupervised for a few hours it makes no sense to give them a phone.
With that I probably would argue that at least some 9 year year olds it would be appropriate to provide a cell phone and be left to fend for themselves to some degree (I'm not suggesting dropping off a 9 year old from the country in a big city and having him a cell phone mind you). But by the age of 9 I think kids should generally be expected to have some responsibility for themselves. I don't think I would have a problem leaving a 9 year old some place if he knows how to act (not be disruptive to others, etc), knows who to contact in an emergency (if he doesn't have a phone), knows who to contact if he does have a phone, how get back home, etc. Obviously some 9 year olds are too immature, have emotional issues, and/or other problems which may be hindering growth/development. I don't buy that there is a significant threat (TV has a way of making you think monsters are around every corner) that would offset the value of giving a child independence. Independence is important to growing up and maturing. As long as there is no *actual* or clear danger (such as a really dangerous neighborhood maybe) let kids go out side, let them explore, etc. If there is a danger it is your job as a parent to educate. If they actually do get hurt thats called life, that is called unfortunate. It's not a good reason though to eliminate opportunities for a kid to grow up. To be a mature adult you need that independence, you need that opportunity to learn to make decisions (right or wrong), you need that opportunity to f'up.
And it doesn't start at 9 either. You need to give a 2 year old that opportunity, a 4 year old, etc. Work up to 'drop the kid off in a city center' point (and little things like dropping them off with other kids to play with is an example of something that would probably be appropriate for a 2-4 year old, it may not be 'no ones watching', but it is an opportunity for teaching social interaction, and getting them comfortable being left without a parent, etc). If you haven't started at a young age it's obviously not appropriate to drop them off in a city, left to fend for themselves, and find there way back home. At 9 though your typical kid aught to be able to know off top of their head an emergency contact #, be able to read a map, read at an age appropriate level period, cross the road safely, maybe even take a bus/subway/train/etc (obviously it would not be possible to do this though if your kid has never even visited a city/or major city, but I think most parents with a bit of money, have that option to provide that opportunity).
I'm thinking, one of those phones for old folks, with big buttons. Alternately, I saw an ad for a phone a long time ago made specifically for young children. It had two big buttons -- "Mom" and "Dad". Probably would be considered not inclusive enough in this day and age.
My daughter got her first phone at eleven. I only regretted it once, when she loaned it to a friend who racked up $100+ in text charges. It took her a long time to pay that off from her allowance.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Just so you know, I am a Stay At Home Dad and have been nothing else for 20 years. When Marissa Miller pulled the plug on working at home it was this sort of half halfheartedness that she was shaking out of Yahoo's business model. If your are working, then work and give either your employer or customers your complete attention. If you find yourself unable to separate from your child then stay home. You can't do both. Don't lie to yourself and your child that a cellphone is a replacement for your being there. It's not. When I married my wife we decided that childcare was of paramount importance. Since she was a well paid professional and I was a struggling student (Yes, I got that lucky), I stayed home. The son went to school in the day and I went at night, or he stayed with family. Yes, Family! You didn't disturb Mommy; Auntie, or Grandma, or Uncle or me or whoever took care of what needed doing. There was somebody who's job it was, and is, to take care of my son. As more children arrived my duties - Think about that word for a moment - Duty; ... my duties have continued. And by the way, Yes, that means I finally didn't finish my degree. Instead, I am there for my children. Yes I've had to sacrifice to do that. My children are worth it.
A 4 year old is not able to handle a phone and is too young to be allowed to make the judgement of when to call you. They need to know to call 911 in an emergency and stay on until help arrives - unless there is a fire, then they get out! Go to someone trusted and have then call for help. That is it. They should be cared for 24-7 and their caregiver will make any calls needed. If you can't trust your child's caregiver to make every fucking decision that needs to be made get another caregiver or do it yourself ! A cell phone will quickly become a stick to bully whomever is the caregiver. "If you don't give me more ice cream I'll call daddy and he'll be angry at you"
Save your money and send your kid to a good school. I always recommend a Montessori if at all possible. You will learn that one of the first steps to raising a healthy, happy and independent adult is having them learn to separate. They start to learn this at about 4. Yes you go away, and yes you come back. At school they learn to operate as a member of a society with rules and responsibilities. With family you learn to be part of a family. A mutually dependent social structure. That means every member needs every other. This is what you want, to raise a good person.
- Agree a time with your child and their guardian, once/twice+ a week
- Phone them, on a LAND LINE
- Talk to them.
Now your child knows exactly when you will call, and, so will you.
You will both be in the right frame of mind to talk, as you actually planned this.
Using a mobile, especially at 4 years old is idiotic parenting at its greatest.
- Dont force your child into bad habits so early.
- Dont make them become obsessed with the mobile phone (always checking it for updates)
- Dont give them a mobile (games console) that they can play "whenever they want"
- Don't ruin this childs life. If you cant, you would be wise to let the child go from both your lives.
No. He's fucking 4 years old. He should be out playing, making mud pies, scraping his elbows, shit like that.
It sucks you can't see him as much as you'd like, I'll grant you. But he's a fucking four year old.
4 years old ? I think u meant 14 right ? Well ... if you made a kid and u can't be with ur kid because you choose work or because you separated and you can't make sacrifice for being nearby then I don't think a MOBILE for a 4 YEARS OLD is the solution.
I think the less egocentric and self righteous thing to do is to get out of the way and let someone that can be the father of the kid. You may be able to remote desktop from work but you cannot ... wait ... CANNOT ... anyway to make this bigger ... C.....A.....N.....N.....O.....T remote parenting. So get out of the scenery and let someone be a father for the kid. Lucky for him at 4, he might be able to forget you. BUT HE WILL NOT FORGET A BRAIN TUMOR.
My two pennies...
Or at least it had better be a troll!
Because if any parent is ignorant and irresponsible enough to think that a cell phone is a good idea for a four year old, then it is probably a very GOOD thing that said parent is not allowed near the child.
What else can you expect from a brain-fried fool?
So, for the hundred and one reasons, (animal, vegetable and mineral), already described by other Slashdotters for why this is such an incredibly bad idea..,
I hope you are kept far away from that child.
I know that sounds harsh, and it is, but honestly! The level of ignorance, self-delusion and selfishness required to think that this is in any way an even remotely good idea is utterly astounding.
Give your head a damned shake and think of your child first.
This seems as good a time as any to remind people not to believe everything they read, that there are trolls on the Internet, and responding to them only encourages them.
This is all summed up in the ancient Internet nugget-o-wisdom "please do not feed the trolls".
Cheers for now.
It's unfortunate that you can't be with the kid, but who is this idea of a phone about - is it about the kid or you, because do you really think that a kid is four year old can really understand that this is a compromise and accept it? Do you really think that child who does not yet really understand the concept of independent actors will incorporate a video-dad properly into their life when real-dad is missing out on major events?
No phone.
-- A change is as good as a reboot.
Reading through the comments, it seems most people are questioning the wisdom of giving a 4-year-old a smartphone, rather than just answering the damn question. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you've already made up your mind about giving the kid a phone and truly are at a loss for which phone to choose.
Sorry to say, but you're really just overthinking this. The best smartphone for a 4-year-old is one that is compatible with the carrier you intend to use it on, has decently protective cases available and isn't so expensive that the world will end if the kid drops/breaks it. Since you neglected to mention carriers, I'll just pick a few phones that are along the lines of what you might want.
T-Mobile / AT&T: Unlocked Samsung Rugby Smart SGH-I847
It's $150 on Newegg and is a tough, water resistant phone smartphone.
Verizon:
For durability's sake, a Kyocera Hydro Elite would be ideal, but Verizon wants $350 for it. If Verizon is your carrier, you're probably best off shopping for a second hand phone.
Sprint:
Kyocera Hydro
It's $220 from Sprint without re-upping a contract and Boost Mobile (Sprint's prepaid division) has it for $160.
There are plenty of parental control apps in the Google Play store and it's not like you generally have to worry about a 4-year-old hacking their way around them. If iOS is your platform of choice, you're pretty much looking at a minimum of an iPhone 4 in a LifeProof case. As things typically go, Android is the less expensive option.
---
DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
Price
I'm going to assume that this isn't just a troll post. It is a pretty freaking ignorant question.
Wearing every single one of my hats (teacher, parent, part-time academic in linguistics (and, in particular, child language acquisition), techie, etc.), I'm going to claims some authority when I say this: DO NOT GET YOUR 4YO A PHONE. Mostly I'm adding to the chorus above, so I'm not going to bother rehashing the reasons against that everyone has already given, but I will add a couple more in dot points:
@ We have enough problems with the social reliance on phones in adulthood, but in early adolescence it's a disaster, let alone infancy. For adolescents, phones bring with it all sorts of problems like increased risk of cyber-bullying, exposure to age-inappropriate content, and problems with Google/Apple sponsored apps^h^h^h^hscams. There is no good way to stop this for teenagers, so how are you planning to stop it for a toddler?
@ Remote parenting does not work, and fairly consistently causes problems - you know all those parents whose Dads were at work until late at night? How did they turn out?
@ There is no type of "play" involving a phone that isn't better done by a kid, physically, in the real world. A block sorting game on a phone? Brilliant, why not do it in real life?
I'm going to skip all the drama-llama posts, and assume you have a good reason and are getting a kid a phone for a good thought out reason. This is tech advice, too many people yell what someone posts 'do my network admin job for me by finding software' are ready to post telling a parent how to do their job. Seriously, /. basement dwellers, you aren't in the OPs shoes, so suck up your uninformed advice and get over yourselves. You don't have a kid? Best way to announce your advice on them is useless.
So why not something that's basically useless for games, internet, etc and is just a phone? Pre-paid flip phone (with the java/flash UI crap, not just a phone book) might still encourage a 6 year old (phones last a while, especially if it's the magic device that lets a kid talk to dad) to do texts and get those nasty java games. And sign up for ringtones and other BS
TL;DR? Jitterbug prepaid. Or one on those child tracker phones that don't have a dial pad, just 3 programmable numbers (usb port or something) and 'emergency' buttons. 6 year old might be bored with those, but for now, but for now, go with the simple and cheap and pre-paid. Then you get to watch the bill and if the time runs out before you put more minutes, then you know someone else is using it/
Why would a child NEED a phone, and giving he is a child, how can anybody expect him to use it only for emergency reasons ?
And of course there is the whole microwave issue.
What is wrong with you? You should be playing with the kid and building treehouses, not fucking around with electronic devices.
Please, for the health and development of your young child whose brain is growing by leaps and bounds at this age, they should avoid close contact with high frequency radio transmissions. A few minutes here or there may be okay, but not prolonged exposure is not pretty. They will abuse it for hours if left alone. Cellular is transmitted at 2.4 ghz. That is about a 2cm wavelength that some studies have shown to be particularly dangerous. You wouldn't want them to smoke cigarettes at that age would you ? Please be safe.
Technology is cheap and easily accessible, making it the ideal solution for most of our social interaction problems. No one knows what this real reasons are for not being able to see his kid, but why not write letters, include photos etc, someone should be there to read them to the child and the plus point is that they will have something to treasure from a parent that loves them.
A phone doesn't solve this problem. Please try (I know it's hard) to solve this problem and not the silly symptom of not being to able to skype with your kid. I know you miss him, but you really need to deal with this on another level. If your ex is uncomfortable with her kid skyping with his father because she's running around naked, maybe she should limit the times she runs around naked and you and your kid should limit the times that you two skype. It's not as if she can answer the door if she's stark and she is bound to have a solution for that already.
I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
Admittedly it has a UK bias, but this phone is entirely suitable for a 4yo.
A REAL one? You want to fry the poor little sprogs brain? Leave them open to predators?
It seems that your priorities are completely wrong. Time to rethnk your work/life balance.
If the phone you get him costs more than five cents to replace and activate, you're going to regret this. He will lose it at least once a week. He's four.
I've got trouble getting my 10 year old to use a phone -- I can't see how you'll accomplish it with a 4 year old without surgery...
I can see the point of the situation, but you don't want a 4yo carrying around a phone to kindergarten. It's simply common sense to save the phone calls for when the child is home - no bullying, smaller chance of breaking the phone or getting it full of sand in the sand pit, no disrupting the "lessons", need I go on?
So with school time out of the equation, things should get quite a lot simpler. Your child will no longer need a phone, since there will be a parent around with one.
any phone will do, just duck tape it to the back of the child's head , set the phone to auto answer on speaker phone and your ready to go.
http://cdn.iofferphoto.com/img/item/985/572/87/o_2DeyRlFrMivDa12.jpg (mine is still somewhere in the attic I believe ... or the basement ... after 40+ years ...)
Anything else means you're not fit to be a parent, IMNSHO ...
it would be good to be able to turn off for example games and so on during time in the kindergarten. So other kids don't go around asking their parents for a smartphone.
Of course other kids are going to go around asking their parents for a smart phone, because "It looks cool".
Assuming it gets that far without being broken or taken away by the parent/teacher.
Oh how poorly you seem to know kids?
http://www.datamath.org/Speech/MyOwnPlayphone.htm
I think the best phone for a 4 year old is an Dual gray Siemens.
Mount it in a zone safely reachable for the child, and teach him or her how to dial 113 for police, 115 for firefighters and 118 for ambulance.
For pepole outside Italy, change phone model and emergency numbers to local versions.
Seriously? The fact that you have to go onto a global forum to ask other people help you make a decision on which phone to buy speaks volumes. You need to grow a pair and make some decisions.
Some people should think twice before making children just for the sake of it. Stupid dummies...
None. a 4 year old does not need a phone.
Next on slashdot, " What tablet is the best for my cats?"
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
We SOOOOO need a genocidal natural disaster to thin out the herd.
We humans have completely gone bat shit crazy. I'm sure of it. We will be headed for self-destruction before you know it.
"Remote parenting does not work, and fairly consistently causes problems - you know all those parents whose Dads were at work until late at night? How did they turn out?"
GODDAMN RIGHT!!! We son't-of-bitches in this modern world COMPLETELY miss this FACT. Do kids turn out fine without both parents? Certainly. Ask any widow or widower. Ask anyone who has had their spose taken away for any reason. BUT we [in the US] tend to think that monogamy and marriage, if entered into, is temporary and disposable. FUCK THAT.
Dads, take back your family. I didn't. I lost. Be the man. Do what's right. Stop being a pussy. Don't be misogynistic, be a man.
Shit.
how the Slashdot crowd answers a technical question mainly with advice how to raise kids "right"...
Why is everyone so hostile?
I gave my daughter a Tab when she was 18month old and is now 40month old, she have been using it to play puzzel, memory, watch movies during cartrips.
Everyone think that the kid will only sit and play all day but she play with it in average 20min everyday (she are allowed to use it as much as she want, otherwise it become the grass on the other side of the fence.).
As long as you select what software you install on the tab it's actually making the kid learn stuff alot faster.
The only restriction she have is that she cant take it to bed as she don't fall asleep while watching movies on it.
One thing that might have a impact is the fact that she is at kindergarden 5-8hours 5days a week so most of the day she don't have access to the tab.
The fact is, most middle and high schools will suspend a child for using a cell phone during school hours. There's no way on earth a kindergarten or pre-school will be alright with a child carrying a cell phone that's not only on, but is also receiving calls from a parent. What will happen is the school will complain to the mother, who is in turn going to say "he/she shouldn't be talking to the father at school anyway". If the child's mother is truly a bad mother (and for other reasons than you not liking it because she's gay), or if you don't have any visitation, then get a lawyer. Yes, a man CAN get custody of a child. I've had full custody of my son for 8 years now, with two HOURS of SUPERVISED visitation with his mother because she actually is a bad parent. But you have to do it legally. If you want contact with your child so badly, move to the town the mother lives in, and fight for at least visitation. Unless YOU are a total fuckup, there's no reason why you can't at least see your child on weekends. If the reason is that you are too fond of where you live and you aren't willing to re-locate, then you don't really deserve to.
You can't start too early when it comes to establishing a credit score.
duh! if even that..
is part of the reason u would consider giving your kid a phone in the 1st place maybe.
Look more under the hood when u choose a woman or a plan to appears your kids loss.
& good luck btw, nobody deserves to be treated like that and maybe u are right to call her that.
I sympathize with the submitter: dude, your situation sucks. I know of a similar case. Why do so many women decide to have a kid before deciding they're lesbian? That sucks.
On to the phone: I've got young kids, and I'd personally choose the cheapest price (read: easy to replace) and strongest build quality possible. I'm thinking of something like a $20 Samsung clamshell. Put speed dial on the keys, so your kid long-presses "5" to reach you and "6" to reach grandma and "7" to reach social services (kidding, that last one, ha ha). 4 year olds are perfectly capable of understanding this.
On the other hand, that phone is going to get sand in it from the sand box, fall out of a pocket from the swings, and get peanut butter and jelly on the screen. It's going to fall into the bath tub and/or toilet approximately once a week, etc. My kids are 5 and 3 and you'd be amazed the things they do to electronics.
I'd not get the kid a smart phone, even if it has fun games. You want games, get him/her something else like a fun kid's tablet or an Xbox or something. Keep the phone a phone, so he/she can talk to you every day.
Bonus points: don't give the ex-wife the number. "I'm not a misogynist. I don't hate all women: I only hate YOU!"
If this were Usenet, I'd killfile the lot of you.
Whatever the reality is for this man and his ex, my heart breaks for this little boy.
public transportation across the city to go to the only good public school
available, and has a complicated and ever-changing after-school schedule,
then given the lack of pay phones today, having a mobile phone is
a pretty good idea.
Yes, this is first hand experience.
An iphone,
My 5 year old got one so we can call him and tell him to get his ass back for dinner. He is usually out of sight running around in our gated community.
Please watch idiocracy. Why are people still having children?
There are way too any people here, we should be going around living our lives and improving the world, not having kids. The world is populated enough, lets take a break from the procreation thing and focus on fixing our real problems.
Adding more children to the world, whose' parents turn to the internet for advice on getting their 4 year old a phone, frames the problem with our society perfectly.
I think my F light (look it up) feels way better than any of the pie I've been getting in my old age. I partially blame child birth, ouch, then rip, ouch, then a hot dog down a hallway. I understand the biological imperative to trick women into sleeping with us and I even remember feeling it, but after a few long relationships it's just the same shit over and over again.
Imagine yourself as a young child again, looking at hot coil on a stove, unaware of the danger that awaits you, stare at it, it looks so inviting and you want to reach out and touch it, then you do, OUCH! We learn quickly from pain, now that you know red hot coils can hurt you, you learn not to touch red hot things, now why do we not feel the same about woman? I know many can't remember thinking these things to themselves during their formative years, but some can, so know that everyone goes through this, even if you can't remember.
I know a ton of people will reply with hate to this but before you prove how awful you are please understand that society always shuns the people that speak up against public opinion. I urge you to really read what I'm saying, the earth is round, woops, I mean even though we feel the biological imperative to have kids, it doesn't make it right, why would you want to bring a child into an awful world like this anyway? We should consider that child abuse, I embrace technology like crazy, without it I surely would go nuts but that's because one step out in the world and all I can see is how awful people are to each other, and it breaks my heat and rips away my faith in humanity little by little, I don't have much left.
The murdering, stealing, and general awful things that have been happening through out time I can understand, its almost expected from the animals we are. I'm talking about how people get through there day by being complete pricks on the road, in stores, in restaurants, basically anywhere. There is just an utter disregard for other people, they seem to go out of there way to be awful to one another in such a way that if anyone called them on it, it would be easy to play ignorant and put the blame on the other person for bringing it up. Wait here is an example, setting, elementary school, a child will kick the desk of the kid in front of them over and over until they turn around and tell them to stop. Then this forces the teacher to discipline the victim playing right in to the aggressors hands. I see this tactic used all the time by adult, of course without desks and teachers the approach gets more creative but the basic idea remains. Maybe we should start doing test tube babies and genetically breading those who deserve to live because what we are doing with this gift called life is a waste. Let the hate begin.
Wow, really? I don't believe anyone should have a phone before age 18. This will teach your kid to be social around real people and not just via text message or facebook. If you give a kid a phone at 4 years old, that's just bad parenting. Seriously get over your fears. Human beings went without such connectivity for all of the time Mankind has been around until just the last 15 years. I know your kid will hate you when they are a teenager but you should be setting that expectation now while they are young that they will not be like those other kids and you will be raised properly.
Nothing except phone/video, and only accept calls from you and allow calls to you. If you allow any fun function, the phone will be drained of power at all times. Also, if it even looks fun (like a smartphone) his schoolmates will take it from him. Of course being 4, he'll lose it anyway.
Sure. Just like aspirin.
Eat them like candy and die a horrible bleeding death.
Or... you know... Indoor plumbing.
People slip and crack their skulls in the shower all the time.
Scary stuff.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
How about a iPhone 5c? /ducks
I see a lot of people saying the kid shouldnt have a phone at all. well sorry guys but 4 year olds are playing with parents phones already. I see no reason he cant have his own basic flip-tracfone with dad and mom's numbers and maybe grammy and grampas numbers programmed in there. Leave the phone at home when he is at pre-school and when he gets home if he wants to call dad then he can whenever he is feeling like he really wants dad with him. video chat is not always feasible depending on the job, but I see zero reasons why a 4 year old cannot have a tracfone while he is home. whether or not he actually would use it is one thing. and you may also be opening the can of worms that he will call you every 5 minutes to tell you about his poop. but if it makes you feel better to have that invisible tether to your blood then do it. but dont buy a smartphone duh. tracfone is $10 and serves the purpose you are after. if it breaks, no biggie, if the kid puts it in the toilet so you can hear the toilet flush, no biggie. either way...try to get back to your kiddo ASAP. children need their dads. and in the future they dont care how much money you made throughout their childhood, they want to know why joe's dad plays baseball and you dont. they want to know why lisa's dad takes her rollerskating and you never did. which brings me to my last point. DONT HAVE CHILDREN YOU KNOW YOU CANT SPEND TIME WITH BECAUSE YOU WORK IN A STUPID CAREER FIELD>
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pagophone2008_03_13_22_36_58.jpg
Is no phone at all.
I see that many people are busy trolling and debating a situation they really know absolutely nothing about. Not a great surprise, but sad none the less. I hope you will eventually reach this post.
I am a father of 4. My first child is about 8 and lives with her mother, as we decided we could not make each other happy. And a happy parent is one of the best things you can give your child. We went separate ways when the child was about 2½. I have my remaining 3 children with my current partner and we are very happy family - though I will admit that having 3 kids under the age of 4 is often hard work. Worth it, but still hard.
My first child visits us every 2 weeks, and I miss her a lot in the time between visits. I have given her a (dumb)phone and a netbook. We use these to call each other whenever we feel like talking; but she does not bring the phone or netbook with her to school (and your kid should not bring such items to kindergarten either). I think you should focus on giving your child two different channels to communicate with you: a "featurephone" and something to Skype with - be it a netbook, tablet, or actual notebook. He/she will learn to use it faster than you think; and while a tablet is the easiest thing to operate, I went with a netbook so she could also use it to play edutainment-type games, real PC games, get her own iTunes account, surf YouTube, etc. My 3½ year old son plays TF2 and Titan Quest better than a lot of my coworkers even though we restrict his gaming-time. And he calls his grandparents on Skype by himself if he sees the online. So do not worry that the gear will be hard to use. Kids are natural talents when it comes to acquiring new knowledge and using tech.
She has had the netbook since she was three. It was a hit at first, but for communication we use the phone more often now. Things may be different for you if you see your kid less frequently. But the dual-device solution has really been the best for us. She has lost more than one phone (damage+misplaced) over that past couple of years, and going with a "featurephone" has kept the cost of replacing them down. And knowing that her phone can be replaced (without mom and dad yelling about how expensive they are) makes her less scared or carrying it around with her when she visits friends or other family. She knows that she has to take care of her phone but she is not scared to death of the consequences if it gets lost or damaged by accident. As she likely would with an iPhone or expensive Android phone. Remember: for a kid as "scary consequence" is not necessarily dad yelling about a lost phone. The prosect of not getting a replacement phone to call daddy could be just as terrifying.
My situation is a lot more privileged than yours - I am on good terms with my ex, and planning is never an issue. We don't call each other names behind each others back, we do not argue in front of any of the kids, and we work together to create a streamlined and coherent worldview.
Being a parent myself I sympathize with your situation though. I am lucky I do not have the agony of being on bad terms with my ex, but still ... I think I do understand better than many people here. So ignore the trolls and move on as best you can. Most of them have no idea what it feels like to really miss a child. They also seem to believe that if a couple splits up on bad terms it must mean both parents are idiots. It is surprising and sad to realize than none of them pause for a moment to consider, that statistically it is far more likely for only one of the parents to be a retarded screwup. And hey; maybe that's you in this case - I am not defending you as such. But I _am_ giving you the benefit of the doubt, and an answer you can hopefully use for something more than the trolls above.
In conclusion: Make it a priority to spend as much time with your child as possible. Never trash your ex around your kid, not even when she deserves it. Be the "good cop" constantly. Odds are your kid will figure out what is going
If the person the child is with most of the time isn't open to letting you call or skype with the child, this isn't going to help things. You can't give a four year old a phone and say this is yours no matter what mom/dad/grandparents say. The person who takes care of the child has complete and total rights to say the kid can't have a phone. If this is your issue, you need to solve it differently. Buying a phone and handing it to the kid will just complicate things further. If the issue is that there is limited access due to purely technical reasons, i.e. no internet in the home, caregiver doesn't have a phone that can be used for personal use, you might have luck getting a cellular enabled tablet. What you need to do is setup times you can call or skype with your son, with the person who is caring for him. Then you can figure out the devices to use. Handing a 4 year old a phone and saying keep this with you so I can call you isn't going to be a viable solution.
All the way. He'll love it!
get a pair of smart phones (that have simple Root Support) setup his phone with a small contacts list and a way to dial FROM THE CONTACT LIST ONLY when locked. Install RA software on his phone and set the lock code.
its either that or get him a Just Phone.
In any case i would install tracking software on the phone and tell him it installed.
This will come in handy when somebody asks "Its %time% do you know where your kid is??"
Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
I would suggest a Nabi Tablet. While the camera is not great on it, it does have Skype installed and have lots of great learning tools for kids that age and parental controls to limit the kids use. It is not a phone, it is a tablet, but I think it will work for what the posting is looking for.
...Caterpillar CAT B15, Sony Xperia, or the waterproof Samsung.
They are however not cheap and as such not good for at child that probably will lose it (sooner or later).
The other possibility is the cheapest possible smartphone but those are usually a pita in use.
I'm surprised how negative everybody is. I guess you are getting replies from people who don't have children at all. To them, a 4 year old equals to a 4 month old - the "kids" category.
I have a daughter who is exactly that age and she's damn good at handling the technology, and I know she could use one if she had it.
Actually I also have a good use case and reason why she probably should have it: we just moved to a foreign country. We have no friends or family here. My wife is pregnant. If something happens to her, my daughter is the only person who can alert me. So i'm also thinking of getting her a phone, something simple, maybe with SOS key to speed dial me.
Technology is here to help us. If you find a good use for it, use it.
I'm sure they can put you in touch with your kid .
An iPhone is the only reasonable choice for a four year old. A gold colored one at that so it doesn't get confused with the other pre-schooler's phones. You should also purchase an iPad II (with accompanying Apple Care contracts for each, btw) in case he wants to surf porn at day-care, or perhaps order a dildo on amazon. He won't need to burn up the battery on the phone for these things, so you'll still be able to contact him.
Really dude, if you are worried about your 4yr old needing to contact you in case of emergency, the make sure they're in the hands or responsible caregivers. If you ex-wife is a neurotic psychopath get the separation agreement amended for supervised visitation in an appropriate setting (eg: no, not your psycho wife's house). If you're just needing to spend a little more time with the kid, take a vacation day once in a while and spend the whole day with them. If you're close enough for it, go over and have lunch with them on your lunch break.
Stop equipping your kids with everything that blinks and makes noise.
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
I have seen a massive number of comments from well meaning people telling the OP that giving the toddler a phone is wrong. Please consider this advice to ignore those well meaning but short sighted comments. We gave our daughter her first cell phone at age 8, 20 years ago. She had specific requirements: it was to be in her locker during the day at school, or if she forgot, she was to leave it with the teacher for the class and get it back at the end of class. It was to be on, but set to silent/vibrate only to avoid disturbing others. It was a voice phone- the smartphones are a bit more of a distraction. Calls at that time were always charged against airtime minutes, and 1 hour on the phone was as much as one horseback riding lesson an easy choice for her to make. If she went to an event and we would have to pick her up, she was to have the phone with her and answer it immediately when we called to see where she was so we could find her. She had our cell phone numbers programmed into it, and if she went on a school trip, the chaperone's number and anyone else "in charge" were added. Her mom traveled 3 - 4 days a week for work and I ran IT for a 7 x 24 company which sometimes meant staying late or being heavily in demand, and she knew she could always reach me, and always be reached. The "right" parenting is what works for you, not what everyone else tells you is the way to do it. You will need to manage the use of the phone the same as we did, and set the rules appropriate to their use, the same as we set rules appropriate for our time and our daughter. Interspersed with the "don't do it" comments have been a few with decent suggestions on what to use, and I would agree - Lock in a contacts list and allow calls from the list. Teach them how to call you and make it easy to find with an icon/smartkey on the screen. Lock down the "play store" or Itunes store to parental consent, and teach the child never to accept a call from someone they do not know, or that is not in their contacts list, with a picture on the contact so they can identify the caller. Handle the phone and set their understanding of how it is to be used with the same concern you do any of the other parenting tasks, and tailor it to the child's needs and your plan for what they will be allowed to do with it.
Unless the battery is removed, they can still call emergency services. And once a toddler realizes someone will answer, they'll keep calling.
I'm in my right mind and I have the answer to everything!
First, just know that this whole thing is a terrible idea. That said, in the interest of being helpful, look into any modern Android phone (try some of these perhaps: https://ting.com/devices/buy). To get your scheduling, use an app called Tasker (http://tasker.dinglisch.net/).
Good luck, as a father of a separated 7 year old son down in VA (I'm in VT), know somewhat of how you feel. I think this will work out poorly for you, but I do hope I'm wrong.
Take the money you'd use to buy the smartphone to by a cheap netbook/tablet or a used laptop. Then get the internet wherever they happen to be. You can email, Skype for free, in a couple years when the kid needs a computer for classwork s/he will already have experience with one and there is mostly no issues with the kid being distracted at school or the kid's classmates wanting phones too since it would stay at home.
See Subject.
I have 6 y/o triplet boys, and they have had ipod touches since they were three. They have helped them learn to read, play games, and do all kinds of age appropriate stuff. More importantly, they can call me with facetime! The first time that happened unexpectedly I was surprised and proud... Now its actually helped in an emergency once when they locked themselves in their room, their mom was outside, and they called me while one of their brothers was climbing out on the roof to get her attention.
We don't allow them in the bedroom after bedtime, before or at school, and occasionally take them away for punishment. I wish we could time-lock them the same way you can OSX, but other than that, they have also been useful in teaching responsibility.
So the twat of a mom my kids have left when they were 18mo and 4yo, all the way across the country. Uncontested, I have the children 100% but realize that even though she is a twat, the children need to know her; they can make their own judgments as to her mental capability when they are old enough to on their own terms.
FaceTime (iOS) works great, they fully understand how to make outbound calls to their mom when it's the scheduled time and how to receive calls when she calls. My daughter (5 now) had the full grasp of the system when she was about 4. Regular phone (audio) calls don't work all that well with this age group as they are way to easily distracted by anything else they see in the room, video is where it is at if you want to establish some kind of connection with the person on the other end. You could get the kid an iPod Touch which has FaceTime built in and be done with it, and not have to worry about cell phone contracts, providing they are on wifi and you're an Apple user.
Posting AC because I'm a rare dad that has the kids and still live in constant fear of doing something that could ruin that.
There is something very, very, wrong here. I don't think we're being told enough of the story to make much of a judgement. The "reasons" given sound more like excuses than reasons. If talking to the child on a cell phone is important, it would probably be wiser to have the cell phone in the hands of an adult.
I have a five year old grandson who loves to talk on the cell phone. But I wouldn't trust him for one minute to keep up with a real cell phone of his own! We'd get a lost phone, charges for calls to Tim Buk Tu, and probably the police showing up to ask "who made the call from this number about the alien invasion." Young kids just haven't fully separated make-believe from reality, and it's probably unreasonable to expect them to do so.
Really, you were allowed to produce offspring?
Seriously, kids that age should be playing with other kids, not having their parents helicopter over them with a digital tether.
I want one that is locked down to speed dialing mom, dad, and grandpa. If it could do games outside of some defined window that would be OK.
This whole page is full of idiots... What is wrong with a child having a phone that can basically only speed dial emergency contacts? Or locked down to whatever the parent feels is appropriate.
I won't even buy my 16-yr-old a phone for a lot of good reasons.... why would you buy a 4-yr-old one?
Maybe a cheap android tablet but certainly not a smartphone.
--Kevin
AFAIK (but I don't know everything) all phones MUST be able to dial 911. (Makes me wonder if phones with SIM cards pulled fall into this category too...)
Are you *really* willing to allow a 4 year old that kind of access? ("Today at school the police told us to always dial 911... so I'm going to try that with this phone Daddy gave me.:") With a landline at least the police can go to the address and check things out.
Dunno about kids today, but back in the stone ages I was seven before I was allowed to be at home without any kind of babysitter (and I was considered unusually responsible for my age)... Then I had to get the lecture that I can't be calling Mommy at work every ten minutes until she gets home (after we started trying this) - IF I wanted to not have a babysitter.
That said, there has to be a phone out there that will let you call preset numbers only (or a phone with a lock mode that allows that.) With the caveat of still allowing 911.
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-77816-Toddlerz-Chatter-Telephone/dp/B00000IZOR/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1380552645&sr=8-2&keywords=play+phone+for+4+year+old
photosMy Photostream
Fisher Price.
That button is called "call my parent"
If your 4 year old is extremely mature, you can also have a "call 911" button.
That is all.
Geebus !
Won't a four-year old lose his phone ?
Why don't you implant a chip in his brain ?
-- kjh
The samsung ATIV S has a kids corner function that allows you to password the phone and yet still allow access to apps that you choose.
You cannot simulate care and love through a phone. Especially not when you take into account that you are talking about a four year old. Reflect on his capabilities to understand the world. And then think if a phone is doing any good. But for a video chat most present Android models are capable of such gimmick and it should be a robust waterproof device.
I'm not a fan of Apple, but
We recently moved, seperating my 6 year old daughter from her best friend by 75 miles.
The friend has one of those ipod dealies that is an iphone without the phone part. My wife has an ipad, that the kids use for games quite a bit. What we do is use facetime, which is only setup with the friend, an aunt, and some grandparents. So, occasionally we try to facetime the friend. I checked on the other end, and they said "We leave the ipod on our desk, and only answer it when it's appropriate" which is what we do here. So, my daughter can facetime her friend anytime she wants, and sometimes it works, and they chat, it's nice.
We just DDOSed Fisher Price! What have we done?
They don't need a phone, let them go outside and play.
-.- people these days
Why on earth would a child of that age need a phone? Hell, would a child of that young age even be able to use it? Sure, they might have help with it, but if they did get help then wouldn't it simply be much easier to just use the adults phone to videochat rather than give the child a phone so they can video chat?
I understand the desire to keep in touch with loved ones back home, I really do. I spent a number of years in the military and I was deployed several times. But giving a child of 4 years a phone is not a good idea*. Let the little one go off and play with the other kids and if they want to speak to you then they can just tell the your other half! It'll be better for the little one, better for your other half and better for your bank balance.
*Honestly, I think it's not a good idea to give kids phones at all. If/when I become a parent I will avoid giving my children tech like that if at all possible until they reach 12 or 13.
Take a look at kajeet.com. The phones are full price, but the plans are quite reasonable. They have _excellent_ parental controls.
I highly recommend that you check out A Story Before Bed http://www.astorybeforebed.com/. It allows you to video record yourself reading a story to your 4-yr old (even better, record the story with your child on your lap, so he/she is in the picture!), then the story can be played back when you are not there.
The kid is 4 and you believe that getting him a phone is going to help you keep in touch? Does his other parent not have a phone? Is it too difficult to arrange to talk with him on a landline just before his bedtime? This is the most vacuous "ask slashdot" I have ever seen.
This doesn't quite meet your requirements, but may be a suitable alternative.
Amber Alert GPS
We used this after Something Bad Happened during a field trip in Kindergarten. Now, we use it to ensure the kid gets to school from daycare, but it also has a button you can push to send an SOS. Higher service plans allow 2-way communications via a speakerphone, initiated by the parent.
There were many other options out there similar to this, but this one met our needs to ensure our child had a way to reach us in an emergency.
This has to be one of the most troll/cringe-worthy threads I've seen on /. in a while. The OP responding to everyone via AC and in rather hostile fashion for being told what they likely knew would be the answer to such a question. Assuming that said AC is even the OP...but no matter.
I was only able to make it about 1/2 though the posts before I had to say something that I'd not yet seen. That thing, whatever you get them, will be broken within a month. If not sooner.
I don't care how awesome you think your spawn is, and if you don't know that you are biased then you have even bigger problems, they are 4...years...old! Think about all the ways adults break such devices all the damn time. Go and read some stories from people who work in cell phone shops about adults who try and claim all sorts of crazy shit about how their broke device, that they clearly broke/dropped in water/whatever, was "not their fault."
Yeah. I get that if even half of what the AC who claims to be the OP is true that they are in a tough spot, pissed as hell about it, and looking for some sort of solution. This is not the solution. If for my point alone, never mind all the other good issues raised in this thread.
Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
My son got an iPod Touch when he was 4, for the express purpose of FaceTime with me and his grandparents. He doesn't see me daily due to a divorce. I set up the device with favorite contacts and a few games for him. He can't take it to school, and FaceTime requires WiFi, so he pretty much just uses it at home. He brings it in his bag when he travels between my house and my ex-wife's house. He is 7 now, and I can't see that it has affected him adversely. He gets good grades, reads, plays outside, has friends, etc. He probably uses the iPod Touch less than I played Atari when I was his age.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Macintosh...
outside of a toy phone kids that young should not have phones. The kid should either be at day care with a trusted day care person, baby sitter or with you.
Only 'flamers' flame!
At 4 years old back when I was still considered a baby as opposed to a young boy, when I was too young even to remember pre-school even enough to realize that it was basically just day care for parents who couldn't wait for their child to turn 5... we just got dropped off and picked up; there was no picking up the phone or running down to the principals office to talk to mom and pops. Hell, it never even crossed my mind, I was having a jolly old time with all of the other kids that didn't really end for another 12 years after.
I had a cell phone in high school, but it wasn't for calling my parent's either. I got a job and paid for my own.
So now that some context is in place: I read the OP and the first thing that comes to mind is not gee golly I wonder what a good phone for the 4 year old is. The first thing that comes to mind is gee golly I have heard of parents being overly attached to their children and even whacky enough to go as far as giving a 4 year old a smart phone, and even to give a 4 year old a smart phone to take to class is not quite as wild as taking time to compose (and post) an extensive question to slashdot over the matter? Nuts. No, your kid doesn't need this, it needs a 4 year old A, B, C, 1, 2 , 3 and speech and social skills education.
IMO don't give your kid a smart phone until they're done with the school bus (IE: maybe when they start driving and/or doing things independently in which case a cell phone would actually be useful for coordination).
They will be fine, and its OK if they get a little home sick during the day; perhaps they'll actually miss you more and perhaps they might even listen and pay attention better. Get them a smart phone at 4 years old, I would be a dollar to a dime by the time that kid turns 10 he or she will have formed a terrible habit of passively not listening while staring at his or her hands.
I have a kid that started with a Nintendo DSI at age 1. (Nerf armor for the win!) That DSI was bought for his older brother and sister. But we couldn't stop the little guy who was just sooo curious!
At 2.5 years of age, he bogarted his sister's Linux computer. To the point where we had to get her another computer. (At least we started him out right, with FVWM.)
Presently, he's 4 years old, and a big fan of Android tablets. DragonBox, AngryBirds, PlantsVsZombies, TuxMath, you name it! He, like is siblings, is a avid reader, Star Wars fan, and loves LEGOs. He's a normal kid. He's just very curious about computers. And, thanks to DragonBox, really good at Algebra.
I suggest you ignore the naysayers. If Dad's a geek, and Mom's a geek, odds are junior won't fall far from the tree. Why deprive your kid of what he craves to play with? Where's the harm? I know I still recall being held back because my parents felt reading Apple II manuals was inappropriate and I should be outside playing baseball with the other kids. I hate baseball!
Just go WIFI, lock it down, put it in a good case, and you're all set. WIFI will limit access from school or other inappropriate locations. Oh, and be aware of power supply issues. Little kids find it difficult to put power plugs in right, and to avoid bending the wires. So watch out for trouble there.
Something else to consider would be a chromebook. Or even an Apple MacBook. (Better power connectors.)
Gmail or whatever else it's called these days supports video chatting. We use that sort of stuff often when my wife or I are traveling, to keep in touch with the kiddies.
My 7 year old wants a Nabi. Tablet.
Help eliminate accidental speeding tickets
You think your 4-year old wants a phone? needs a phone? He is 4, and should be directly supervised until he can at least count to 10. Just wait til he sends a photo of his naked body and becomes a 'sex offender' for the rest of his life.
It was meant for them.. right?
Your 4 year old dont need a FUCKING PHONE!
Funny how everything you listed there is completely unapplicable to the subject. This kid is 4. He is not in the armed services (and if he was, he wouldn't be a "kid"). In the case of divorce, the mom probably wouldn't let the kid have the phone anyways.
And finally, being his age, the kid isn't going to know how to use the device anyways (so don't count on him calling for a crisis). And if somehow by miracle he learned, it might start to become an irritant - wracking up the phone bill or calling daddy whenever he's in the middle of something.
No, the reason for 4-year olds not having a phone is not merely for social reasons - it's because a) most of them are too incompetent at that age to use one (they can't even read for Pete's sake) and b) they need to be developing their motor skills (that's "running" and "playing" for you non-doctors) so they can be healthy when they are older, not sitting around on a phone. Fake phones generally loose a kids interesting after some time. With app-phones, you can be entertained for days.
If you really just want to know where your kid is at all times, have you considered a Garmin Astro? Otherwise, you might consider checking up on your kid in person.
I can predict the future: The guy asked "what phone for his kid" and I bet you 99% of the answers will
be variants of "don't give a phone to a kid" or "its not a good idea for a kid to have a phone" and perhaps
"giving a phone to a kid is bad parenting" or variations thereof.
Can we just give the man a simple, technical answer to his question?
Let the doo-goooders deal with social issues elsewhere.
Get him an iPod Touch and just use FaceTime or Skype when he's on wifi at the house.
My advice:
If your child really -must- have a mobile phone, then I suggest a cheap $15-40 US basic phone on a prepaid plan, with monthly plan fees at or under $40 US. Preferably around $20. In the US, ATT and Paylo are probably the best bets.
If you want your child to have access to a smart device, consider an iPod Touch (or similar) to supplement the basic phone.
The dangers of cell phones are not entirely known. There are some signs that they are not good in the long run - and especially not for kids.
There are animal studies that have shown that radiation from cell phones have killed brain cells and suppressed cognitive abilities.
There are doctors and scientists within radio-medicine that are dead-sure that we are going to see an epidemic of primary brain tumours in cell phone users in ten to fifteen years.
There are studies that hint (but yet none that prove, that I know of) that cell phone radiation could even be addictive.
A four year-old's brain is smaller, which means that there is less tissue between the phone's antenna and the areas in the brain that are responsible for higher brain functions. A kid's brain is also developing at a fast rate than an adult brain, which means that any change would have a greater impact later in life.
I say, let your child choose to use a cell phone or not when he is old enough to make an informed decision. In ten years time, we should know a whole lot more about the matter and your child should be a bit wiser as well.
I also don't think that you should let him use a digital cordless phone either (because they radiate more than cell phones do).
Whenever he borrows someone else's cell phone, he should preferably use a handsfree instead of holding the phone directly to the skull. Even a Bluetooth headset is better: it radiates a thousandth of what a typical cell phone does.
"We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley
The only suitible phone for a 4 year old.
Hi. Sorry that you are away from your son more than you prefer. Everyone here assumes it's divorce, but for all we know you work on a nuclear sub or a marine biology platform away from home for months at a time. Either way, you deserve our sympathies for having to be separated, and you deserve our support for wanting to stay close to your boy. For me it was divorce around when our son turned 3. We had (and still have) shared custody with him living with each of us on certain days. But for practical reasons, he's with his mom more, so the issue of how to stay connected was most important for me. In my experience, a child that young has a tough time staying focused and connected to a voice on a phone. A voice alone is somewhat of an abstraction. As you surely know already, kids are really concrete. My son at that age found it difficult to stay focused and pay attention on the phone. If he held the phone himself, he was as fascinated by the buttons and the neat sounds they made when pressed as he was to talk to me (or to talk to my ex when he was with me). And if an iPhone with shiny screen buttons, even more distracting. If my ex held the phone near him on speaker phone, usually as he took his evening bath, he'd stray in and out of paying attention. It's just hard at that age. I gave my ex my old MacBook so that we could do Skype and/or Facetime (when latter came along). That helped a good amount. Voice plus video is a lot better. Matters not whether it's an iPod Touch or iPad or laptop. Clear audio plus video equals better likelihood of paying attention and staying connected. My son is 8 now. We still do the same arrangement, wherever he is, he calls the other parent and tries to do video chat every night. Neither of us has gotten him his own phone, and I think it will stay that way at least another couple years. He uses my ex'es iPhone or laptop to call me or he uses my iPhone or laptop to call her. I think it's better that we parents maintain control of devices and not let him have a phone for his own, at least so far. He'd be overjoyed to have a smartphone, no doubt about it, but we know that less phones and screens and more friends and outdoors and diverse activities is better. I hope you find a way to make a good connection. Good luck, -- Josh
Problem is that instantly replacing said phone does not teach the right lessons to the kid either.
I first gave my son a mobile phone when he was about 10, when he started at a distant school involving taking public buses to get there. It was an old brick (late '90s nokia), and attached by a string to his schoolbag for the first few years. Even so, he still managed to lose it a couple of times (fortunately we always recovered it, even if it took several weeks).
Now at age 15 he's pretty good about it, so he gets a modern smart phone.
I recommend something easy to hold from Crayola.
I can't believe this guy!
Quite frankly you should be getting him a child oriented phone, one that has preset buttons to call the numbers that need to be called.... YOU, one or two other family members, and 911. At the very least the phone should have maximum parental control, with major controls on who can CALL that phone. Under no circumstances should this be an iphone (way too subject to theft!) or standard android smartphone. Phones to consider. Kajeet. Maximum parental control options Firefly GloPhone Simple few button design, easy for kids to relate to. LG Migo pretty much the same reason
My 14-year-old female cousin has to ride a public bus to school. Attend classes. Ride another public bus to violin lessons. Then ride a third public bus home. Her parents are occupied with her siblings' and work. The girl is a sophomore in high school with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, is in good health and wants to go to college.
Yeah, let's take her phone away. Let's forget that it's highly impractical to expect to be able to use a phone wherever you go in today's world, that she looks 18 while riding a public bus, or that her phone affords her an invaluable connection to her friends that in part allows her to be away from them.
Get the computer a web-cam for the computer (or not, they'll see you without one) and use video chat (e.g. Skype) from your smart-phone to talk to your kid. Problem solved.
The next time I get a new phone (with a front-facing camera), I'm going to start doing this when I'm working late (as happens too often).
I'm not going to judge you, be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. My heart goes out to you.
I don't have a phone recommendation for you, but something to think about - does it actually need phone service? Or could you get by with a wifi-only device, with Groove or whatever for phone calls, etc.?
And if so, I think you could hit focalprice.com for a cheapo Android handset, put a custom mod on it, and rig it for remote access, so you could maintain it.
As to custom controls for kids, the only device I've heard of with controls that sound like they might meet your use case is the Kindle. Could you consider a Kindle tablet, with again, wifi VOIP for phoning? I'm not as clear on what the remote-control options would be for such, to allow you to maintain it for the kinder.
Good luck!
"Ahh! I see you're in that indeterminate Schrodinger state where - oh, uh
Never to soon to start getting your kids used to continuous surveillance. Prepares them for the future.
A 4-year-old does not need a telephone. If you want to talk to him, arrange to do it on the wall phone at the place where he is being cared for by a responsible adult.
"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell
Most phones, even if you remove the SIM, will allow you to phone the emergency services (999, 911, 112 or whatever). I believe it's a requirement of the GSM standard.
This used to be the case in Germany but is no longer so. If I recall correctly, the number of prank calls (or misdials, or pocket dialling, or whatever) made them decide to remove this feature.
I don't know whether this is the case in all of Europe but wouldn't be surprised.
Esli epei etot cumprenan, shris soa Sfaha.
There is NO phone suitable for a child of that age. Buy him toys. If you really must be able to video chat or talk to him (for example, if you're away on business or the non-custodial parent) buy a cheap android tablet with a front-facing camera that can be given to his caregiver (mother, nanny, etc.) and you can Skype with him at pre-set appropriate times.
The problem is two-fold: one, he is far too young to understand the magnitude of the technology you want to give him and will not understand it's not a toy, and two, he's far too young to understand the notion of self-control. What if he wants to chat with daddy in the middle of pre-school, or daycare, or some other inappropriate time that he's not capable of understanding is inappropriate? This will only lead to distress and separation anxiety (or a worsening of any SA he might already have).
Seriously, just don't go there. I understand your desire, but it's a REALLY BAD idea.
Consider your vindictive ex sabotaging your efforts to keep in touch with your son (misplaced phone charger is the first thing that comes to mind, but also consider worse scenarios such as dropping the phone in a body of water/off a high building or running it over with her VeeDub Beetle). Eventually these "accidents" and "misfortunes" will transform into extra money out of your pocket.
If I were you, I'd take the cost of the phone, plus the monthly charges you'd pay to a telco until Junior can pay his own cellphone bill (10-12 years' worth?), and use that to hire a lawyer to get more of what you want out of this situation.
This is one problem which I strongly feel technology has very limited capabilities to solve.
Nor does any child up to 15-16 yo!! Only a completely irresponsible loser parent would even contemplate this.
None
...but are you retarded? 4 year old with a cell phone?!?
There are 2 groups of people you can make fun of on the Internet without fear of attack. The illiterate, and the Amish.
reading books.
I have 4 kids, two oldest are in college. I spent time away when they were little. I can tell you that none of them needed a cell phone to stay in touch with Dad.
Call the house phone, use skype or something similar, send a post card now and then (a 4 year old loves got mail and loves pictures). When they get older, write them a real, honest to goodness letter and ask them to write you back. Get "home" as often as you can and make sure to take them out and do things they like. Be a parent and not a toy supplier. A phone will only get broken, lost or get them beat up (or all 3).
Give this person a break! There are phones in both camps that can be kid/choice proofed but you may have to be willing to do your homework. 4 years is not and issue. Kindergarten is not and issue.
Having seen a great many of my friends 4 year olds... unless you want to be replacing that phone *weekly*.. you're going to need something damn near indestructible.. like the Sonim XP1300 Core, or, of course, the obligatory Nokia 3000 Series...
I have seen 4 year olds, when unattended for a second, put "Mommy's" Iphone/Android in the toilet, in the toaster, in the microwave, in the pool, bury it in the sandbox, drop it off the deck onto the flagstone patio to see if it would bounce, fling it across the room in a fit of pique...
Personally, my *opinion* is simply "no way in hell should a 4 year old, any 4 year old, have a cell phone, ever..".. but you didn't ask my opinion on that.. so my second option is just to recommend anything you can find that a Deity (should you subscribe to such beliefs) would have difficulty destroying.. That way it might last a few months vs a 4 year old...
"If 7 billion people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." -- Anatole France
Casteism
The 'Chatter Telephone' by Fisher-Price is a 'true classic since 1962' and helps 'develop hand coordination'. Go for it!
How about you talk to/Skype the child with the caretaker/parents phone he is with. No 4yr old needs a phone, bad enough that kids can't live without technology.
I do miss the days of when someone wasn't home you didn't get to talk to them.
This one.
Pretend there is some witty statement here.