Vote yes or no for having kids hand in cell phones at bedtime. Thanks!

Jessica - posted on 02/03/2012

Yes! My sisters hand their phones at 7:30 on week nights. No cell phones during dinner, homework, family or bed time. On weekends they get them back after dinner if the family's not doing anything but hand them over at 10:30 for bed.

Laura Zoey - posted on 02/03/2012

Ok Valerie.

I think that's a bit nuts but you're allowed your opinion.

My opinion is that if my kid was waiting an hour that would be bad. Especially without knowing where I was or if I was coming. I wouldn't want them just approaching random people asking for favors or to use their phones.

What if they were walking home and there was a stranger following them? What if they are driving and get lost in a bad neighborhood?

What if they are driving on the freeway when the car breaks? Would you really rather your child walk to the nearest on ramp to find a random gas station to call a row truck? Personally I'd rather my kid have a ohone to sit in the car and call for help.



I'd never let my kids drive without a cell phone.

IMO it is a safety issue. I got my phone when I was 16 and I am very glad I did as there have been many many many times I needed it to find my way or call for help.

Sure you 'get by' when you have no phone but I sure want better for my teens.

Melissa - posted on 02/03/2012

My daughter's 16 and until recently had to turn her phone off and put it on the charger in the living room, where I could see that it was indeed *off*, at 10:30 on school nights. That changed recently when her step-mother, who has better credit than my ex and so the cell plan is in her name, decided to limit her usage to 11 pm *every night*. Now, I don't think that should apply on weekends or when she's out of school but was told it was an all or nothing type thing, as in the step-mother couldn't state which days of the week to limit. Although I think she does turn it off when my daughter is at their house for the weekend.

Valerie - posted on 02/03/2012

Hypothetically speaking, how did everyone survive before cellphones?? I am in the era before cell phones and I am alive and well today.. in fact.. I am pretty sure my mom had a flat tire at least once during my childhood.. I think I toughed it out and actually waited... I just think society today is teaching kids that they MUST have everything, and have it NOW.. there's nothing wrong with walking, talking in person, using a land line, reading a book with PAPER pages, looking stuff up at the library.. and no, I am not old fashioned or religious.. and yes, I have a smart phone and love it.. I just don't think my 16 year olds should have that luxury until they can afford it themselves.. because it is just that, a luxury- whether it's a smartphone, or just a "regular" cell phone.. there's no emergency that urgent that REQUIRES use of a cell phone... IMHO of course..

Julie - posted on 02/03/2012

Yes!

Laura Zoey - posted on 02/03/2012

Sarah so whatwouldyou have done in Sherri's situation? If you gave your son your phone then you would be stuck with a flat tire and no way to call a two truck r call your son to let him know you were stuck.



My kids will get phones when they are away from either me or my husband for any length of time. I consider not having a phone a safety issue and I'd never risk my kids safety by not letting them have a ohine when they are seperated from me and their dad without a baby sitter type person.



As for bed times I'd only take it from them if they're not going to sleep or if they're waking in the night to call or text. Otherwise I see no need to take it from them. I'm not a jail warden :D



Oh and when I say phone I mean ---phone!! Not computer phone.

Janine - posted on 02/03/2012

I totally agree BetthAnn!!!

Lyndsey - posted on 02/03/2012

16 year old son not allowed any communication devices after 9 pm. If after 9 he remembers something he needs to do on computer or person he needs to contact, he must ask permission and his time on device is monitored.

Too many times I have found Facebook posts after when he was supposed to be sleeping.

Janine - posted on 02/03/2012

Yes, definitely take it away at bedtime. Who needs a phone if you are suppose to be in bed sleeping. If she is fighting the rule, it only makes you suspicious about what she is doing after she is suppose to be in bed sleeping.



You can also put a "timer" on the phone thru the phone company that blocks all incoming calls during specified times that you set up. Your daughter can still receive phone calls from you.

Sarah - posted on 02/03/2012

Like I said Sheri, I'm not judging anyone at all, that's your choice for your children. I feel very strongly on this issue. I also feel that too many children are given adult responsibilities and it's not necessarily in their best interest. I have a cell phone myself, as does my husband. But we are able to know when it is and isn't appropriate to use them. We pay for them. I feel that someone needs to work to earn this particular responsibility. This is my opinion. I just don't feel most teenagers lack the forward thinking to see how damaging cell phones can be. Many use their phones in class when they should be learning, driving and talking/texting (illegal in my province) can lead to lethal consequences. I survived childhood and my teenage years without a phone and I'm sure my children will as well. There are pay phones available where I live, businesses and schools all have phones, there is almost always one available. And for the odd time they might "need" one (IMO a phone is not a need) they will be able to take mine. You're entitled to your opinion, just as I am to mine. Please don't discredit mine just because my kids aren't teenagers, I have felt this way since cell phones came out when I was in high school and I'm sure it won't change in the next 5-10 years.

Sherri - posted on 02/03/2012

@Sarah I am just saying your kids are still very young and you can't say what you will do when they are 13 or 14 at this point. Also there are virtually no pay phones in existence any longer.



Trust me I had the same view you do when my children were younger. Then I had a son that started taking skiing lessons 45mins from here. I got a flat tire one night going to get him, I had no way of contacting him to let him know I would be late. I called the ski resort and they had no way of contacting him either. I was over an hour late and my poor son was still in our meeting place but a wreck because I didn't show up and he had no way of calling me either. This is when I realized he needed to have one as he is now in high school and away from us a lot more. He didn't want one, he needed to have one. He is not off calling friends or texting etc. He has a basic simple phone for staying in contact with his dad and I.

BethAnn - posted on 02/03/2012

Sarah I am glad I am not the only parent in the world who thinks cell phones are not mandatory for teens. My daughter in grade 4 came home from school after christmas and said she was about the only kids who got toys for christmas that most kids got all technolgy and alot of 9 year olds got cell phones...What in the world??? crazy...Even my 12 year old says why does she need one... I say when you are driving I will get you one....other than that no

Valerie - posted on 02/03/2012

My twin daughters are 16 and do not have cell phones.. they had one for a short period of time but abused the privilage, so just as I had warned them that they are earned, not just a given thing- I took them away.. now if they want one bad enough, they will go get a job... I survived without a cell phone through my teen years... so I don't buy the "they need it to be safe" thing... there's something STILL in every store and every school, called a land line! They can call me from one of those!!

Sarah - posted on 02/03/2012

Sherri, if my children are old enough to get a job and pay for a phone themselves then they are free to do so, but my feelings are that it is a responsibility and most people don't take responsibility seriously enough when it's just handed to them. my husband feels the same way. I don't believe we'll change our minds as our children get older on this issue. When I was a teenager, we used a pay phone if we needed to call home, that's what I will expect my children to do. Not judging anyone whose kids have a cell phone at all, this is just what I feel is best for my children.

Firebird - posted on 02/03/2012

Yes! Phones and bedtime don't mix!

BethAnn - posted on 02/03/2012

My kids don't have cell phones at age 12 and 9. We live in the country do they don't need them. We take them were they need to go. But when they do get cell phones my rule is that there is NO tv, internet or cellphones in their bedrooms...ever!!! That includes friends as well. Internet needs to be monitered. It can be a very dangerous tool. The reason my child will get a cell phone is to call me so I know what is going on. I am not paying for a cell phone for her to talk to her friends and text. If she wants to talk toher firends she can do it on our land line phone. I think there is a big prblem with secrecy with our teens today. We as parents need to stay involved with our childs friends and their lives. And texting all night is not a way to stay involved...So no you are no the only one who says no cell phone in the bedroom. Yes take away the cell phone in the bedroom all together..

Jodi - posted on 02/03/2012

I guess it depends on circumstances. My son was on long trips on school buses, and with circumstances as they were with visitation with his dad, I like him to have his own phone. But then there is my step son whose mother gave him an iPhone 4S. I mean, who gives their 12 year old free internet access anywhere they go? THAT bothers me more than a phone that texts and makes calls.

Sherri - posted on 02/03/2012

Yup I was one of them and I was fortunate to hold out till 9th grade with mine when it really started to become a need not a want.

Jodi - posted on 02/03/2012

You're right Sherri. I know a lot of people who swore they would never give their kids a phone, and they've changed their minds around the age of 11 or 12, when they start to gain a little independence.

Sherri - posted on 02/03/2012

Wait till your kids are older Sarah I will be willing to bet by the time your kids hit High School your view may change.

Sherri - posted on 02/03/2012

Mine goes to bed with me too as it is my alarm.

Stifler's - posted on 02/03/2012

Is she staying up all night texting ? If no then I wouldn't. If she starts to I would take it away. Mine charges on my bedside table too.

Jodi - posted on 02/03/2012

I take mine to bed. That's where it charges. It also serves as my alarm :P

Sharon - posted on 02/02/2012

Well, I don't take my cell phone to bed with me so why should a child?

Jaime - posted on 02/02/2012

Yes.Well I don't have to cause my 12yr old is really responsible. Also she know if I go through it and see what I don't like then it's gone. So yes take it away.

Sarah - posted on 02/02/2012

Personally I don't think kids should have cells phones at all, so your daughter would really hate me!

Katherine - posted on 02/02/2012

YES!!!

Lorri - posted on 02/02/2012

I vote yes! I have a 14 year old daughter and I make her turn her's in to me before bed every night. She respects the rules because on the weekends we always stay up later and she has more freedom with it.

Good luck!



Lorri

Sherri - posted on 02/02/2012

Yes!!

Chrystal - posted on 02/02/2012

yes they should be sleeping so why would they need the phone? I wouldn't let my kids take a call on the house phone at midnight and I wouldn't let them on a cell phone either.

Elizabeth - posted on 02/02/2012

Thanks!

Jodi - posted on 02/02/2012

Well, I don't, BUT I have done in the past because I couldn't trust him. He knew the rules, he broke them, I implemented him handing his phone in. I don't do it anymore, I gave my trust back to him, and so far he has not breached it. He is 14.