Cell Phone for a Young Child

I really don't think she needs a phone at camp at all. She certainly may make that weekly call from the camp land line, right? Or do without a call and write and send postcards the old-fashioned way. That's what camp was all about.

What you do for the upcoming school year is another matter, I still believe 8 is too young to need a phone but others may disagree. If it would enhance her safety in a city environment, perhaps, but where I live it's not a lifesaver.

ok here's my .02
She'll be fine with out a cell phone at camp. it's CAMP, cell phones shouldn't be allowed at camp for the campers anyway.
When we did camp growing up mom would kiss us on the forehead and say "see ya in a couple of weeks"
I say no cell phone. But hey I think 10 is too young for a cell phone.

For some parents cell phones are a safety device. Some kids carry cell phones in their back packs to and from school. If something happens they can use the phone to call home, otherwise they don't use it.
If it makes you feel better for your child to have a prepaid phone to use to call home while she's at camp, go for it. There is no hard and fast rule about when a child/teenager should get a cellphone. It's whatever works best for you and your family.
Good luck!

I don't understand why people think it's such a bad thing for a kid to have a cell phone. I mean, this is 2010 right? They can be monitored and used for good reason at times, so I would never lecture somebody about how bad it is. It isn't. I think it would be a good idea to get one of the "kid" phones with pre-paid minutes so you control that. It would be nice to get that one call home when she's gone. My older daughter went to camp before cell phones were common, so we had to send faxes or cards and there were no phone calls. But if there had been one call allowed, you bet I would have sent a phone with her.

do they have pay phones? I'd just give her a calling card.

My 10 year old has a basic cell phone. He takes it with him when he rides his bike, or when we go somewhere as a family, just in case we get separated. We added it on to our at&t family plan, and it's $10 a month. I like the security of it. It's just a very basic phone w/no texting, internet, none of that. He messes around with it now and then, as there are one or two games preprogrammed in it, but at 10 he loses interest in that pretty quick. I see nothing wrong with it, and it gives me peace of mind.

NO cell phone for a 8 year old. If she needs to call you, she can go to the office and make a call the old school way :)

My son is only 4 but I recently got him a cell phone to take with him when he spends the night at his dad's (whole different story). Anyway, after doing some research I ended up just getting him an AT&T Go phone. The phone was $29 and included $15 of air time. I have AT&T and I'm the only number in his phonebook, so it just costs me $1 a day that he uses it and then we have unlimited minutes to and from each other. I called customer service and had them block text messaging and web access so he can't accidentally use up his airtime money on that.

My advice is to look into the prepaid phones for your existing carrier. The kids only cell phones seem cool but if you aren't planning on letting her use it all the time, there's really no reason to have all the kid features. The mom and dad buttons are neat looking, but it took less than 5 minutes to teach my 4 year old to press and hold "2" for Mommy.

Good luck,
T.

My neighbor and I were discussing this just the other day as she was having a difficult time reaching the mom's of the girls that her daughter was playing with. It was frustrating to not be able to reach her when she needed to and she felt a cell phone was the answer. We thought that a good idea would be to get a spare "emergency family phone" so that when she (or any other member of the family) was going somewhere they could take a cell phone with them but it wasn't necessarily the 8 year olds personal phone as we both thought that was a little young to have a phone just to use at will.

I actually have a prepaid plan myself as I don't use my phone much at all. It is certainly what I would recommend if the phone is to be used minimally.

Good luck,
K.

If the camp only allows one phone call and they have a phone she can use, have her use the camp phone.

She is still too young for a phone. A more appropriate age is 13 or even older. Young children now adays who have phones spend all thier time texting each other -using foul language, flirting, and all kinds of innappropriate stuff with the opposite sex.You wouldn't beleive the kind of sexually explicit things the boys were texting to our neighbor girl who is 11. And these kids have hundreds of other kids phone numbers in ther phones. Even if they don't give it out, other kids will give their phone # out...that means even bullies get phone numbers and use them to crank call.
Giving her a phone IS OPENING HER UP to the world. I wouldnt do it. She is too young. try to keep her innocence as long as you can.

not to sure i think its to young to have a cell phone but i think disney has a plan where you can program phone numbers and times and the phone is usless unless its those times and those programed numbers are the only ones that can be called i could be wrong but i think i saw an ad about it a while back

Whatever will make YOU more comfortable.

But it sure would be nice to get an actual LETTER or two from camp.

My kids are younger, so I don't understand why an 8 yr old would need a cell phone? I read your post and a number of the answers. Perhaps for extreme situations like the gymnast who is away from her mother so much I could see it. However for your average everyday kid, I don't think a cell phone is necessary.

I think part of it for me is basically is it a NECESSITY?

Kids today have so much. They take so much for granted. I think they "miss" what's important versus what they want.

In this case, your daughter will only have ONE chance to call you. Does not having a cell phone mean she can't call? Can't write? Does she need it for safety? Has there been any problem where you fear/worry for her safety?

I "get" that it's 2010. I understand that many people see it as "only $10 per month", etc. But that's not the point. In reality it's not just $10 a month. It's the cost of the phone, it's adding them to the plan, it's any additional fees incurred (monthly per chance), and then all the "monitoring".

I think your daughter will be fine at summer camp. Have her write you letters, and save them for her scrapbook. My mom showed me mine, they're hysterical! Send your daughter a letter, maybe a new magazine, etc. NOTHING can replace care packages or letters from mom.

Save your money. Let your daughter go and have fun. She doesn't need a phone. And neither do you. She'll be just fine - 8, and phoneless.

Just as a comment about kids and cell phones--
pay phones are becoming increasingly rare. Once a child is starting to be out and about on his/her own, there can be real advantages to a child having a cell phone to contact parents. A cheap prepaid one might be the answer, or buying an additional family phone to be used by whoever needs it.
Before you make a decision, you might find out whether or not the camp will actually allow the child to make a call on the camp phone, as others have suggested. If it's not allowed, will your child be able to handle it when others are calling home and she isn't? Will it be hard for her to be gone for two weeks without talking to you?
Good luck!

You can get a Go-Phone from Wal-mart and have a pre-paid amount. Telling her she is only able to use this cell phone while she is at camp. When she returns home, you keep it locked away until you decide she is of the age to actually have and be responsible for a phone: age 12, 13 or whatever you decide. It's usually unnecessary if the child is never without a parent but I think it's a good idea to have at camp. You never know what could happen there and it would be good for your child to be able to call you right away! Good luck!

I agree that children having a cell phone is a big advantage that my parents never had. My daughter got her first phone at 9, a firefly, but we quickly changed her to a regular phone, because the firefly was very hard to program and use. Your provider can turn off texting and internet options, and as long as you have solid rules about giving the phone number to others and periodically check her phone for usage, you will be surprised at how convenient it really is. My daughter is now 14, and although she has texting now, I read through her texts and can see on the bill if she has deleted anything without me seeing it. She knows these are the rules, she doesn't give her number out, and she brings me her phone every afternoon to check it, no questions asked. (sometimes I just don't check it, building trust with her is important too, but the fact that she knows I can check it at any time prevents her from misusing her privileges.

Wow! I've never had this situation to deal with, but it has made me do soem thinking. I grew up in the era when camp was usually for teens, and when you went you were there for the week with no communication home, unless there was an emergency and the camp staff had to call your parents. My kids grew up before cell phones were a popular means of communication and they were allowed to call once or twice during the week ... if the pay phone at the campground was available to them with the large number of campers attending.
I believe, since you mention that it might be nice for her to have the phone in her backpack at school next year, I'd consider the prepaid phone for her. I like the fact that the camp has some good rules to prevent the child from simply calling every time she feels a bit homesick or something doesn't go quite the way she thinks it should. If she's going to camp, she needs to be learning to deal with being there and doing things on her own without depending on you. (and isn't that a hard fact for us as mommies to accept?) I haven't used a prepaid phone, but it seems like that would be the least costly and best option for a child of eight.
You also may want to check with her school just to be sure she will be allowed to have the phone there. If she isn't, that might make a difference in your decision to get her a phone at all. I'm sure that the camp could still make arrangements for your daughter to make a call home once or twice during her stay, even if she doesn't take her own cell phone.

I got my daughter a cell phone on her 8th birthday. It was really something that made my husband and I feel more comfortable. She keeps it in her backpack "just in case" and she takes it with her when she plays outside. She takes it with her when she spends the night away from us as well. That was a year and a half ago and I have no regrets. A lot of people gave us grief over getting her a cell phone so young but I disregarded them because I did what made us feel better about her gaining independence. I am also with AT&T and it only cost me $10 a month...no big deal!

My daughter was 8 when she got her first phone. She is a competetive gymnast and at the gym often for 4 hours or more. I have two other children and could not stay at the gym with her for 15 hours or more a week. She texted me on her break and sent me messages throughout the practice. She is 13 now, we have never had any problems with inappropriate use, we communicate constantly wherever we are through whatever we are doing. It's been a blessing to have them all at my finger tips....I personally feel if kids are going to get into trouble, they will do so with or without cell phones or the internet, as they have been doing since the beginning of time...it is a very useful tool for kids with strong parenting...my mother was a single mom with five kids, I think our lives would have been very different in a positive way if she had the tools I now have in keeping up with my kids. The cell phone rules are very clear to my kids at home and at school/activities, and they have always followed them. Depending on the NEED, no I don't feel 8 is too young for a cell phone...

I think it's awfully young to have a cell phone, but that's just my opinion.
And to buy her one for the purpose of making two calls while she's at camp...I don't know.
Surely the camp counsellors would have a phone to use for kids who don't bring their own phones.
We always wrote letters home. The camp provided the stationary and postage for us. My kids went to camp and didn't take phones.
I'm not sure your daughter needs a cell phone at school either at this age. They have a phone in the office to use to call home if necessary.
If you knew how many cell phones got stolen at my son's school never to be seen again, you'd faint! One dad had to go out of town for a medical appointment so they let their kid use his mom's cell at school in case the dad needed to call to let him know if he didn't get back in time to catch a ride with another parent. Being young and thinking he was cool to show off, that phone disappeared before the day was done and his parents were furious. It was a super expensive phone. They offered a reward for it's return, no questions asked.....no one fessed up. Their intention was in the right place, but they could have left the message with the school office and they'd still have their cell phone.

Anyway, if you really want her to have a phone at camp, you can get her a plain jane Trac Phone. They sell them everywhere, they are very inexpensive, you can get them for less than $20 and you program so many minutes into it. There are no contracts, there's no way to use more minutes than are on the phone, so no surprise bills. You can actually add more minutes online, so it's pretty convenient that way. Once you've used up the minutes, you don't have to add more minutes. It just becomes deactivated.
I bought one for myself because I didn't have a cell and it really came in handy when my car broke down on the highway one day.
For a 7 year old, I think something like that would be the best way to go if you really think she needs a phone. If it gets lost or stolen, you're only out $20 and the minutes.
You can also buy prepaid calling cards. Those can be used on any phone and you just program in the code number. They're pretty simple to use.
I got one when my kids and I went on a trip after my uncle passed away and I could get in touch with other family members without running my aunt's bill up.
So...there are options.
I'm sure your daughter will have a great time at camp!
Kids are usually so busy having fun that we miss them more than they miss us. :)

Best wishes!

The camp my daughter goes to has a strict no cell phone policy, they also do not have email. They say that their experience has been that when a child calls home it just makes them homesick and they have a hard time adjusting. This may be different in your case since many of the children will be calling home.I think the good old fashioned letter writing is the way to go.