coogar:
and you would agree there are more depraved criminals around now
than the way it was in the 80s when you went to school. nobody
was bringing assault rifles in the 80s but these days, anything
can happen in the school. mobile phones just give an extra sense
of security to the parents.

How would a mobile phone help in the assault rifle scenario you mentioned?

Bawss1:

How would a mobile phone help in the assault rifle scenario you mentioned?

the good ol' 999 call to metro police!

Sagamite:
Why?
They are going to go maximum 3 times a week. They will spend 15/30 mins to get there, play for an hour and spend 15/30 minutes to get back home. Sometimes dropped off or picked up buy you or your wife?
Why do you urgently need to contact them?

may i ask what you will do if they dont appear?!
here is a clue:
- music classes, 2/3 times a week
- private tutor, sometimes every damn school day
- sport twice a week

then multiply that by the 15/30mins that it takes them to go to and from there, and you will have the amount of time they spend "out there".

I would expect a child to be disciplined enough to know when they are expected back home at the age of 10.

what has discipline got to do with missing the bus or being late due to unforeseen reason?!

I don't know since when what I want entitles a child to also want the same.

it is not about what you want. you brought the issue of "back in the days" and i was just showing you that NOBODY died because they didnt have a mobile phone back then, but many sure cant live without one now.

I want to bone Kim Kardasian senseless and would if she gave it up, does not mean a child is entitled to bone whoever he wants as well.
When he gets older, he can have what he wants.

it is not about what THE CHILD wants, it is about what the PARENTS feel is best for their child. lol!

No, that is just paranoia.
Train them well, and you will have a clue where they are most of the time and know they will do their best to stay out of trouble. You don't need to know where they are all the time.

again, what has training got to do with unforeseen events and getting hold of your child?!

Secondly, from my experience, that statement of "i want to know where my kid is at all time" is just some funky mentality of thinking it shows "I love my kids like mad". It is the typical "I am the one that loves there kids the most". Come on. Most people love there kids as much as you do.

nah, its simply a way to put everything on your side, to succeed. i'd rather look foolish and safe than cool but sorry.

A 10 year old child should not be in a position to be abducted/lost/injured. And if that should happen, I doubt the mobile would save them.

you are talking of such tragedies, as if people "plan" them on their kids. come on bro!!!!
btw a GPS tracker would surely let you know where your "possibly" abducted kid is located.

coogar:

and you would agree there are more depraved criminals around now
than the way it was in the 80s when you went to school. nobody
was bringing assault rifles in the 80s but these days, anything
can happen in the school. mobile phones just give an extra sense
of security to the parents.

No.

There have always been depraved animals in history. More so in the past.

Shootings have been occuring in US schools for years: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting#History_of_School_Shootings_in_the_United_States

A phone would hadly save them from bullets, it will, as you said, just add a 'sense'-of-security to a parent.

I am not really that paranoid about my child's safety, and I [would] love them as much as anybody else. I just don't buy into the whole cotton-wool parenting and fear consumerism.

@ freecocoa

It's not an expensive phone, it's dis starcomms. I don't load credit on his phone or even my starcomms, it's dis group fone dat makes call cheaper for me. Anywhere, I am in Lagos, while he's in PH & I find it easier talking to him dan my maid, sometimes she doesn't ve her fone handy.

My maid uses MTN and it's lots of moni if I want to discuss at length. I spend only N500 naira for a month.

Sagamite:
No.
There have always been deparaved animals in history. More so in the past.
Shootings have been occuring in US schools for years: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting#History_of_School_Shootings_in_the_United_States

your link shoes the trend continues to increase year in year out.
there are even more sophisticated means to carry out terrorism in school
these days and this is the more reason kids should have mobile phones.

A phone would hadly save them from bullets, it will, as you said, just add a 'sense'-of-security to a parent.
I am not really that paranoid about my child's safety, and I [would] love them as much as anybody else. I just don't buy into the whole cotton-wool parenting and fear consumerism.

i would expect my child to dial 999 the moment he hears shooting in the other classroom.
without a mobile phone, he's a sitting duck waiting to be slaughtered.

Just simply for handy communication purposes with your child when they are not around with you or they are late in coming home. The right age is a subjective factor that should be determined by each family and in relation to their style of life. A dumbphone will do with just call and text messages, no gaming, apps or internet is allowed and all calls monitored everyday.

Very soon we might just ask at what age is it right for a child to use a computer and we will just lock our child from the technological age.

Iranoladun:
@MrBronwJay and Zim Drill
With the risk of [b]kids sex-ting (sending romantic text messages and sometimes nude pictures to each other) I will strongly advice against mobile phone until your child is a teenager by which time you would have done a lot of sex education and he/she is mature enough.

is sexting any different than what kids do at that said age anyway? i doubt a 10yr old would be sexting but if a much older one like 14/15 does, then there is not much i can do apart from teaching that child what is right or wrong. if that kid REALLY want to be sending such messages then he/she will, whether they have a cellphone or not.

MRbrownJAY:

may i ask what you will do if they dont appear?!
here is a clue:
- music classes, 2/3 times a week
- private tutor, sometimes every damn school day
- sport twice a week

then multiply that by the 15/30mins that it takes them to go to and from there, and you will have the amount of time they spend "out there".

I would call/go to where they are suppose to be and look for them.

If they are not where they are suppose to be at 10 years old for an extended period of time to the point I have to worry, then they are in physical danger. Physical danger of either a criminal or my cane.

MRbrownJAY:
what has discipline got to do with missing the bus or being late due to unforeseen reason?!

What unforeseen reason?

At 10 years old, you would do your stuff in the locality where you can walk home. If not, you would be picked up.

MRbrownJAY:
it is not about what you want. you brought the issue of "back in the days" and i was just showing you that NOBODY died because they didnt have a mobile phone back then, but many sure cant live without one now.

it is not about what THE CHILD wants, it is about what the PARENTS feel is best for their child. lol!

I sure wouldn't want to raise a child that cannot live without a mobile phone, neither will I feel the mobile phone is best for the child. At 10, they would be at home most times. when out, they might be with a responsible adult or they are in the locality.

MRbrownJAY:
nah, its simply a way to put everything on your side, to succeed. i'd rather look foolish and safe than cool but sorry.

you are talking of such tragedies, as if people "plan" them on their kids. come on bro!!!!

I would not be paranoid enough to worry that much about my kids.

And I feel there is more possibility of harm having a mobile at 10 than preventing harm.

Each has its pros and conc. I just feel not giving them the mobile at 10 gives the more positives.

coogar:

your link shoes the trend continues to increase year in year out.
there are even more sophisticated means to carry out terrorism in school
these days and this is the more reason kids should have mobile phones.

i would expect my child to dial 999 the moment he hears shooting in the other classroom.
without a mobile phone, he's a sitting duck waiting to be slaughtered.

Unfortunately what you need for them is not a mobile. You will need to get them a bullet proof vest if you really worry that much about shooting.

If you REALLY want to be certain, then you will add giving them a personal gun to the vest, so they can gun the mudafucker back. Mobile would not be much help. The school's security, dinner ladies, teachers and co would have enough mobile phones to call 999 when they hear someone shooting at kids in a school.

Sagamite:

I would call/go to where they are suppose to be and look for them.

If they are not where they are suppose to be at 10 years old for an extended period of time to the point I have to worry, then they are in physical danger. Physical danger of either a criminal or my cane.

kai, you would do all this when you could simply call their mobile, in the comfort of your own office/home?!

What unforeseen reason?
At 10 years old, you would do your stuff in the locality where you can walk home. If not, you would be picked up.

- accident happened, the street was blocked and they had to walk all around the block.
- they are stuck in the elevator.
- they were bitten by a stray dog and rush to hospital.
- they met a family member/friend and they were ask to help with some errands.
etc etc etc etc etc

I sure wouldn't want to raise a child that cannot live without a mobile phone, neither will I feel the mobile phone is best for the child. At 10, they would be at home most times. when out, they might be with a responsible adult or they are in the locality.

no matter how you want to look at it, the mobile phgon eis here to stay.....the cell phone is NOT bad for a child, in the contrary.
i can find many reasons why it is safer for a child to have a mobile phone, while you probably cant give me ONE good reason why they shouldnt have one (apart from the brainwave BS).

I would not be paranoid enough to worry that much about my kids.
And I feel there is more possibility of harm having a mobile at 10 than preventing harm.
Each has its pros and conc. I just feel not giving them the mobile at 10 gives the more positives.

and i fully respect your view on the subject, but sadly some parents would rather have this safe tool to make sure that they can contact they children whenever they feel is necessary, unless that child is with a TRUSTED adult at all times.

I won't buy a 10yr old a phone, unless circumstances, like sisikill pointed out, require it. The determinant for my teenage child to get a phone depends on how good he/she is with his/her grades , unless daddy says otherwise .

Iranoladun:
@MrBronwJay and Zim Drill
With the risk of kids sex-ting (sending romantic text messages and sometimes nude pictures to each other) I will strongly advice against mobile phone until your child is a teenager by which time you would have done a lot of sex education and he/she is mature enough.

Thank you!

One of the numerous cons with a kid having a mobile and which realistically is more likely to occur than some physical safety threat.

Iranoladun:
Here is what we do: home land-line is progammed to automatically dial mummy after 5 seconds of lifting the handle and with a tab dial daddy after 10 seconds. The land-line cannot dial any other number except the emergency numbers & our numbers and cannot receive any other calls except in the evenings and mornings. These has help us to curtail abuse of phones by our kids and also to ensure that we can talk to them and confirm they are okay and home after school. They can also call us anytime at home and we can reach them too. School can be contacted in case of emergency. The kids have also memorized our numbers and home address in case of emergency

Good set-up.

Sagamite:
Unfortunately what you need for them is not a mobile. You will need to get them a bullet proof vest if you really worry that much about shooting.

and since i cannot afford that ant it's not permitted for him to wear a kevlar vest in school, the mobile phone
becomes a very good choice to offer that security i want.

If you REALLY want to be certain, then you will add giving them a personal gun to the vest, so they can gun the mudafucker back. Mobile would not be much help. The school's security, dinner ladies, teachers and co would have enough mobile phones to call 999 when they hear someone shooting at kids in a school.

personal guns are not legally permitted to minors as well so the mobile phone trumps this option again
even if the mobile phone adds just 1% security to the safety of my child then it's an essential tool to have

in naija i no go think am twice

90% of the parties tasked with taking care of kids are flat out irresponsible

look at that horror story with the school girls in ore

or the child who went missing at winners chapel

too many of the people tasked with taking car of kids in nigeria are irresponsible.

it is better to have another means of checking to ensure everything is alright

with all the fking horror stories one hears every other day . . .i want to be able to get in touch with my kids at the touch of a button

@ Sisi Kill.

You nailed it!

Me, born and bred in Naija. . .didn't own a phone till I got into College. I can't even recall ever being pressed into needing it before College sef!

So I guess a lot of it is dependent on where you reside and probably even social status. But the average Nigerian 10yr old, living in Nigeria, doesn't need a cellphone!

;DAnytime he starts carrying a fone. Or anytime he understands the parents using the fone

MRbrownJAY:

kai, you would do all this when you could simply call their mobile, in the comfort of your own office/home?!

I would rather do that 50 times than to be in my office while my 10 year old daughter or son is watching porn on the mobile or passing messages with some 12 year old Hot boy and arranging to meet to "see what it is like".

MRbrownJAY:
- accident happened, the street was blocked and they had to walk all around the block.
- they are stuck in the elevator.
- they were bitten by a stray dog and rush to hospital.
- they met a family member/friend and they were ask to help with some errands.
etc etc etc etc etc

- Take the parallel street or tell the police that is your only way home. They are sane people, they would let a 10 year old through to go home.
- That is a good one. Elevators now have alarm bells and the next person would know it is stuck.
- The doctors are trained to call parents when minors are brought in. I am sure medical schools are as good as that.
- When they are suppose to be at home? They better let the family member notify Daddy or ensure the errand is very brief.

MRbrownJAY:
no matter how you want to look at it, the mobile phgon eis here to stay.....the cell phone is NOT bad for a child, in the contrary.
i can find many reasons why it is safer for a child to have a mobile phone, while you probably cant give me ONE good reason why they shouldnt have one (apart from the brainwave BS).

I never said it is not here to stay. But it, in my view, is more likely to do harm than prevent it.

- They access things you hope they do not access.
- They use it to turn to porn stars because of peer pressure. Even Tulisa could not escape that at 18.
- They use it to keep secret contact with opposite sex (some even older kids) and make me a grandfather by 40.
- It distracts them from their education because they are constantly on facebook or playing games.
- They use it to join peer pressure organised fights.
- They are consistently bullied through it 24 hours instead of it ending at school (if they are being bullied).
- And so on.

All these are FAR more likely than being stuck in elevator, being kidnapped or being bitten by a dog with rabies.

MRbrownJAY:
and i fully respect your view on the subject, but sadly some parents would rather have this safe tool to make sure that they can contact they children whenever they feel is necessary, unless that child is with a TRUSTED adult at all times.

I would expect a 10 year old to be in controlled environments in the presence of trusted adults most times. The few times they are not, is OK. I am not wrapping my kids in cotton-wool.

stillwater: I won't buy a 10yr old a phone, unless circumstances, like sisikill pointed out, require it. The determinant for my teenage child to get a phone depends on how good he/she is with his/her grades , unless daddy says otherwise .

Daddy concurs!

Sagamite:
I never said it is not here to stay. But it, in my view, is more likely to do harm than prevent it.

i disagree. any device that adds to the safety of my child cannot be harmful.
his safety must take priority over his tendency to watch pornsites, etc.
like i have said, it's going to be a nokia 3310 or sagem. nothing spectacular.

- Take the parallel street or tell the police that is your only way home. They are sane people, they would let a 10 year old through to go home.
- That is a good one. Elevators now have alarm bells and the next person would know it is stuck.
- The doctors are trained to call parents when minors are brought in. I am sure medical schools are as good as that.
- When they are suppose to be at home? They better let the family member notify Daddy or ensure the errand is very brief.

conveniently ignoring far majority of these kids don't even speak english as their first language.
so a kid bought freshly from the dungeons of congo republic or the pits of afghanistan to stay in
the uk having the problems mentioned by mrbrownjay should do what? hire a translator?

the rule must cater for all n sundry fairly to work.

My baby brother has had his own phone in Nigeria since he was 9/10 yrs old! But then, he's a spoilt brat (and has always been in boarding school) so I can't exactly use him as a standard for most Nigerian kids. My mum wanted him to have a phone for emergencies (but the few times I have been there when he called, it was to ask for more money or just to say hello). They (mum and son) are both very happy with the arrangement (the school has seized his phone twice but my Mum keeps buying him a new one). Mothers mostly do it for a false sense of peace-of-mind. It's little money to pay to calm the nerves!

moremi2008: My baby brother has had his own phone in Nigeria since he was 9/10 yrs old! But then, he's a spoilt brat (and has always been in boarding school) so I can't exactly use him as a standard for most Nigerian kids. My mum wanted him to have a phone for emergencies (but the few times I have been there when he called, it was to ask for more money or just say "hello". They (mum and son) are both very happy with the arrangement (the school has seized his phone twice but my Mum keeps buying him a new one). Mothers mostly do it for a false sense of peace-of-mind. It's little money to pay to calm the nerves!

that's the point.
even though the sense of security is apparently false, it still lowers the blood pressure.

coogar:

i disagree. any device that adds to the safety of my child cannot be harmful.
his safety must take priority over his tendency to watch pornsites, etc.
like i have said, it's going to be a nokia 3310 or sagem. nothing spectacular.

How can the remote possibility of danger be priority over other more imminent dangers?

You can as well just hire two professional body guards that are 6ft 6 with muscles like a Rhino and make sure they don't go out without the guards.

coogar:
conveniently ignoring far majority of these kids don't even speak english as their first language.
so a kid bought freshly from the dungeons of congo republic or the pits of afghanistan to stay in
the uk having the problems mentioned by mrbrownjay should do what? hire a translator?

the rule must cater for all n sundry fairly to work.

Majority of the Kids in UK, US or Nigeria don't speak English?

Really?

Sagamite:
How can the remote possibility of danger be priority over other more imminent dangers?
You can as well just hire two professional body guards that are 6ft 6 with muscles like a Rhino and make sure they don't go out without the guards.

what are the imminent dangers? these phones would be
monitored. the parents check the on-goings on the phone
so it's not like i would be in the dark.

the issue of sexting n other related stuff is insignificant.

Majority of the Kids in UK, US or Nigeria don't speak English?
Really?

those immigrants, asylum seekers who don't speak english?
how do you expect them to communicate? are you going to
allow those in this category alone to use the mobile phone
and restrict the others or what?

coogar:
what are the imminent dangers? these phones would be
monitored. the parents check the on-goings on the phone
so it's not like i would be in the dark.

the issue of sexting n other related stuff is insignificant.

The issue of sexting and p[i]o[/i]rn by my child and who my child is mixing with is very significant when my parenting style is considered!

coogar:
those immigrants, asylum seekers who don't speak english?
how do you expect them to communicate? are you going to
allow those in those category alone to use the mobile phone
and restrict the others or what?

Since when did we start talking about immigrant kids?

How did immigrant kids that cannot speak English become majority or represent majority in US/UK/Nigeria?

Sagamite:
The issue of sexting and p[i]o[/i]rn by my child and who my child is mixing with is very significant when my parenting style is considered!

how would a nokia 3310 be a tool to pornsites?
teenage pregnancy was rife before mobile phones became popular.
are you telling me kids didn't get pregnant in nigeria in the 80s
and 90s? how is the mobile phone the cause of the unruly behaviour
in teens?

Since when did we start talking about immigrant kids?
How did immigrant kids that cannot speak English become majority or represent majority in US/UK/Nigeria?

so the outright prohibition of mobile phone usage by children should
not put immigrant kids into consideration? can you hazard a guess
how many immigrant kids are in the uk particularly from bangladesh,
india and pakistan?

my 2 young nephews one almost 10 the other 12. Have since, pressing and pressing hard the nokia torch light phone in the house, even going to the length of playing games on it,, they now know to save number, call numbers, receive calls, what can i say? It is now necessary these days for that age range to own a phone, a low end phone for that matter is a necessity, i tell u.

Then maybe, by 2020, will start thinking of giving our children internet-enabled phones.

Brite02: my 2 young nephews one almost 10 the other 12. Have since, pressing and pressing hard the nokia torch light phone in the house, even going to the length of playing games on it,, they now know to save number, call numbers, receive calls, what can i say? It is now necessary these days for that age range to own a phone, a low end phone for that matter is a necessity, i tell u.

Then maybe, by 2020, will start thinking of giving our children internet-enabled phones.

or tablets.

coogar:
how would a nokia 3310 be a tool to pornsites?
teenage pregnancy was rife before mobile phones became popular.
are you telling me kids didn't get pregnant in nigeria in the 80s
and 90s? how is the mobile phone the cause of the unruly behaviour
in teens?

So because there was some teenage pregnancy in Nigeria in the past I should ignore if my child is watching [i]p[/i]orn or sexting?

coogar:
so the outright prohibition of mobile phones in children should
not put immigrant kids into consideration? can you hazard a guess
how many immigrant kids are in the uk particularly from bangladesh,
india and pakistan?

What you said was far majority of the kds don't speak English.

How did immigrant kids that cannot speak English become majority or represent majority in US/UK/Nigeria?

How did we get to using immigrant kids to be representative about kids in general or the kids of majority of people on this thread?

Brite02: my 2 young nephews one almost 10 the other 12. Have since, pressing and pressing hard the nokia torch light phone in the house, even going to the length of playing games on it,, they now know to save number, call numbers, receive calls, what can i say? It is now necessary these days for that age range to own a phone, a low end phone for that matter is a necessity, i tell u.

Then maybe, by 2020, will start thinking of giving our children internet-enabled phones.

What logic did you use to arrive that it is necessity?

Sagamite: Daddy concurs!

Lol, funny boy.

Sagamite:
So because there was some teenage pregnancy in Nigeria in the past I should ignore if my child is watching [i]p[/i]orn or sexting?

with the proper upbringing, i doubt he/she would sext or porn.
but then porn does not necessarily make a child bad.

What you said was far majority of the kids don't speak English.
How did immigrant kids that cannot speak English become majority or represent majority in US/UK/Nigeria?
How did we get to using immigrant kids to be representative about kids in general or the kids of majority of people on this thread?

the thread asked if a child should own a cell phone.
you said no......and i bring up a scenario where the kid's first language
is not english. what provision should be made for kids in such category?