I believe 10 years old is still too young but if the child applies self discipline, then a trial wouldn't be a bad idea
it all depends on how matured h/she is and knowing fully well h/she can handle it
I got a BB for my lil sis of 19 yrs old and i noticed how attached she was to the phone and if care is not taken that might affect her studies
I seized the phone from her and handed her the old phone(without internet) she had and promised to give it back after school(holiday).
I also went as far as controlling the way she uses the internet/facebook
as an adult or parent discipline is really the key

Why not, today technology has took over, let our chilren follow the pathway if not Nigeria would continue to lack behind when it comes to technological development. The advantages carries enough percentage over the dis advantages

i guess at the age of 12

A 10year old is old enough to have a phone. Just ensure that the internet is disabled and like my Sister does with her kids she only gives them their phones when they are going to a friend's place on somewhere else she'll need to reach them that way they do not have unlimited access.

Why do Nigerian like to live in the dark age? Go to a country like South Korea primary school pupils are using smartphones like galaxy s, etc, here we are arguing if ours should 3310.
I am laughing

jmoore: are u kidding me? A ten year old with a mobile phone for what? Which emergency? school or home emergency? And there is land line at home. It is not advisable to buy one for him/her.

This is a very good topic for discussion, i have three boys aged 8 to 2 years. i bought a small nokia phone from mtn for him and a small visaphone for his younger brother who is five years old. i have noticed that aoart from playing games on the phone they dont use them so i gave a niece the visa phone who has out it to better use and i will soon take away the nokia phone from the older boy. I believe that when they are older there might be need for that but for now it appears to be a misplaced priority. I have been told by my colleagues that there is nothing bad in allowing a seven year old have an ipad to play games with. When i said this was unnecessary i was almost shouted down as if i was in the dark ages, the argument being that children of these days are smart and if that devices like the ipad can only boost intelligence. I am still digesting this line of reasoning.

Turbocharged: Why do Nigerian like to live in the dark age? Go to a country like South Korea primary school pupils are using smartphones like galaxy s, etc, here we are arguing if ours should 3310.
I am laughing

Give your own 5 year old smartphone with access to the internet. It is not about dark ages.

It is about controlling who he or she is communicating with. Can you control what sites he or she visits with an internet enabled phone.

It is like buying a computer for your small kid. There is nothing wrong with a kid operating a computer as far as he or she is being monitored. Let him or her operate the computer in the sitting room and not buying a personal one for him. Same should apply to phone, the parents should get a fixed line that stays in the sitting room that everyone including the kid can use.

Turbocharged: Why do Nigerian like to live in the dark age? Go to a country like South Korea primary school pupils are using smartphones like galaxy s, etc, here we are arguing if ours should 3310.
I am laughing

And your point is?

Because South Korea does it, it must be good? It must be progress?

Pls let look at thing in proper way, that will help to create some sanity in our home and society. 10yr old with a handset is not a good ideas, know wander a child of 6yr know what is boyfriend and girlfriend, what get them closer to that extend is phone. Pls let some parent done to cultivate these white man into their children.

jmoore:

Give your own 5 year old smartphone with access to the internet. It is not about dark ages.

It is about controlling who he or she is communicating with. Can you control what sites he or she visits with an internet enabled phone.

It is like buying a computer for your small kid. There is nothing wrong with a kid operating a computer as far as he or she is being monitored. Let him or her operate the computer in the sitting room and not buying a personal one for him. Same should apply to phone, the parents should get a fixed line that stays in the sitting room that everyone including the kid can use.

He is planning for his kids to be raise by the world. To be raised by Rihanna, Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga, Gucci Mane, Kim Kardashian etc.

He would then open his mouth gagaga and yaba yaba yaba that "what did I do wrong" when the child grows up not like he intended.

Well . . . my kid is 4, and he already plays with a Blackberry Playbook (internet not allowed though!) I'm getting him an Android tab for kids soon, cos there are a lot of learning apps he could use. But no internet. He also watches videos of Sesame Street, etc, off the tablet.

I might keep him away from a cellphone if I felt he would be distracted by it. More likely I'll design a kiddie cellphone especially for him, that calls nobody but the parents and maybe an emergency number.

AjanleKoko: Well . . . my kid is 4, and he already plays with a Blackberry Playbook (internet not allowed though!) I'm getting him an Android tab for kids soon, cos there are a lot of learning apps he could use. But no internet. He also watches videos of Sesame Street, etc, off the tablet.

I might keep him away from a cellphone if I felt he would be distracted by it. More likely I'll design a kiddie cellphone especially for him, that calls nobody but the parents and maybe an emergency number.

You would have to convince alot of parents to have your mentality for the manufacturers to see it as a mass market worth designing such a phone for.

I believe the reality is that majority of the world is too stewpid to come to that thinking.

For example, if one looks at the apparel market for kids nowawadays, producers are creating clothes for kids that are becoming more salacious by the day. A lot of parents of girls nowadays complain about it being a battle to find modern clothes for their kids that does not, in some way, sexualise them. Most parents are too dimwitted to notice and keep on buying the thrash the producers make for their kids, hence those that are smart become victims of market forces and are left with few options. The producers see that the mass market is where they produce clothes that sexualise kids and continue producing such. It is plainly ridiculous.

People may call me priggish but I am not raising my daughters as nymphets like I see some do in the West.

AjanleKoko: Well . . . my kid is 4, and he already plays with a Blackberry Playbook (internet not allowed though!) I'm getting him an Android tab for kids soon, cos there are a lot of learning apps he could use. But no internet. He also watches videos of Sesame Street, etc, off the tablet.

I might keep him away from a cellphone if I felt he would be distracted by it. More likely I'll design a kiddie cellphone especially for him, that calls nobody but the parents and maybe an emergency number.

i have been thinking of buying one of those internet tvs so we can watch educational vids on youtube using a swift modem

was thinking of buying an ipad for the same reason , tho i've already done that with a netbook

there are all sorts of reasons in this country to have phone access to your kids. when you hear of schools with teachers molesting students, kids drowning in pools on school outings and teachers trying to coverup , the kid who got lost in winners chapel, the eediot bus drivers some schools use - if parents who have a far greater stake get notified of emergencies, more may be done than the 'leave it to God' after the fact.

oyb:

i have been thinking of buying one of those internet tvs so we can watch educational vids on youtube using a swift modem

was thinking of buying an ipad for the same reason , tho i've already done that with a netbook

there are all sorts of reasons in this country to have phone access to your kids. when you hear of schools with teachers molesting students, kids drowning in pools on school outings and teachers trying to coverup , the kid who got lost in winners chapel, the eediot bus drivers some schools use - if parents who have a far greater stake get notified of emergencies, more may be done than the 'leave it to God' after the fact.

Oyb, apart from the one stricken, how does a mobile phone help you or your child than without a mobile phone?

If, god forbid, your kid is drowning, im go dey call daddy? Im go dey press 0 - 8 - 0 - 10 . . . . . while im dey drown? You go telepath from where you are to rescue im from the wata? Your babalawo strong like that? Im sabi juju that like the one I dey use for Sagamu? Or you think Jesus dey give una juju pass Ifa?

if my kid is on an outing and one of them is drowning and one of them has a phone, they can place a call to a responsible invested adult informing them that something is happening.

there was this incident in which a kid drowned in a pool and the kids sad that the couple assigned to watch were 'holding' each other or something like that. apparently rather than watch the kids , the teachers decided to toast each other or some such.

a message from one kid to a parent may be enough to avert a disaster.

you know this is naija , where several workers are like the cleaner in ezicachi's thread. now imagine people like that in charge of children. a child calling a parent who then calls the proprietor may be enough to sort out a situation before it gets out of hand

or those kids who were kidnapped two years ago in anambra. if one had a phone, they may have been able to trace them faster and saved them a lot of trauma.

Sagamite:

Oyb, apart from the one stricken, how does a mobile phone help you or your child than without a mobile phone?

If, god forbid, your kid is drowning, im go dey call daddy? Im go dey press 0 - 8 - 0 - 10 . . . . . while im dey drown? You go telepath from where you are to rescue im from the wata? Your babalawo strong like? Im sabi juju that like the one I dey use for Sagamu? Or you think Jesus dey give una juju pass Ifa?

I was thinking along this line too. This your post funny sha .

Confilass: @ 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.

Hmm

Oh well,i don't even know what to say, not to be meddlesome or nosy and don't take it the wrong way but i kinda still wonder why a 4 years old kid should be left alone with a maid in another state? Unless you are on a trip,then again from your posts,it doesn't sound like just a trip.

Anyways,to each their own.

Sagamite:

You would have to convince alot of parents to have your mentality for the manufacturers to see it as a mass market worth designing such a phone for.

I believe the reality is that majority of the world is too stewpid to come to that thinking.

Fortunately I'm in the industry, so I have the resources to do a bespoke one for myself.

oyb: if my kid is on an outing and one of them is drowning and one of them has a phone, they can place a call to a responsible invested adult informing them that something is happening.

there was this incident in which a kid drowned in a pool and the kids sad that the couple assigned to watch were 'holding' each other or something like that. apparently rather than watch the kids , the teachers decided to toast each other or some such.

a message from one kid to a parent may be enough to avert a disaster.

you know this is naija , where several workers are like the cleaner in ezicachi's thread. now imagine people like that in charge of children. a child calling a parent who then calls the proprietor may be enough to sort out a situation before it gets out of hand

or those kids who were kidnapped two years ago in anambra. if one had a phone, they may have been able to trace them faster and saved them a lot of trauma.

Honestly, this is really fear consumerism.

Firstly, the chances of your child being kidnapped (as terrifying as the thought might be) is relatively low. And if it did happen, an armed bodyguard would be far more effective than a mobile phone. I doubt there are alot of kidnappers nowadays that do not know phones can be traced, so they would be discarding the phone on him/her asap.

If, god forbid, your child or a child is drowning. The most realistic people to save the child are the adults close by. Your phone call would most times just be a reactive tool. With the unfortunate incident of a child drowning that you stated, the kids are still better off going to find and notifying the irresponsible hor[i]n[/i]y morrafckers to come to the rescue than be calling a parent. I have not checked, but I can bet it takes less than 5 mins for a child to drown. So before you put on your clothes, go down the stairs or elevator and drive down to rescue, the disaster would be gone. You would only be there to react.

Really, by and large, this whole "it is for safety" is just immense paranoia and/or fear consumerism.

AjanleKoko:

Fortunately I'm in the industry, so I have the resources to do a bespoke one for myself.

I understand strategy, marketing and how to build a business model. I can make you a billionaire if you let me be your manager and roll it out to mass market.

The Head of the Unit where i once worked narrated a story of how they left their last kid at home on a sunday and went to church (i guess the stubborn boy was about 8 then and he was just acting up). However, just at about when church was over, the boy called the parents who were at about then driving home to intimate them that their security man had been tied up by some unknown men and those men were still waiting within the precints of the gate. (He saw them from upstairs and the assailants were of the belief that the entire family had gone to church). Of course my then boss made a detour, got the police to drive as an advance party after they had instructed their son to remain securley locked inside. Needless to say, there was a minor shoot out and the robbers fled from the gate. I can imagine what would have happened if that guy was not at home or worse still, if he had no phone, or perhaps a phone that was not loaded......

THis is a point to ponder over in determining the propriety or otherwise of giving phones to kids. As for me, i WILL.

hardbody: The Head of the Unit where i once worked narrated a story of how they left their last kid at home on a sunday and went to church (i guess the stubborn boy was about 8 then and he was just acting up). However, just at about when church was over, the boy called the parents who were at about then driving home to intimate them that their security man had been tied up by some unknown men and those men were still waiting within the precints of the gate. (He saw them from upstairs and the assailants were of the belief that the entire family had gone to church). Of course my then boss made a detour, got the police to drive as an advance party after they had instructed their son to remain securley locked inside. Needless to say, there was a minor shoot out and the robbers fled from the gate. I can imagine what would have happened if that guy was not at home or worse still, if he had no phone, or perhaps a phone that was not loaded......

THis is a point to ponder over in determining the propriety or otherwise of giving phones to kids. As for me, i WILL.

And a landline would not have been appropriate for that scenario?

Instead of being worried about armed robbers, I would be more worried about useless parents that can leave an 8 year old home alone.

Sagamite:

And a landline would not have been appropraite for that scenario?

Instead of being worried about armed robbers, I would be more worried about useless parents that can leave an 8 year old home alone.

how many houses in lagos have a functional landline?
you trust nitel that much?

coogar:

how many houses in lagos have a functional landline?
you trust nitel that much?

There are other providers like Starcomms etc now.

And more importantly an 8 year old should not be home alone.

Truth is it depends on the child. My nieces both have phones and they are both 10 and 12 yrs old. Trust me when I say they only remember they have a phone when they want to call me and ask me to buy something for them because their parents have said no to them, or when they ring to speak to their cousins on the phone. Outside these times, they just abandon the phojne somewhere and never remember where they kept it cos I still get calls from them, telling me that their mum has hidden their phones meanwhile the phones are somewhere in their wardrobes where they abandoned it.


They don't own a phone because their parents abandon them in the house. They own it cos they love communicating with their cousins all over.

Will I buy my 8 yr old a phone? yes.

Sagamite:

There are other providers like Starcomms etc now.
And more importantly an 8 year old should not be home alone.

even those ones are not as reliable as mobile phones....leaving
an 8 yr old alone for just few hours isn't that bad on a sunday.
feigning illness on sundays when i was a child to avoid the boring sermons
in churches was the norm for me....as long as there's a security man or
a gardener.....no biggie!

Please it is wrong to leave an 8 yr old alone in the house.

coogar:

even those ones are not as reliable as mobile phones....leaving
an 8 yr old alone for just few hours isn't that bad on a sunday.
feigning illness on sundays when i was a child to avoid the boring sermons
in churches was the norm for me....as long as there's a security man or
a gardener.....no biggie!

I have never heard anything about their unreliability or technical inferiority to mobiles.

jennykadry: Truth is it depends on the child. My nieces both have phones and they are both 10 and 12 yrs old. Trust me when I say they only remember they have a phone when they want to call me and ask me to buy something for them because their parents have said no to them, or when they ring to speak to their cousins on the phone. Outside these times, they just abandon the phojne somewhere and never remember where they kept it cos I still get calls from them, telling me that their mum has hidden their phones meanwhile the phones are somewhere in their wardrobes where they abandoned it.


They don't own a phone because their parents abandon them in the house. They own it cos they love communicating with their cousins all over.

Will I buy my 8 yr old a phone? yes.

NOT IN MY HOUSE!

That day you will have to pack your load and leave for your father's house.

^^Too late sir. I am not going home a tokunboh wife. Restore back my virg***** and I will go back

Ipad gon gon sef, I will buy. Won't stop my kids from being the respectful and academically talented bunch that they really are.

jennykadry: Please it is wrong to leave an 8 yr old alone in the house.

i think it depends on the intelligence bestowed on the 8 yr old.

and yes, i will definitely buy a cheap phone for my child. it is very
important to know where my child is. kids are the most helpless group
in our society and it's difficult for parents to send out their precious kids
out there into the dangerous world. if i can't be with my child, for feck's sake
i should be able to talk to him at the touch of a button!

jennykadry: ^^Too late sir. I am not going home a tokunboh wife. Restore back my virg***** and I will go back

Ipad gon gon sef, I will buy. Won't stop my kids from being the respectful and academically talented bunch that they really are.

You will go back to your father's house and explain since when did we start raising our African daughters to not follow the instruction of a MAN! Trousers only have two legs, not four.

Sagamite:

You will go back to your father's house and explain since when did we start raising our African daughters to not follow the instruction of a MAN!

Since feminism came into existence . Come on nowww. I have 10 and 12 yr olds nieces who were on scholarship first term last year cos they were the best in class. One is currently holding 8A's and one P. Hey the P was in yoruba, so don't blame her .

Hey both have got mobile phones, BB's(I think) and currently talking about Iphone