<p>The good thing about texting—the phone isn’t next to the kid’s head as in talking (maybe good for brain cancer)?</p>
<p>I get a sense of a time difference in this thread. Those with older kids saying their young one’s got by without them and so be it; ones with young kids who say their kids of course have cell phones. </p>
<p>No doubt we can all survive without cell phones, just like everything else. But it’s changing times. I grew up with ONE bathroom for six of us, we were all just fine yet one might laugh at that now. We had one TV set, and one car, not several. And gasp, we did school without laptops! </p>
<p>But so goes technology and culture. If you had 12 year olds in 2000, you would never have even thought of giving them a cell phone, in the year 2008 its normal. Most of these consumer products we don’t NEED. But they are niceties we get used to for convenience.</p>
<p>I resisted getting my (now 17 yo) son a cell phone for years (thought it was a typical bourgeoisie child-indulgence!). Finally I gave in when he was 15. It really was wonderful. Whenever he went somewhere, I knew I could get in touch w/him and not worry. If he went from one friend’s house to another, I knew. It’s great! </p>
<p>I now plan to get one for my now-six year old as soon as I start leaving her at extra-curricular activities alone. That could be this spring! I’ll just have 3 numbers programmed into it and that’s it.</p>
<p>Yeah, Jolynne, those cell phones made specifically for kids where the parents program a few numbers in, and the child can’t call anyone else. I am pretty sure I’ll get one of those for PhysicsBaby when she’s older.</p>
<p>I facebook on my phone. I don’t actually often raise the phone to my ear.</p>
<p>'Nuff said. :)</p>