All parents care about the safety of their child. Every parent is a nervous wreck when they let their child sleep at a friend’s house for the first time, or participate in their first car pool. Well, there is a solution to ease the anxiety.
As a disclaimer, I will say that it requires some investment, but can be as little as $9.99/month + the initial product cost. Ok, here it is: a cell phone. Yes CELL phone: not a smart phone, not a camera phone, not a multi-media capable phone, but a phone that can make and take calls.
Many people have many reservations but here is why I think it is a good idea to have:
- It is a bargaining tool. If your child does not behave they simply cannot have it and therefore cannot go out. It can also be a reward for graduating elementary school or middle school with honors. The idea of a cell phone can be a motivation device as well.
- It can force you to monitor your child’s behavior more closely. Instead of letting your 12 year old have access to a cell phone at all hours of the night, set time constraints of when they can have it. For example, when they go to a friend’s house for a sleep over they can have it, but when they are home on a Friday night, you can put it away by 8PM in a place of your choosing so your child does not have access to it.
- You can teach your children the value of money this way as well. You can explain to them that it does cost money to use and using it excessively can cause them to get less of something else like that new shirt from Justice.
- It is a great way to monitor you kids and prepare them for when they are older and driving. You can have them call you quickly when they arrive to the movies and when they are older, when they arrive to their friend’s house and when they are on their way home.
- It is a security blanket and should something happen to them or a friend they have the resources to react whether it be calling 911 or calling you or a friend’s parent to come and pick them up from an uncomfortable situation.
All in all, when the time right, a cell phone is recommended for safety reasons and for means of parenting. The social aspect of a cell phone has yet to come. Also, this way, when kids are used to using their phone for functionality only, they will be less likely to abuse the other features.