I would totally understand if it was in a place where your kids can take a walk or public transport to school or other places on their own. I would also want them to have means to call you.
EDIT: my bad, I ignored the ‘smart’ bit there. I just meant any phone.
I think I was maybe 12 when I got my first smartphone, admittedly they weren’t really a thing much earlier than that and while I definitely have issues I’m pretty sure none of them were caused by the phone
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. I’d just like to mention that it was perfectly normal for kids to go on 12km without a phone not so long ago, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it now. Parents worry too much. I mean, it’s a biological impulse that makes a lot of sense, but it’s often over done.
Well yeah, but it is always good to carry a phone with you especially when you bike through somewhere where there isn’t a lot of other traffic or it is off your unusual route. There is nothing wrong with carrying a Nokia 3310 or something
Ye, I think it’s fine either way, nokia or no phone at all. I cycled 17km to school from age 12 to 17 and only got my first phone when I was 18 and moved out. Of course I did get a flat tire a couple of times, but then I’d just walk or sat at the back of the bicycke of a friend.
And what if you fell while you where alone and broke a leg making it impossible for you to walk? Or you friend fell and hit his head open on the road being able to call for help is actually pretty handy.
I suppose living in the Netherlands, a pretty crowded place, assures you that you’re rarely ever alone in the middle of nowhere for very long. But yes that is handy and I can totally understand parents feeling comfortable with their kids being able to call for help if anything ever happens to them.
No you are never that far from society in NL, but at moments when every second counts I would rather just have a phone for my kid. Use something like a Nokia, give them a 10 euro prepaid card and if it is used up buy more and take it from their savings.
Kidnaps are and were never common. It’s one of the most overrated risks that parents worry about. And also one of the most disastrous especially in the US, where people, riled up by media, seems to find it irresponisble to let your child roam around the world unwatched. Whereas experts have shown again and again that this is important for the childs development.
That paranoia came about when crime documentaries got big on TV (and now internet) rather than a consistent increase in abductions. People are really bad at reasoning with probability and undoing attentional bias from media, so they even think it can be likely kids would be abducted if left alone.
This is why 24/7 location tracking on kid’s phones is completely normalized. Sure, it’s not a bad thing to take precautions, but tracking your kids like a dog seems a bit much. And I’m sure a lot of parents misuse it for a lot less serious things (eg teens being at the mall unsupervised).
The True Crime here is an 11 year old child with a (I suppose) Smartphone.
I would totally understand if it was in a place where your kids can take a walk or public transport to school or other places on their own. I would also want them to have means to call you.
EDIT: my bad, I ignored the ‘smart’ bit there. I just meant any phone.
Whatever you say Grandpa
Ok, brainrot
I think I was maybe 12 when I got my first smartphone, admittedly they weren’t really a thing much earlier than that and while I definitely have issues I’m pretty sure none of them were caused by the phone
There was no Instagram/TikTok back then, though.
Or Cocomelon, or other services and channels literally designed to break impressionable brains.
Can be a normal phone which is what I would do if I where a parent and my kid would have to bike 12 km to school every day.
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. I’d just like to mention that it was perfectly normal for kids to go on 12km without a phone not so long ago, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it now. Parents worry too much. I mean, it’s a biological impulse that makes a lot of sense, but it’s often over done.
Well yeah, but it is always good to carry a phone with you especially when you bike through somewhere where there isn’t a lot of other traffic or it is off your unusual route. There is nothing wrong with carrying a Nokia 3310 or something
Ye, I think it’s fine either way, nokia or no phone at all. I cycled 17km to school from age 12 to 17 and only got my first phone when I was 18 and moved out. Of course I did get a flat tire a couple of times, but then I’d just walk or sat at the back of the bicycke of a friend.
And what if you fell while you where alone and broke a leg making it impossible for you to walk? Or you friend fell and hit his head open on the road being able to call for help is actually pretty handy.
Like it might sound absurd, but shit happens
I suppose living in the Netherlands, a pretty crowded place, assures you that you’re rarely ever alone in the middle of nowhere for very long. But yes that is handy and I can totally understand parents feeling comfortable with their kids being able to call for help if anything ever happens to them.
No you are never that far from society in NL, but at moments when every second counts I would rather just have a phone for my kid. Use something like a Nokia, give them a 10 euro prepaid card and if it is used up buy more and take it from their savings.
At least that’s what ill do when I have kids
I think a lot more kids got napped in the States before cellphones were common
Kidnaps are and were never common. It’s one of the most overrated risks that parents worry about. And also one of the most disastrous especially in the US, where people, riled up by media, seems to find it irresponisble to let your child roam around the world unwatched. Whereas experts have shown again and again that this is important for the childs development.
That paranoia came about when crime documentaries got big on TV (and now internet) rather than a consistent increase in abductions. People are really bad at reasoning with probability and undoing attentional bias from media, so they even think it can be likely kids would be abducted if left alone.
This is why 24/7 location tracking on kid’s phones is completely normalized. Sure, it’s not a bad thing to take precautions, but tracking your kids like a dog seems a bit much. And I’m sure a lot of parents misuse it for a lot less serious things (eg teens being at the mall unsupervised).
Normal Phone would be fine :)