Just read my copy of the email newsletter Children Online, which keeps me up to date with resources and news about children and their Internet use. Experts Marje Monroe and Doug Fodeman, both educators, consult to schools and parents about such topics as online bullying (major problem), the appropriate age at which a child should be allowed to text (they say it’s 14 years), and how to manage what sites your kids get exposed to.

These days, I know that parents struggle to figure out what to do about the cell phone issue. That is, at what age should I give my child a cell phone and what should the expectations be? In most cases, the parents want to give it for safety reasons, and the kid wants to receive it because it’s fun and another means of staying in touch with friends.

Monroe and Fodeman suggest buying a cell phone for children and younger teens without surfing and texting capabilities. But phone companies don’t make that easy. When was the last time you talked with one of those young cell phone studs they hire in the wireless stores? You just know he’s texting something snide behind his back while you ask politely about getting a phone with big numbers and buttons and no features.

That’s why they suggest looking into the Firefly, a phone designed specifically for kids.

The phone stores up to 20 numbers, including dedicated keys for reaching parents. You can use PIN protection to limit incoming and outgoing calls to those stored in the phone book. No texting. No surfing. However, you can get some pretty cool accessories to dress it up. My guy’s preference would probably be the Urban Camo Shell or the mesh pouch, which he could tie to his knapsack.

AT&T charges about $60 a month for its family-friendly two-line account phone service. Or you can buy pay-as-you-go minutes, which can be recharged to a credit card.

But I’m going to wait a couple of years before I outfit my son with his own device. Why? At age six, he’s still too innocent to learn about the fine print in AT&T’s service contracts. And until he can spout the meaning of that back to me, he’s going to have to yell to be heard by his buddies.

Posted on September 16th, 2008 by dian