The Hoopla About Phones – Smart or Flip Phone?
Smart or Dumb?
A smart phone or a flip phone? What is the hoopla about, anyhow? It’s out there, and it’s all around us. Sometimes it seems like we’re preaching to the choir. I’m talking about the hoopla about cell phones. Internet. Social Media. Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. All those other apps no parent has any sense letting their kids have. Many of those apps and games you don’t even know about. How many parents know about these, for example?:
- Kik
- Snapchat
- Ask.fm
- Whisper
- Blendr
- GroupMe
- Chatous
Trouble is, it’s easier to give in and let them have what they want than to keep saying No or keep trying to explain why. Saying No, no, no gets old. Really fast.
Some parents let their kids have a smart phone. Other parents think their kids only need to have a flip phone – with no internet. What should we do?
Think about it. It’s a stupid reason to give in to a kid and give him a smart phone just because he begs and because he wants one. Perhaps the real reason we give in is because we don’t want to be different from other parents, nor do we want to be the odd ball out, or the old-fashioned out-of-touch-of-reality parents. So we give in. Again.
A flip phone all the way
Let me tell you something. Your child does not need a smart phone. He’s smarter than you. He can hide things and fake you out. You’ll never see what he does with his phone – or half the apps he has. He’s smarter than that. He’s smarter than you.
He needs a phone? Get him a flip phone with no internet access. If he really needs a phone, get him a flip phone. It will do the job, save you money, and give him some protection.
He needs a smart phone? Please tell me why.
Send me an email here: mywindowsill6@gmail.com. Explain to me why your child has a smart phone. I want to know. I really want to know.
A iPhone has built in controls, called restrictions, and they can get picture texts, and only apps that you allow. We have no browser, On the phone, and only apps that us as parents put on, for them. The App Store is locked under a passcode that parents have.
A child can also outwit you on a flip phone. There is WiFi readily available these days in public.
May God give all parents much wisdom, and force us to grow in knowledge in these areas! Yes, youth easily find ways of hiding..
Thank you for sharing this. I think it depends what type of flip phone you purchase. The “dumb/flip phone” my hubby has cannot access any internet: only texts and phone calls. If I were raising kids today, that’s the kind of phone they’d have. And, all phones would be confiscated at bedtime. Yes, we all need wisdom in raising our kids and cheering on grandkids!
I just have to wonder if you gave your husband’s “dumb phone” to a smart teenager if they could find the internet on it for you??!! Our smart phones (including Mom & Dad) have no browsing available. And the App Store is locked so no unapproved apps either. I also agree with no phones to bed; but it has been extremely difficult to reinforce. Thanks for speaking out on this current issue.
I have learned there is more than one kind of “dumb phone.” Actually, he can’t even get photos on his phone. If someone sends him a photo, it shows up as a box and he forwards it to me. Then he looks at the photo on my phone. 🙂 He can, however, throw it across a room and let it land on concrete without any damage to the phone. As far as the App Store being locked, I don’t know if there is any way a child could “unlock” their phone and then re-lock it. I just know they’re a lot smarter than we are, and we cannot be too careful. 😉 If you are paying your child’s phone bill, you should be able to look at the bill when it comes and see who and when they called someone. That can be helpful. One thing for sure, the kids won’t enforce the “no phones in bedrooms” rule; you’ll need to make sure it happens. 🙂