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bandityo

macrumors member
Nov 11, 2012
75
11
Im happy for her as well...gave my 15 year old one for her 15th birthday....she babies it.... just get her a protective case for it so she can keep it nice.
 

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,741
153
OP, ignore this:

Did you check the phone to see if it is scuffed or nicked? There's been a lot of those.


Yes, some have had microscopic cosmetic issues and if there is actually an issue you can see with the naked eye then you can exchange. This site is the worst when it comes to deciding whether or not there is a widespread issue with anything Apple-related.

That is a nice gift. My nephew is about her age and call me old, but it has been decided that he is too young for a smart phone.
 

teknikal90

macrumors 68040
Jan 28, 2008
3,346
1,901
Vancouver, BC
I was going to say wow..that's a bit rich...
but then i realized when I was 13 I got a nokia 7250 for my birthday...pretty much 2003's equivalent of an iphone.
kids' gifts are far from the old wives' tale of socks for christmas. and it has been far removed from that for a long time.
kids are indeed expensive, I gotta get over that some day.
 

tymaster50

Suspended
Oct 3, 2012
2,833
58
Oregon
I was going to say wow..that's a bit rich...
but then i realized when I was 13 I got a nokia 7250 for my birthday...pretty much 2003's equivalent of an iphone.
kids' gifts are far from the old wives' tale of socks for christmas. and it has been far removed from that for a long time.
kids are indeed expensive, I gotta get over that some day.

haha yeah, I remember when it was like a nintendo ds or psp for christmas. Now it's ps3's and iPhone's and iPad's. Kids are spoiled these days.
 

LoloBond

macrumors 6502
Nov 21, 2011
436
1
I bought my daughter an iPod 32g, me and my wife we been talking about return the iPod and get an iPhone. It's cheaper but my bill will go up by 30 bucks and I don't know if I'm ready for that since she only uses the internet (WiFi) at home. I really don't know what to do.

Edit**

This was my first cellphone back in 1992 when I started working (company phone)...

motorola-first_cell_phone.jpg
 
Last edited:

Squilly

macrumors 68020
Nov 17, 2012
2,260
4
PA
My 14 year old daughter used my iPhone 3 GS for 3 years and took very good care of it. I originally had our home phone number ported over to a cell phone because everyone in our household had a cell and the landline was never used.

She started out only taking the phone with her when she went to a friend's house or stayed after school for sports or chess club. She was very responsible and did not abuse having the cell phone with her. She is mature for her age. (She attends a small private school and has 4 older siblings) I have raised her to appreciate all she has.

She now has the iPhone 5. She understands it is an expensive piece of technology and that she is very fortunate to own one. She is not spoiled. She earns the usage of the phone by doing chores and keeping her grades up and attitude proper.

I also passed down my first gen iPad when I upgraded. She uses it for drawing, writing short stories, homework (as she is able to print wirelessly) as well as watch vides and play games. Technology is a great thing and I think our youth should learn to use it responsibly.

Only you know your child and if she is responsible enough to own one. I read a lot of negativity here on kids having iPhones or iPads and many of these people either do not have kids or are still living in the past. I did not own a cell until I was 26. My older kids ( ages 27, 25, 23 ) got their first cell phone when they started driving. (Those phones were dinosaurs compared to the phones of today), and were pay as you go.

Times have changed and new technology is available and constantly progressing. We have an iMac, 3 Apple TV's and an Air in our house and I want my daughter to be capable of using this wonderful technology, competently. I am not one of those people who say "When I was that age" because when I was that age, things were different. I want to give my kids advantages I did NOT have at that age.:)

Well said. I'm 18, got my first phone at ~12, still remember it being a flip phone. Times surely have changed.
 

aphexacid

macrumors 6502a
Jul 31, 2007
936
22
Chicago
iPhones at 13! The other guy says he had a pager at 13!

gah!

I'm 32. in 1993, if i would have asked my mom for a pager, i'd have received the back of her hand.

I don't know exactly how we will go about this when we have kids, but my fiance and I have talked about this a lot. I don't want a zombie teenager sitting around texting friends all day.
But i do love the educational aspect tech can bring. I guess i'll cross that bridge....
 

725032

Guest
Aug 5, 2012
724
0
I believe 13 is too young for an iphone 5.

Would be interested to know how things work out in a few months time
 

dukebound85

macrumors Core
Jul 17, 2005
19,131
4,110
5045 feet above sea level
Damn, kids grow up fast these days, when I was thirteen about 4 years ago in 2008 I was in my 8th grade year of middle school and I was still playing pokemon occasionally. someone stole my iPod touch and it was hard enough convincing my mom to get me an iPhone.I had a little red prepaid samsung phone for T-Mobile I think lmao even though my mom is on AT&T. I barely even used the phone, I didn't even know the number for it.

you speak as if you are not still a kid yourself lol
 

numberforty1

macrumors 6502
Oct 6, 2012
402
0
Canada
iPhones at 13! The other guy says he had a pager at 13!

gah!

I'm 32. in 1993, if i would have asked my mom for a pager, i'd have received the back of her hand.

I don't know exactly how we will go about this when we have kids, but my fiance and I have talked about this a lot. I don't want a zombie teenager sitting around texting friends all day.
But i do love the educational aspect tech can bring. I guess i'll cross that bridge....

haha - i am 32 aswell, and I didnt get a cell phone until I bought one for myself at the age of 25. I was one of the people that said "ill never get a cell phone"...but then I needed one for work. now i have just a cell and no landline. things have changed ALOT in the last 10-20 years.
 

From A Buick 8

macrumors 68040
Sep 16, 2010
3,114
127
Ky Close to CinCinnati
I don't know exactly how we will go about this when we have kids, but my fiance and I have talked about this a lot. I don't want a zombie teenager sitting around texting friends all day.
But i do love the educational aspect tech can bring. I guess i'll cross that bridge....

It can be a good thing, it is nice to be able to always get a hold of them when you need to and it becomes something that can be used as a carrot and a stick.
 

dukebound85

macrumors Core
Jul 17, 2005
19,131
4,110
5045 feet above sea level
Did you check the phone to see if it is scuffed or nicked? There's been a lot of those.

yea, not quite sure how this is relevant to the thread's topic


OP, ignore this:




Yes, some have had microscopic cosmetic issues and if there is actually an issue you can see with the naked eye then you can exchange. This site is the worst when it comes to deciding whether or not there is a widespread issue with anything Apple-related.

That is a nice gift. My nephew is about her age and call me old, but it has been decided that he is too young for a smart phone.
Indeed, not sure why he posted that
 

numberforty1

macrumors 6502
Oct 6, 2012
402
0
Canada
yea, not quite sure how this is relevant to the thread's topic

I bought a phone as a gift, and the carrier offers a 14 day return only. i got the phone like a month ago, so I HAD to open it and inspect it. I can see how it's relevant if you're gifting it passed the return date.
 

dinggus

macrumors 65816
Jan 17, 2012
1,309
63
iPhones at 13! The other guy says he had a pager at 13!

gah!

I'm 32. in 1993, if i would have asked my mom for a pager, i'd have received the back of her hand.

I don't know exactly how we will go about this when we have kids, but my fiance and I have talked about this a lot. I don't want a zombie teenager sitting around texting friends all day.
But i do love the educational aspect tech can bring. I guess i'll cross that bridge....

How else was my mom going to get ahold of me when she was the only parent and I was off adventuring with friends? This was in 2000.
 

Jessica Lares

macrumors G3
Oct 31, 2009
9,612
1,056
Near Dallas, Texas, USA
Wow, some of you in here make me feel old. I'm 23 going on 24. When I was 13, I had a CD player and my parents would buy me blank CDs to burn stuff to play on it. Text messaging wasn't common until like my sophomore year of high school. None of my friends even start texting until after graduation, so I didn't even get that experience, haha.

The smartphone plans are too expensive on AT&T, and that's why I told my parents to not get my brother an iPhone, even on the family and share plans. He already broke his iPod Touch once, and doesn't really manage it well, so that was the other thing. I don't want him to get sidetracked with apps and games too, he already has problems focusing to begin with.

I hope your daughter enjoys the iPhone. Hopefully you'll be a responsible parent too. There seems to be a lot of parents coming in here that want to block everything on their kids phone, but ignore educating them on responsibility and things they shouldn't be doing online.
 

SlasherDuff

macrumors 6502a
Apr 7, 2008
548
0
Gator Country
There are a lot of jealous people here... Big deal, a 13 year old gets an iPhone for Christmas, kudos to her

All I had back in 1992 at the age of 13 was a cassette collection, no fancy devices

OP I hope she enjoys her Christmas gift. :)
 
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