Forgive my ignorance, but what is "grooming"?
If answering this question opens any old emotional wounds, please just ignore the question.
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youngest age for a child to be using an iPhone
- Thread starter techiegeek1225
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Forgive my ignorance, but what is "grooming"?
If answering this question opens any old emotional wounds, please just ignore the question.
Forgive me if I am being too literal if you meant this somewhat ironically...
No kid is 100% reliable, if by that you mean 100% compliant with parental limits and rules.
All children test limits and break rules. It's part of the maturational learning process. Ergo, supervision is mandatory on the part of the parent.
I'm sure this is not coming as news to anybody!
Pedophiles sometimes fake being a kid in various online sites where kids hang out (e.g., any game site that allows for messaging among players). Once the pedophile gains a child's trust, he/she then manipulates them ('grooming' them to be a victim). In the extreme, there have been incidents in which pedophiles have arranged to meet a target child (who thinks the adult is simply another kid) and sexually assault them, and in the UK there has been at least one murder as a result. The milder forms of grooming often results in the child sending pictures of themselves.
I cannot overstate just how underhanded grooming can be. Even a good kid can get trapped. For instance a good kid that respects authority is subject to blackmail - once they send one picture, the pedophile reveals himself/herself as an adult and threatens to post the picture on the internet or send it to the parents unless the kid sends more. This can leave the kid with very damaging feeling of shame, anxiety, distrust in others, and outright fear of sexual assault.
I have 2 kids, one is 11 and one is 12. They keep wanting to have iPhones but I keep telling them NO. Simply because I don't want them to get sucked in and be playing games, surfing online, listening to music all day. We already have an iMac and they have been using this for homework and such. Sometimes too much technology is not a good thing especially for kids.
It depends. If you mean using an iPhone with parental supervision.. Probably as young as 3 to play little toddler games. If it's using an iPhone without parental supervision but no cellular plan, probably 12. If it's using an iPhone without adult supervision and a cellular plan attached 18.
In the not so distant future electronic communication and social networking will be the only "social skills".
My children use both of their devices unattended for periods during the day. However all restrictions are set on both devices. No web browser and stores are restricted to appropriate age content. They can download whatever freebies they want but need a password for paid apps. Gps is off and they can't read my emails or send email. My apps don't automatically download to their devices. This works out quite well.
I let my nephews use my old iPad when I babysit them. They are 7 and 9. I think it really depends on the child. Some children mature / don't misuse things at different ages.
Forgive me if I am being too literal if you meant this somewhat ironically...
No kid is 100% reliable, if by that you mean 100% compliant with parental limits and rules.
All children test limits and break rules. It's part of the maturational learning process. Ergo, supervision is mandatory on the part of the parent.
I'm sure this is not coming as news to anybody!
K my apologies for not being more specific
I meant in the sense that say you give the kid something of lower value... and the kid takes care of it, and gets more responsibilities etc. and herby turns reliable as the parents or whomever gives the kid the device knows that he/she has proven reliable in the past...
Yes that is true and it should happen that way...otherwise the world would be one boring place if everyone would follow every rule ever made by anyone... (i am not trying to say break the rules whenever but more just test your limits and maybe discuss certain rules that may be over the top or could be altered).
My Son is 22 months and has been using the an iPhone since he was around 8 or 10 months old. He uses the original iPhone, it is his and has apps on it for him, no cellular. He also uses my iPad but only when we are sitting together. When he is older I will get him an iPad but not for a couple of years probably. Believe it or not he has only dropped his iPhone once and get yelled at, if he mistreats his iPhone he loses it, those are the rules.
A $650 glass device for a child...
I know I'm old and out of it, but there is something...how shall I say this...decadent about that.
When someone can afford to buy it, support the necessary contract payments on it, and afford to break it - that is the age.
Sorry...the musings of an old man form a different time and era.
Wow, yeah you showed your age there I gotta say. I think 10 is the minimum age. Sorry but times are a changin.
I 100% agree with this. My kids are 11, 9 and 2...the 11 and 9 year old have been asking for iPhones for 3 years and my answer is still an affirmative NO! I also set firm boundaries on their exposure to the internet and PS3 (i.e. 45 minutes per day on one or the other unless it is a part of their schoolwork).
As a result, my kids play outside a lot, they play sports...like football, baseball, basketball and golf, not Madden, MLB the show, NBA Live or Tiger Woods golf.
My wife has an iPhone and I have a SGIII, and we both allow them to use the devices under our supervision. It's not the expense of the device I worry about...it's the constant exposure to electronics and promotion of a sedentary lifestyle.
My kids aren't perfect and I'm sure there are many problems that we will have to deal with in continuing to raise them, but one thing is for sure, we will not have obese children with nothing better to do than sit at a keyboard and pound away with social networking and the like. I prefer that my kids make real friends...you know, real people that you can actually ask to throw ball with or go to a movie...not this virtuoso facebook world of 1,000 friends whom you will never see or interact with.
My 16mo loves playing with my wife's and my iPhone and knows how to open up the video app. There is a video she loves playing and she plays it over and over. If I play another one or she accidentally does she gets mad. My neighbor's daughters are 9 and 11 and my wife and I both let them use our phones to play games. So far, they have returned it every time unharmed.
A $650 glass device for a child...
I know I'm old and out of it, but there is something...how shall I say this...decadent about that.
When someone can afford to buy it, support the necessary contract payments on it, and afford to break it - that is the age.
Sorry...the musings of an old man form a different time and era.
What could possibly be your basis for making such a claim? That's just mindless capitalist claptrap - the idea that people shouldn't have objects unless they can purchase them with their own money.
Ok, this idea is obviously currently being practiced in society at large. As in, people can only have things that they can purchase with their own money i.e. nobody gets a free ride. This is the basic idea of capitalism.
But you want to bring capitalism and the marketplace into family life? Isn't that a bit strange? How could this ever work? In family life we don't say "each man has to fend for himself" - rather, we allow "free rides" for children and the elderly.
A $650 glass device for a child...
I know I'm old and out of it, but there is something...how shall I say this...decadent about that.
When someone can afford to buy it, support the necessary contract payments on it, and afford to break it - that is the age.
Sorry...the musings of an old man form a different time and era.
I suppose a child shouldn't have any toys until they are old enough to buy them.
I suppose a child shouldn't have any toys until they are old enough to buy them.
You point out very well that my post was not well constructed.
I would, however, make a distinction between a pull-toy or stuffed animal, and a $650 glass electronic device.
No. I don't think children should have to buy their own toys, but I don't think of an iPhone as a toy.
You point out very well that my post was not well constructed.
I would, however, make a distinction between a pull-toy or stuffed animal, and a $650 glass electronic device.
No. I don't think children should have to buy their own toys, but I don't think of an iPhone as a toy.
I see the iPhone as very versatile. It can very well be a toy, and I don't see the problem playing with one (supervised) of course.
Hi, thanks for the response. Yep, I think 7 and 9 have a little sense of responsibility already to be using an iPad with care. I do think that these devices are very helpful in somehow making the kids "behave" while we do our errands. Lol!
I figured out that the earliest age a child should be USING an iPhone is 2 and OWNING it should be when he or shes in high school. I believe there are apps that improve the kids motor skills as well as numeracy and literacy ones. I think the length of time in using/playing an iPhone is impt. Very good if toddlers know how to answer phones for emergency situations but there should be restrictions for incoming calls. For teenagers, this ones good for communication and also knowing where our kids are located.
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Thank you all for the responses!
I didnt only get the answer I need, I myself learned a lot from your ideas and personal experiences. And I know our fellow members and even guests did too. Thanks to yall!
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Thank you all for the responses!
I didnt only get the answer I need, I myself learned a lot from your ideas and personal experiences. And I know our fellow members and even guests did too. Thanks to yall!
Consider the age of eight.
The child is old enough to benefit from the early cognitive experiences but also not so young as to be totally belligerent with the hardware.
Any older than that and they miss out on the unparalleled knowledge we never had at that age,
Any younger and they are still barely understanding the world around them.
Of course there will have to be parental controls.
Yes, I do believe it is eight.
In answer to your questing OP, the youngest age is indeed eight. good day.
The child is old enough to benefit from the early cognitive experiences but also not so young as to be totally belligerent with the hardware.
Any older than that and they miss out on the unparalleled knowledge we never had at that age,
Any younger and they are still barely understanding the world around them.
Of course there will have to be parental controls.
Yes, I do believe it is eight.
In answer to your questing OP, the youngest age is indeed eight.
good day.