Cellphones for Kids(4-11 year olds)

Thanks for the quick response SquadSix. I'll respond to your arguments in the order you made them. == Office phone == Yes, at school, each teacher has an office phone. However, students are not allowed to use it, unless in an actual emergency. If you pee in your pants, you can't call mommy to bring you new ones without raising your hand and explaining to the teacher what happened. This is embarrassing and may lead to castigation, name-calling ("pee pants"), and bullying. For example, once in 5th grade, my mom took me to the eye doctor, and he dilated my pupils. My mom took me back to school, but I couldn't see ANYTHING. Rather than being able to call her during recess, INSTEAD I had to just wait it out. The teacher end up calling on me to answer a question on the board. I had to explain that I couldn't see. She asked why? Even more embarrassed, I had to explain why. She said in front of everyone, "you don't belong here, go to the school nurse, she'll call your mom." Embarrassing. When I was in 6th grade, my mom forgot to pick me up after school. The office doesn't just let you run in and use their phone whenever you feel like it, and honestly, I didn't think of doing that. Instead I waited for 3 hours for her to remember to come get me. All of my friends had already been picked up by that point, so I couldn't borrow a phone. Also, I didn't have any friends from 7th or 8th grade. Most kids make friends only within their grade level. Under my opponent's proposal, they couldn't borrow from an older friend, only an older sibling. I don't have an older sibling, only a younger one. == After School Activities == My opponent again says kids should "just borrow" cell phones from friends. The first problem is: for a young child, they may not have mommy's number memorized, but with a cell phone it's programmed in. Second, not all after-school activities include both younger and older children. I went to after-school gymnastics which only included students 5-10; I attended swim classes for only students in my age level. == Why 7th grade?? == My opponent never explains this arbitrary cutoff point. If middle school is an appropriate time for a cell phone, why not give it to 6th graders too? My opponent agrees that if I win 6th grade, I win. Middle school is when students are given more autonomy. In 6th grade, I was allowed to WALK to my after-school care facility, which was far away from my school campus. I was allowed to stop with friends, on the way, and go get food. I had enough maturity for a cell phone at that age. == Texting == First, not all kids text in "text language." Second, my opponent never even proves why this is bad. I sometimes text "lol" or "u r a dork", etc, but my facility with the English language is still quite good. It doesn't degrade actual writing ability to use text shortcuts. In addition, texting is not allowed, by teachers, during class. Some schools even block wireless signals during school hours (excluding recess and lunch), so students can't text. In addition, parental controls allow parents to prevent kids from calling or texting anyone but them. http://www.greatschools.org... Lastly, kids use Facebook so they'll use this shorthand anyway. == Emergencies == You can't prepare your kid for everything. You never know what situation they will find themselves in. Even if you tell them about the "lost dog" trick, what if you forgot to tell them about if a stranger shows up and says, "Your parents were in a terrible accident. They sent me to get you. Come quick." The stranger may even know their name by having stalked them, either online or in person. In these emergencies, children have scared away potential attackers by taking cell phone pictures of them. http://www.greatschools.org... They can also be instructed to CALL their parents if a stranger ever approaches them. This circumvents the newest trick that child molesters are using. Lastly, children sometimes simply get lost. Many parents allow their children enough autonomy to walk home from school. If, for whatever reason, the child is lost (or kidnapped), the GPS on the phone can be activated to find the child. http://www.greatschools.org... Here is a story about a mom who refused to get her 11 year old a cell phone. One day, the bus was late picking him up. He called his jerk 15 year old brother, who told him to just wait there. When his mom finally found him, deathly cold, she realized that she should have just got him a cell phone. http://www.businessweek.com... Cell phones have also been used to record incidents of school bullying, to prove the abuse to school administrators. A 2 year old saved her mother's life by using a cell phone to call police after her mother collapsed. http://www.khou.com... This would not have been possible had the 2 year old had no proficiency with using cell phones. This is another reason kids need cell phones: they can call the police if they are in dire need of assistance. If they are ever alone and something REALLY bad happens, they may be too far from the nearest landline. What about an asthmatic kid who collapses into an asthma fit, after forgetting his inhaler? Wouldn't you rather he be able to immediately dial 911, even if he's on his own? Children's Hospital Boston says, "For some young kids, cell phones truly do improve their health and safety. Kids with chronic and dangerous health problems, like diabetes or bad asthma, can use them to get help quickly. Kids who will be alone for more than brief periods (like those with a long public transportation ride to and from school) are safer if they can be in touch with a grownup easily. And for various reasons, some families need the ability to be in close contact. In these situations, the benefits outweigh the risks." http://childrenshospitalblog.org... "Some academic experts advocate giving mobile phones to 10- and 11-year-olds. In 2001, professors at the University of Gloucestershire found that about half of the 351 primary-school pupils they surveyed had phones and that 38% had used their phones in a crisis situation." http://cmcs.rutgers.edu... According to this study, nearly FORTY percent of young kids had used their cell phone in a "crisis situation." Parents clearly think it is important to give 11 year olds cell phone. One third of all 11 year olds have cell phones in the U.S. http://www.tomsguide.com... According to the same Rutgers study, students who don't get cell phones can develop negative self-feelings and isolation, and they may have stunted social skills: "lack of ownership 'could harm social development and learning and lead to negative self-feelings and isolation.'" [1] [1] Tony Charlton, Charlotte Panting, and Andrew Hannan, "Mobile Telephone Ownership and Usage Among 10- and 11-Year-Olds: Participation and Exclusion", Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties