this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2025
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Agree with this, but I don't supply my kids with phones at all, despite their friends having them. If there's an emergency, they can go to the office or ask their teacher. If that's not possible, the school will likely call instead (e.g. when there was a bomb threat a couple of years ago).
I have chosen to not give my kids phones, but I also think other parents should be allowed to choose differently. Everyone's circumstances are different, and I don't want the government stepping in to make parenting decisions for me, even if my decisions would be the same. That's overreach and I will absolutely oppose it.
And what if they get into trouble on their way home? Or the way to the bus, supermarket or whatnot?
I don’t think there is a good answer here. I didn’t really want my kids to have phones either but all you’re doing by denying them the primary social tool of their generation is ostracizing them from their peers.
Being a parent sometimes feels like a series of un-winnable choices.
What peers? They mostly play with neighborhood kids, and we have contact info for a few that live further away and arrange things that way. Our kids aren't teenagers yet, but my sister's are and they seem to do fine without phones as well. My friends growing up mostly had phones, and I worked around that as well.
I think people are making a much bigger deal about it than it really is. Maybe it's a larger issue in other areas, but honestly, my kids mostly want one to play games, not contact friends.
We certainly reevaluate regularly, but I'll need a pretty good reason to give my kids their own phones. I'm much more likely to have a loaner they can share, and only for a fixed amount of time.