Austen Gets a Phone

Some months ago, my big brother and I were having a conversation about phones and kids. I was saying how Austen has started asking for a phone and I was reluctant to give him one because I didn't think he needed to be exposed to all those social media apps earlier than he really needed to be. But, he said, when you find the kids start using it as the main means of how they communicate it will get challenging.

I'd say most of Austen's friends started getting phones around December of last year. Some had them before Xmas, some got them for Xmas and as the months stretched on after Xmas, it seemed more and more kids were getting them.

"Aren't you going to ride your bike to school this spring with your friends?" I asked. "Well, they all text each other,"  Austen said, "and they aren't going to text you to tell you when they are leaving." Sigh - imagine what we did as kids before phones! Another time all his friends went into town after school but he had no way of catching up with them because he couldn't text from his watch phone (although he could from his iPad but he wasn't going to carry that around!).

Fast forward, to him coming home from school very upset one day and me figuring out the phone was the main reason why. "I feel like I'm losing connection with my friends," he said. "They're all texting and have a group text and I'm left out. Same for my soccer friends." Come to find out about 90% of his friends had phones and were using it as a means of making plans together and meeting up.

So Austen wrote down all the reasons why he thought he should get a phone coupled with the fact that most of his friends are second or third born children and presented it to Tom and me. We could hardly say no especially when he promised to pay for the phone which he saved to buy.

So last week, his phone came. To say he was beyond excited is an understatement. Of course we have rules like no phones at dinner (even when we're out). It stays downstairs at night to charge (just like our phones). And, there is no taking, making or sharing videos or pictures of people that you know are wrong. Lastly, we get to check all of his history and messaging.

It's been less than a week but so far he's making his own plans and using it respectfully. It is nice to be able to text him now too. He's a very responsible kid so I think it was a good time to allow him to have a bit more independence and responsibility.