My 8 year olds wants a Bebo Page and a Mobile phone!!! Im not keen though, am I just being overprotective?

Question

He is 8 and some of his friends have mobile phones which I am tottaly against as he wouldnt really know what to do with it but play games! He cant text and who on earth would he phone? He isnt allowed to roam the streets so I know where he is at all times!! He also wants a Bebo Page but again, why does he need this. They have caused trouble in his school , fighting and bullying are rife with the older children in his school so I really dont think he should have one but of course this is making me hugely unpopular but Im not bothered but do you think i'm being unfair? Paranoid perhaps? I think I have so many good reasons for not allowing him these things and cant think of any pros? What age did you let your children do similar things?

Answer 1

i dont think your being paranoid. i agree with you. i got my first mobile when i was 12 and that was only for emergencies.

Answer 2

I'd say definitely not for a Bebo page not until he's at least 15/16...sign up for one yourself so you know what its all about. I really don't think its appropriate for children.

Mobile phone everyone seems to have one these days and I'd say no at that age but its dificult when the whole school has one. If he insists get an old Pay as you go and make him pay for his own credit. That way it may teach some responsibility for money and keeping the phone in good condition etc....and he'll soon get bored of it and next month it'll be something else!!

Answer 3

To be honest, I don't see why he would need either. But it is entirely your choice.

If you buy him a mobile, yeah it would probably help in emergencies, but if you know where he is all the time, then there really isn't much point and it seems like a bit of a waste of money.

As for Bebo, at his age (in my opinion) there isn't really much he could use it for and all it could do is cause (potential) trouble. Bebo, MySpace and especially Facebook are all really only suited for teens plus.

Then again, this is all just opinion, there is no definate answer.

Answer 4

No child at that age needs unsupervised access to the internet try giving him freedom to play on something safer like Club Penguin on PBS kids.org there they can chat with other children but with some limitations. Still I allow my children on this website but I still look over their shoulders its my job to keep them safe!!

Cell phones have been requested by my 11 year old who's been trying now for 2 years. At no point do I go back on my original  thought of not until he's 12 and at that point with restrictions. I will monitor that for awhile also. Children get themselves in heaps of messes without these types of objects they can wait awhile longer.

Children want to be miniature adults earlier and earlier. If you had a child who spent more time alone I think it would be acceptable t5o allow them to have a phone  for example: walking home from school solo, going to an empty house after school things like that.

My son understands why he doesn't have a phone yet he may not always agree with my decisions but he always knows why I make the rules I do. Its to protect him! Good luck! Stick with your gut feeling no matter how unpopular it may seem to anyone else.

Answer 5

i'm 12 now and i got my phone at 10 well 3 months before my 11th birthday

maybe get him a phone for his 10th birthday you never no when he will need it plus things are changing.

also NO WAY get him a Bebo Page untill he's 15

good luck

and dont worry all parents worry about wather they are being to overprotective or not and dont worry your the perfect amount of protectivness

hope i helped

Answer 6

I agree with you - 8 is too young. My boy got a phone at 11 but only because he really committed to it - he had to wait for 4 months for me to test his committment. He uses it mostly for music downloads.

He is 12 now and has just set up a Bebo page because a friend of his wanted him to.

My 9 year old has no interest in those things whatsoever.

Answer 7

Him having a phone is ok, my cousin is six snd he has a phone!

But not to sure about having a bebo page! The internet might be considered a scary place for an eight year old!

Answer 8

The age limit for getting a Bebo page is 13.

The answerer before says she keeps her daughters private but everyone can see what she is writing on other kids pages who are not set to private and they give so much away about themselves so it is not safe for someone so young.

And there are lots of p**n videos and pictures posted on there, it takes bebo hours to take them down.

Answer 9

I think he's too young

Answer 10

well i got a cell phone at 8 and my sister got one at 9, we both got the kind that the parent programs the numbers we could call and it has a set amount of time we could be on it, like a prepaid. it just helps the child to feel older and more confident. my sister is 9 she has a myspace page which i monitor, you could do the same with a bebo page, once again its just another tool to feel more confident and since the other kids have those things he feels he needs to fit in,

Answer 11

Yep, you're right. He's too young for those kind of things.  I think that at 12-13 he could have the page, and maybe 16 or so for the phone.  I see children all the time with cell phones...I think it's ridiculous.

Answer 12

It must be very hard, but when he gets older he will appreciate that you were doing  your best for him

There was an interesting article in todays BBC site re mobiles being a health hazard:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/752310...

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/71...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tays...

Answer 13

I'm not a parent or anywhere near, but I agree with you totally on this. A lot of young children in my area all have mobile phones and bebo's but what for? Bebo is specifically designed for teenagers and the age in which you have to be is 13 to sign up although children are pretending to be born in the designated year just to make one. Try explaining to your son that he doesn't need either just yet.

Answer 14

No I would not allow my child to have either.  There is obviously no need for a Mobile at that age , and I do not think you are being unfair or paranoid.  

All you can so when he comes out with the "but my friends have them" is say that you do not have responsibility for his friends but you do for him and you think he is too young - end of story.  

Age for a phone - I would say depends on when he needs it ie when he is at that age when he does go out and you don't necessarily know exactly where he is all the time.

The Internet for me is a difficult one,  there are too many weirdos waiting to pry on youngsters and at 8 I think this is pretty young to be on the Internet full stop.

Bebo is more of a difficult one,  it depends how responsible he is (or when he is responsible), can you trust him to make sure only his friends can see his profile (I assume you can do this) , can you trust him to advise you if he was getting problems from other kids at his school.  I would wait until he is at an age where he is responsible enough to do the above.

Answer 15

no your not being paranoid- he's 8 not 18.

a bebo page you have to be 15 to have anyway and that's for a reason. there are far too many sick and twisted individuals online that he can chat with that it just makes no sense to allow him to have it.

as far as the mobile phone- the policy in our house is when your old enough to pay for it, you can have it.  otherwise there  isn't a huge reason why they should have phones at this age. unless they play alot of sport or something where they have classes after/before school and you're not with them at the time. may be then i'd let them have use of a phone in case of an emergency

Answer 16

8 is too young, leave it a couple of years and let him stay a child a little longer.

Answer 17

He is too young for a mobile phone AND a Bebo page. I see so many kids younger than 12 with mobile phones when their parents should know where they are at all times. They should never be out on their own (hence, they have no need for a mobile phone).

Answer 18

first of all i know im going to get shot down in flames for this but anyway .............my 6 year (she is nearly 7 ) old got a mobile for her xmas last year  she can phone me gran granda aunty etc for free but she can text her friend aswell which she does !! if she wants to phone them then thats cool too we vet who we give the number to !!! i dont see this as a big issue and im a nurse !!! everyone in her class has them too !!! as for the bebo page we have just set up my daughters bebo page which she loves and again you make the page private so only friends and family can enter it !!! again her friends have one too!! for god sake im not a bad mum for allowing this the pc bridgade are turning our kids into little robots !!! my daughter loves her phone and her bebo page which i might add she writes herself as she very good at the computer !!!! sorry i dont help but why would you no do what we do and allow aslong as you vet it first !!!!  its compromise x x x

Answer 19

Speaking from experience of getting a phone at 11 and that was only because of getting into the school my parents wanted to send me too- I think its ridiculous he wants a phone at the age of 8. Seeing as you know where he is all the time, then there is no obvious use for him having a mobile phone. If I were you I wouldnt allow him one at least until he goes to senior school, at least then he'd be a little bit more responsible for it!

As for the Bebo Page, there is little point and use in him having one of those either. Again I wouldnt allow him one until he was about 13 (you cant actually have a page on most social networking sites until your 13) because then he'd get more use out of it, and he would aboid the trouble in his school now that is caused by Bebo.

Of course, the final descision rests in your hands. Your his parent and what you say goes.

Answer 20

No.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/752310...

Answer 21

I think you are been careful which every good parent should be as you child is too young for such things and the web is a very dangerous place for a child to be.If every parent was just as protective it would make a better place.So keep doing what you are doing.When he is of the right age e.g 15-16 i say then it is ok for him to have those stuff as he will be more mature and wiser

Heidi Maria

http://trendyfemale.com

Answer 22

I've not got kids, but I can't see why a kid would need a phone until puberty!

An 8 year old with a phone is just too early. Don't let him win. He's only responding to peer pressure.

When I was a kid, I only got £1 a week pocket money for ages. My friends were getting more than that (most of them got £5. It wasn't because my parents couldn't afford to give me more, it was simply the fact that there was no need for me to have more. I pleaded and pleaded, telling them about my friends and my parents didn't give in.

Overall, I'm better for it now.