Mom just got you an iPhone for Christmas!
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Although i would hate to do so, especially considering the amount of money an I-phone costs, i think i would either have to return the phone and buy a much cheaper one that i actually owned and give the money back to my mum or just put it in a draw in my bedroom and go back to using my old phone. As is pointed out, it wouldn't be my phone: The lack of privacy that my mum knew the password, coupled with the fact she would take the phone away every night (which i don't understand. Does she think he's gonna stay up all night on the phone or something? I've never owned an I-phone, but considering my brother and sister both did and instead used to stay up watching TV/playing games, I think he would get bored quick) would seriously make me question how much my mum actually trusted me
Also, the 'Leave your phone home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision' and school rule seem to make it pointless that he owns a phone if he can't carry it with him.
Also, the 'Leave your phone home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision' and school rule seem to make it pointless that he owns a phone if he can't carry it with him.
Lol this is such a fail, dont use google? So she is essentially encouraging ignorance, good quality for anyone to have, much less a kid am I right? Not to mention that most of these rules are completely ludicrous. Free phone you say? It comes with so many strings attached, I wouldnt bother. Also given that he cant use it at school and cant use it after 7:30, that leaves what, a couple hours with it a day? Waste of money if you ask me.
It looks like the kid will only be using it sort of on the weekends, since he can't take it to school. I remember how much time I had between being out of school and 7:30PM. The kid would roughly have the phone to himself at home for at most 4 hours.
Seriously, there isn't a point to getting such a phone, especially with those kind of rules. Back in the day, the reason I got to take a cellphone to school with me is if anything happened to me at school and I needed to call my parents.
Also, if my parents offered me such a phone for free, I would say, "You do know there are better, not Apple, phones for much cheaper, half the cost or less. I know it is free, but I don't want you to go too out of your way for me."
Seriously, there isn't a point to getting such a phone, especially with those kind of rules. Back in the day, the reason I got to take a cellphone to school with me is if anything happened to me at school and I needed to call my parents.
Also, if my parents offered me such a phone for free, I would say, "You do know there are better, not Apple, phones for much cheaper, half the cost or less. I know it is free, but I don't want you to go too out of your way for me."
And for that matter, these people must be immortal, considering, "They will be stored in your memory for eternity."Girl With One Eye said:
Some of them are common sense, like no dick pics, but most of them are over the top. I was 13 when my I got my first cell phone too, and I had none of these silly rules. This long list of rules essentially says: I don't trust you and you really don't deserve this. The trust thing is huge. As a teenager, you have secrets. It's a fact of life. As much as mom might like, it's not healthy to try and invade their privacy through their phone. This also demonstrates she doesn't trust her son not to have a complete mental breakdown over addiction to the phone. Have some respect for the child you raised.
If he was younger, some of these might be more reasonable, but at 13, you've got to let him have some responsibility of his own. As long as you instill these values, instead of make them rules, they'll be fine. Just let them know you don't think it's healthy to be addicted to the phone, but don't make rules about it. It just shows lack of trust and respect. It's way too over-controlling.
If he was younger, some of these might be more reasonable, but at 13, you've got to let him have some responsibility of his own. As long as you instill these values, instead of make them rules, they'll be fine. Just let them know you don't think it's healthy to be addicted to the phone, but don't make rules about it. It just shows lack of trust and respect. It's way too over-controlling.
Honestly if this happened to me I'd give the phone back and tell my mom that no, I do not accept the end user licence agreement. I really do not see the point in having a smart phone that I couldn't use "smart" nor whenever/however I wanted (within reason of course).
There are some reasonable rules here of course, like 8 and 12, but the amount of dumb restrictions far outweigh the pros of having an iPhone.
There are some reasonable rules here of course, like 8 and 12, but the amount of dumb restrictions far outweigh the pros of having an iPhone.
Sounds like a super overly-protective parent. These rules may sound like they're helping develop the child, but it's really only putting unreasonable restrictions on a tool he's going to need to properly use in the future anyhow.
Edit: Yeah, as people have pointed out, why did you buy him a smart phone if he's not even allowed to use it?
Edit: Yeah, as people have pointed out, why did you buy him a smart phone if he's not even allowed to use it?
The kid is 13. You make it sound like Europeans are fucking each other on the streets if that sounds unreasonable to you.fenrizz said:
My mom knows I hate apple as a company and dont use many of its services (I only use iheart radio because the radio stations I listen to are on it and I dont feel like familiarizing myself with pandora). So if she gave it to me, Id hand it right back and say no thank you.
Now if she gave me any other phone with those rules id probably look at her for a second before saying no cause I know id break one of them. Then Id go to my grandmother cause Im on her plan right now till Im done with college and tell her what my mom was doing and see if she thinks its as crazy as I do before continuing my life exactly as is now. to me it seems over bearing, though granted, the kid is only 13.
Now if she gave me any other phone with those rules id probably look at her for a second before saying no cause I know id break one of them. Then Id go to my grandmother cause Im on her plan right now till Im done with college and tell her what my mom was doing and see if she thinks its as crazy as I do before continuing my life exactly as is now. to me it seems over bearing, though granted, the kid is only 13.
I'd tell 'em "ya know what?. You can keep the damn phone."
Seriously, is the "Parent" in this situation Excalibur from Soul Eater.
Seriously, is the "Parent" in this situation Excalibur from Soul Eater.
I feel like this list of rules is either unnecessary or will be completely unused anyway. Either she's taught her son not to do stupid things with the phone, or she's essentially trying to teach fire safety by giving him a flamethrower. And if she's taught him to use the phone responsibly before handing him the rules, it would demonstrate more trust if she just told him to be responsible and trust him with the thing.
But, as far as exact rules go:
1 and 2 are fine, whathaveyou. 1 is something my mom would say (and probably everyone's mom) and 2 can help keep the phone used for what she wants while also keeping the password easily accessible to the child (can be nice if you're going to have a secure password).
3 is, well, hilarious. It will get broken. I would not answer the phone in a public bathroom, even if the call was from the president, who was on a conference call with god. Plus some people who use public bathrooms (see: opinionated older individuals) might become offended and chastise you/be dicks if they think your parents raised you wrong. Not worth the risk.
4 will happen until it doesn't. It sounds nice and practical now, but what about that call he wants to make to his friend who's going to study algebra with him over the phone from 7-8:30? Or he's really close to beating that one level, just five more minutes, really? It'll happen, and mom will facilitate.
5 is a neat idea. Teachers would take it away. Bullies would steal it. Yeah, he might want to show off to his friends, but if he's responsible he'll know it'd be better left at home anyway.
6 is either another given or will never happen. If you're teaching a kid to save, you will have a fund where they can put this money and forget about it. You might even be making sure they're saving for the inevitable broken iPhone. Or you aren't teaching them to save, the phone will break, they will have no way to replace it and you will either have to do something about it or they won't have a phone. And once a parent gives a child a phone, that parent never wants to exist in a world where their child is not accessible at the push of a button again (especially a clingy parent). Either way, you're micromanaging their phone replacement insurance.
Any rule involving talking to other people or sending them your naked bits: If you have not instilled the utter terror of sharing information over the internet to your child (in the event that they cannot fully comprehend a lifetime of unemployment and shame from a single mistake made in youth, which seems pretty unlikely), you have done your child a disservice. Teach them the ramifications from over-sharing. You don't even have to exaggerate. You can have your life ruined from the silliest of things. If you're really cavalier, you can have your life ended. You are your information, and that information is not a secret once it's on the internet. And the internet never forgets anything.
Any rule involving being a douche: I didn't need this as a kid, because I learned the value of understanding people are on the other end of what I said over the net, and if I didn't want to hurt their feelings, I just had to remember they are people. Teach them that people are still people over the net and deserve the same respect you'd give them in real life, and this won't be an issue.
The porn rule: Give them a safe place at home to explore their sexual desires (like a porn folder on their personal computer) and this probably won't be an issue (who the hell wants to accidentally show their friends their porn anyway?). If he wants to use the phone for porn, I'd bet it's because he has to secretly look at it at home. Or is a sex addict.
Content controlling rules: Parents like to try to control what content their kids ingest, but I'll bet it goes something like this: kid downloads parent-approved songs because he's trying to please mom/mom told him what to download. Song goes un-listened to. Kid wastes 2x money on songs he hates and songs he likes so mom can feel like she's doing something.
As far as enjoying nature/life without the phone: take the dang kid to a summer camp without the phone. Don't rely on him to want to put it down. And don't ever discount the knowledge he can gain by googling every word he doesn't know and every subject he might want to learn, ever.
tl;dr: Honestly, most of these rules are silly/unnecessary or about to be hilariously outdated. But I guess, with rules from parents, it's quantity over quality. Hopefully most of these he'll do without question, but if not, I hope she's really ready for the arduous task of teaching someone how to only light candles with a flamethrower. Seems like it would be much easier to start with a match, but you don't get to be the best mom ever if you're giving your kid a cheap flip phone for Christmas.
But, as far as exact rules go:
1 and 2 are fine, whathaveyou. 1 is something my mom would say (and probably everyone's mom) and 2 can help keep the phone used for what she wants while also keeping the password easily accessible to the child (can be nice if you're going to have a secure password).
3 is, well, hilarious. It will get broken. I would not answer the phone in a public bathroom, even if the call was from the president, who was on a conference call with god. Plus some people who use public bathrooms (see: opinionated older individuals) might become offended and chastise you/be dicks if they think your parents raised you wrong. Not worth the risk.
4 will happen until it doesn't. It sounds nice and practical now, but what about that call he wants to make to his friend who's going to study algebra with him over the phone from 7-8:30? Or he's really close to beating that one level, just five more minutes, really? It'll happen, and mom will facilitate.
5 is a neat idea. Teachers would take it away. Bullies would steal it. Yeah, he might want to show off to his friends, but if he's responsible he'll know it'd be better left at home anyway.
6 is either another given or will never happen. If you're teaching a kid to save, you will have a fund where they can put this money and forget about it. You might even be making sure they're saving for the inevitable broken iPhone. Or you aren't teaching them to save, the phone will break, they will have no way to replace it and you will either have to do something about it or they won't have a phone. And once a parent gives a child a phone, that parent never wants to exist in a world where their child is not accessible at the push of a button again (especially a clingy parent). Either way, you're micromanaging their phone replacement insurance.
Any rule involving talking to other people or sending them your naked bits: If you have not instilled the utter terror of sharing information over the internet to your child (in the event that they cannot fully comprehend a lifetime of unemployment and shame from a single mistake made in youth, which seems pretty unlikely), you have done your child a disservice. Teach them the ramifications from over-sharing. You don't even have to exaggerate. You can have your life ruined from the silliest of things. If you're really cavalier, you can have your life ended. You are your information, and that information is not a secret once it's on the internet. And the internet never forgets anything.
Any rule involving being a douche: I didn't need this as a kid, because I learned the value of understanding people are on the other end of what I said over the net, and if I didn't want to hurt their feelings, I just had to remember they are people. Teach them that people are still people over the net and deserve the same respect you'd give them in real life, and this won't be an issue.
The porn rule: Give them a safe place at home to explore their sexual desires (like a porn folder on their personal computer) and this probably won't be an issue (who the hell wants to accidentally show their friends their porn anyway?). If he wants to use the phone for porn, I'd bet it's because he has to secretly look at it at home. Or is a sex addict.
Content controlling rules: Parents like to try to control what content their kids ingest, but I'll bet it goes something like this: kid downloads parent-approved songs because he's trying to please mom/mom told him what to download. Song goes un-listened to. Kid wastes 2x money on songs he hates and songs he likes so mom can feel like she's doing something.
As far as enjoying nature/life without the phone: take the dang kid to a summer camp without the phone. Don't rely on him to want to put it down. And don't ever discount the knowledge he can gain by googling every word he doesn't know and every subject he might want to learn, ever.
tl;dr: Honestly, most of these rules are silly/unnecessary or about to be hilariously outdated. But I guess, with rules from parents, it's quantity over quality. Hopefully most of these he'll do without question, but if not, I hope she's really ready for the arduous task of teaching someone how to only light candles with a flamethrower. Seems like it would be much easier to start with a match, but you don't get to be the best mom ever if you're giving your kid a cheap flip phone for Christmas.
Sounds like some finca holiday resort time sharing scam.
I'd love to think and believe that she means well, but it's so messed up I am not sure how to respond to that. At all.
I already fail somewhat when I ponder on the notion of 13-year-olds having/using iPhones. Apple wants to sell you pretty much anything and everything (except for some useful bits you can only get on Cydia), and your bought items will pretty much lock you in until you just can't take it anymore and just go out and buy any phone that is not iPhone, just because it starts to get well creepy after a while.
For the added fun bits, enable Genius and let Siri raise your child for you, you silly person. It's all somewhat understandable and logically sound, but I find it hard to generate much faith for a method that raises a kid with contracts and letter from the lawyer or pretty much anything over 200 words and has the love and charm of the small print of that card company or that loan shark's very special offer.
I'd love to think and believe that she means well, but it's so messed up I am not sure how to respond to that. At all.
I already fail somewhat when I ponder on the notion of 13-year-olds having/using iPhones. Apple wants to sell you pretty much anything and everything (except for some useful bits you can only get on Cydia), and your bought items will pretty much lock you in until you just can't take it anymore and just go out and buy any phone that is not iPhone, just because it starts to get well creepy after a while.
For the added fun bits, enable Genius and let Siri raise your child for you, you silly person. It's all somewhat understandable and logically sound, but I find it hard to generate much faith for a method that raises a kid with contracts and letter from the lawyer or pretty much anything over 200 words and has the love and charm of the small print of that card company or that loan shark's very special offer.
I think its a good list. I would have consolidated it, but it's nice to see a parent teaching their kid to use a phone as a tool, not an extension of who they are. Seriously go to a restraunt and see how many people cant even make it through a 1 hour dinner without checking their phone every 5 minutes- its like crack.
I'm fairly certain that as a 13 year old I would have downloaded porn and emailed a picture of my balls to a friend within 5 minutes of getting this amazing internet machine, smart phones are a lot of responsibility so of course a kid needs some boundaries. I would hope as he gets older the rules are relaxed, but for now it seems entirely reasonable.
I'm fairly certain that as a 13 year old I would have downloaded porn and emailed a picture of my balls to a friend within 5 minutes of getting this amazing internet machine, smart phones are a lot of responsibility so of course a kid needs some boundaries. I would hope as he gets older the rules are relaxed, but for now it seems entirely reasonable.
...And why are you guys overreacting? The only issue that I have is that I'd let my kid use all of the features not lock 'em down, and I'd make sure that my kid talks to me because I exist.