At what age should a child be able to own a cellphone?
As a parent, Bongani Mtolo is battling with the concept of allowing his eldest son (9) to have a cellphone. KZN listeners called in with their advice. Here's what they had to say...
My eldest son is nine years old. Right now I feel like he should be outside playing with other kids his age. I want him to be healthy, smart, and good at sports (especially basketball like his dad). I also encourage him to be inquisitive because an inquisitive mind is a learning mind. But when it comes to cellphones, I am not sure how I feel. Surely nine years old is way too young?
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All his friends from school have cellphones and they are always sending WhatsApp messages to each other. I do monitor some of the messages just to make sure that there isn’t anything on there that a nine-year-old shouldn’t be exposed to. And that’s where my problem evolves. I remember being nine. I remember the things I wanted to know at that age, and it scares me. Do I allow my son with an inquisitive boy's mind free and instant access to the internet?
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I work odd hours and I can’t expect my superwoman-wife to monitor my kid's every single move. Also what happens when there is an emergency and my kid needs to contact me or someone to help? Surely he needs a phone for that? I know that you can set a parental lock on the phone giving them limited access to the internet. Perhaps that is something to look into further?
I put it out there for KZN listeners to help me out because, honestly, I still can’t make up my mind. One caller in particular just didn’t get it and had the wrong idea. Listen to what she had to say here: