Technology Saves a Dad's Sanity

[malloc]

My oldest daughter is about to turn 13, so I bought her an early birthday present. A T-Mobile Sidekick 4G. She thinks it's the greatest thing in the world and is absolutely thrilled to have it. I got it all hooked up with Google services. Contacts, email, maps, blah, blah, blah.....and Google Latitude, shared with my wife's and my Google account. (In other words, it's effectively a tracking device!)

Fathers from around the world can breathe a sigh of relief if they do this, and your daughters will thank you for it!. It's not that I don't trust her, it's just that.......well....if my dad had this tech when I was kid, man, I would have spent my life grounded and unable to sit down, that's for sure!

[Rockntractor]

I have mixed feelings about that, but I'm sure if I had a daughter I would be doing the same thing or something similar.

[malloc]

I have mixed feelings about that, but I'm sure if I had a daughter I would be doing the same thing or something similar.

It's not like I'm going to be spying on her all the time. But if she doesn't check in on time, or I get one of those parental hunches that something is fishy (which are usually right, I mean you get to know your kid's really well and can usually tell when something is "off".)

[Rockntractor]

It's not like I'm going to be spying on her all the time. But if she doesn't check in on time, or I get one of those parental hunches that something is fishy (which are usually right, I mean you get to know your kid's really well and can usually tell when something is "off".)

I know you wouldn't. I shouldn't even be commenting here because I have no children, but for me the only way I would check the track log would be after serious breach of trust occurring or an emergency when you needed to find her and couldn't contact her. It would give you a lot of peace of mind knowing you had the extra level of protection.

[malloc]

I know you wouldn't. I shouldn't even be commenting here because I have no children, but for me the only way I would check the track log would be after serious breach of trust occurring or an emergency when you needed to find her and couldn't contact her. It would give you a lot of peace of mind knowing you had the extra level of protection.

That's pretty much what it's for. I decided I needed to do it when she didn't check in on time a while back because she took a wrong turn coming home from a friends house and got lost for like an hour.

[djones520]

Thankfully, my second child is going to be a boy. I was worried to death it was gonna be a girl cause I was probably gonna end up killing half the teenage boys in town 13 years from now.

I was thinking about how to handle the cell phone thing, and this real recent spike in the rate of teens and sexting. Not that I want to add an extra worry to your plate, but was that something you considered?

[fettpett]

I've got that phone and love it so far, great for texting on.

As for my girls and phones...I've got 5-6 years for my oldest and 10 for my youngest...a lot can change between now and then, but as for them...I'll probably do the same as malloc but idk if I'll get them and my son cells till closer to 16 when they are driving.

[MrsSmith]

I used to tell my kids they didn't need a cell phone until they were driving, but a couple years ago, I got one for my then 12-year-old. We took out our landline, so she needed a way to contact us, and vice versa. One day last year, some "creepy old dude" tried to give her a ride while she was walking home from school. She knew the rules and took off away from the car...but both of us were very happy that she could grab her phone and call me. She talked to me all the way home, and then called the police when she was safely locked in the house.

We live in a pretty small town, and I'd never really worried about her needing the phone. Now I'm sold on the idea of getting one for any child that's old enough to be out and about alone.

[malloc]

I've got that phone and love it so far, great for texting on.

As for my girls and phones...I've got 5-6 years for my oldest and 10 for my youngest...a lot can change between now and then, but as for them...I'll probably do the same as malloc but idk if I'll get them and my son cells till closer to 16 when they are driving.

We live out in past the suburbs, away from the city, and kind of in the middle of nowhere. There's a few subdivisions, a golf course, and then a lot of farmland and horse properties out here. It's growing fast, but it's still like a small farm town where I live. The subdivisions are pretty tricky with windy roads and dead ends and cultasacs. When Brittany got lost and didn't think to find a house with lots of toys on the yard or kids outside (there are lots of kids out here) and ask to use the phone because she was lost, we decided she needed a cell phone.

It might be a little too early to get her one, but most of her friends have them, so she can text them. So long as she follows the rules and doesn't get in trouble she'll keep it, and use it with her discretion. If she get's in trouble, it's gone, while she's grounded.