Good Christmas For My Daughter - iPhone 5!

[Just_Me_D]

Maybe i'm out of touch, but what does a 12 year old need an iPhone for?

I know what you're saying and I feel the same way on certain things. My wife and I have clashed on numerous occasions about what is appropriate for our kids and what is not. I'm old school and she is not and often argue what I managed to live without, but my experiences mean nothing to this generation. This is the era of smartphones, tablets, texting, and putting one's entire life on Facebook, Instagram and stuff like that. Ah man, don't get me started...lol

 

[Fausty82]

This is somewhat appropriate to add here... I read this over the Christmas timeframe, and it’s how one parent chose to deal with the issue of teenagers and iPhones.

Imagine your delight as a teenage boy who’s just unwrapped a shiny new iPhone for Christmas. It’s probably your first smartphone — maybe even your first cellphone period — and you can’t wait to turn it on and start playing with it. But before you can do that, you must sign an 18-point contract, laid out by your mom, which details the terms and conditions of your iPhone ownership.That’s what happened to 13-year-old Gregory this Christmas. Before he claimed his new iPhone, his mother, Janell Burley Hofmann, made him agree to a number of “rules and regulations,” some of which you’ll certainly find amusing.
Here’s the contract Gregory’s mother laid out for him:

Dear Gregory

Merry Christmas! You are now the proud owner of an iPhone. Hot Damn! You are a good & responsible 13 year old boy and you deserve this gift. But with the acceptance of this present comes rules and regulations. Please read through the following contract. I hope that you understand it is my job to raise you into a well rounded, healthy young man that can function in the world and coexist with technology, not be ruled by it. Failure to comply with the following list will result in termination of your iPhone ownership.

I love you madly & look forward to sharing several million text messages with you in the days to come.

1. It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren’t I the greatest?
2. I will always know the password.
3. If it rings, answer it. It is a phone. Say hello, use your manners. Do not ever ignore a phone call if the screen reads “Mom” or “Dad”. Not ever.
4. Hand the phone to one of your parents promptly at 7:30pm every school night & every weekend night at 9:00pm. It will be shut off for the night and turned on again at 7:30am. If you would not make a call to someone’s land line, wherein their parents may answer first, then do not call or text. Listen to those instincts and respect other families like we would like to be respected.
5. It does not go to school with you. Have a conversation with the people you text in person. It’s a life skill. *Half days, field trips and after school activities will require special consideration.
6. If it falls into the toilet, smashes on the ground, or vanishes into thin air, you are responsible for the replacement costs or repairs. Mow a lawn, babysit, stash some birthday money. It will happen, you should be prepared.
7. Do not use this technology to lie, fool, or deceive another human being. Do not involve yourself in conversations that are hurtful to others. Be a good friend first or stay the hell out of the crossfire.
8. Do not text, email, or say anything through this device you would not say in person.
9. Do not text, email, or say anything to someone that you would not say out loud with their parents in the room. Censor yourself.
10. No porn. Search the web for information you would openly share with me. If you have a question about anything, ask a person – preferably me or your father.
11. Turn it off, silence it, put it away in public. Especially in a restaurant, at the movies, or while speaking with another human being. You are not a rude person; do not allow the iPhone to change that.
12. Do not send or receive pictures of your private parts or anyone else’s private parts. Don’t laugh. Someday you will be tempted to do this despite your high intelligence. It is risky and could ruin your teenage/college/adult life. It is always a bad idea. Cyberspace is vast and more powerful than you. And it is hard to make anything of this magnitude disappear – including a bad reputation.
13. Don’t take a zillion pictures and videos. There is no need to document everything. Live your experiences. They will be stored in your memory for eternity.
14. Leave your phone home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision. It is not alive or an extension of you. Learn to live without it. Be bigger and more powerful than FOMO – fear of missing out.
15. Download music that is new or classic or different than the millions of your peers that listen to the same exact stuff. Your generation has access to music like never before in history. Take advantage of that gift. Expand your horizons.
16. Play a game with words or puzzles or brain teasers every now and then.
17. Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Stare out a window. Listen to the birds. Take a walk. Talk to a stranger. Wonder without googling.
18. You will mess up. I will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You & I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together.

It is my hope that you can agree to these terms. Most of the lessons listed here do not just apply to the iPhone, but to life. You are growing up in a fast and ever changing world. It is exciting and enticing. Keep it simple every chance you get. Trust your powerful mind and giant heart above any machine. I love you. I hope you enjoy your awesome new iPhone. Merry Christmas!

xoxoxo

Mom
​

As a parent myself, I have to say there are some points here that I’d certainly agree with. Number three’s a good one, as are numbers 11 and 12. But there are a few that seem a little too controlling, such as numbers two, four, 13, and 14. They seem amusing to us now, but I know I wouldn’t be happy with those if I was Gregory.

Having said that, I probably would have signed anything to have an iPhone when I was 13. Back then my phone was a Nokia 3310, and it had no Internet, no email, no camera… it didn’t even have a color screen. Its best feature was the game Space Impact. Its battery did last for several days, though.

Read more at Teenager Gets New iPhone For Christmas… Along With 18-Point Contract From Mom | Cult of Mac

 

[Peligro911]

#4 is the one that I really think is a bit over the top-if he can't have it a school and has to turn it off at 7:30 and he has any sort of after school activities or sports, he might not get home until 5:30 - 6. And then if he can't use it during family dinner, that doesn't leave much time until the 7:30 turn off time.

I know right should of just got him a iPod touch lol


Sent from my iPhone 5 from a galaxy far far away (in the USA ) using Tapatalk !

 

[Just_Me_D]

This is somewhat appropriate to add here... I read this over the Christmas timeframe, and it’s how one parent chose to deal with the issue of teenagers and iPhones.

I, too, read that somewhere in my RSS feeds over the Christmas holiday and loved it. I don't have a problem with how she is handling it. Having any phones, tablets, heck, even toys are a "privilege" and not a "right". My 17 year old daughter loves to say, "that's not fair". Of course, I respond with something like, "Is it fair for me to worry whether or not you're hurt and lying in a ditch somewhere due to a crash when you don't answer your phone that I pay for? Is it fair for me to put gas in your car even though I am already making the car & insurance payments on it?" She hates when I do that, but hey, it's my job to keep her grounded in reality.

 

[Just_Me_D]

By the way, kudos to the OP. in no way, shape or form am I trying to tell parents what to so with their kids. It is not my place to do such a thing. I will, however, give my opinion on it in relation to my own situation and I hope I've done that.

 

[Fausty82]

I, too, read that somewhere in my RSS feeds over the Christmas holiday and loved it. I don't have a problem with how she is handling it. Having any phones, tablets, heck, even toys are a "privilege" and not a "right". My 17 year old daughter loves to say, "that's not fair". Of course, I respond with something like, "Is it fair for me to worry whether or not you're hurt and lying in a ditch somewhere due to a crash when you don't answer your phone that I pay for? Is it fair for me to put gas in your car even though I am already making the car & insurance payments on it?" She hates when I so that, but hey, it's my job to keep her grounded in reality.

I hear you on that one... my canned response "Life isn't fair. It wasn’t fair when I was a kid, and it ain’t fair now. Grow up and deal with it." I used to get rolled eyes and attitude. Now they just smile and recite it along with me. (Gotta work on the next generation, now!)

I saw in in my RSS feeds over Christmas and saved it for the "right time". My point in posting it here wasn’t to decree that everyone should use these rules as their own, but rather, that this mother obviously knows her kid and has some sort of open communication with him. Your kid(s) may be different - change the rules to fit you/your situation/your kid. But don’t come in here telling everyone that a young teen (or even a pre-teen) isn't old enough or has no "need" for a cellphone. That’s for them and their parents to negotiate. They grow up so fast, it’s true, but you have to prepare them for dealing with the real world and teach them to have real responsibility - you can’t not do that and expect them one day to wake up adjusted, functioning adults.

Time to climb down off my soapbox... have a great evening, D.

 

[Just_Me_D]

I hear you on that one... my canned response "Life isn't fair. It wasn?t fair when I was a kid, and it ain?t fair now. Grow up and deal with it." I used to get rolled eyes and attitude. Now they just smile and recite it along with me. (Gotta work on the next generation!)

I saw in in my RSS feeds over Christmas and saved it for the "right time". My point in posting it here wasn?t to decree that everyone should use these rules as their own, but rather, that this mother obviously knows her kid and has some sort of open communication with him. You kid(s) may be different - change the rules to fit you/your situation/your kid. But don?t come in here telling everyone that a young teen (or even a pre-teen) isn't old enough or has no "need" for a cellphone. That?s for them and their parents to negotiate. They grow up so fast, it?s true, but you have to prepare them for dealing with the real world and teach them to have real responsibility - you can?t not do that and expect them one day to wake up adjusted, functioning adults.

Time to climb down off my soapbox... have a great evening, D.

Excellent reply, my friend and thank you. I'll be taking my middle son to see Wake Forest play Virginia (NCAA Men's basketball) in about an hour or so. Tip-off is at 9. Take care

 

[Fausty82]

Excellent reply, my friend and thank you. I'll be taking my middle son to see Wake Forest play Virginia (NCAA Men's basketball) in about an hour or so. Tip-off is at 9. Take care

Enjoy. I’m a BigTen guy, myself, but I guess the ACC is "ok", too.

 

[Just_Me_D]

I hear ya. I love the game but I don't really follow college basketball, like I do college football, the NBA and the NFL, but my wife was able to get a couple of tickets so, what the heck, I might as well make use of them, right?...

 

[anon(4698833)]

I think that contract is a thing of absolute beauty. Some of them are a bit questionable, but to be honest, that's a parent trying to keep their kid from becoming a drone...which so many teens are now (including my oldest nephew)...they drone around, connected to their devices and e-life and it's hilarious (and pitiful at the same time). I love this idea and I'm going to give it to my brother!