4 ms·

If a kid is at the tantrum and crying stage, they are probably not ready for the responsibility of unfiltered, 24/7 phone and internet.

• pstuart 3y ago
  We all have our failures. She was otherwise mature and a great kid. Literally every one of her friends had one and she was unable to participate with them in that way. Yes, we caved but held out as long as we could. She's turned out to be an awesome young adult and seems to have come out of teen-land unscathed.
  • averageRoyalty 3y ago
    I apologise, I've reread my comment and realised it comes across as a direct criticism of you. It's not intended that way. Parenting is hard, and there's no way I'm judging your entire experience off a single comment. My point was that broadly speaking, maturity should be a key factor in _anything_ for the individual child. Some kids can be trusted to ride a motorbike across a propertly at 9. Some shouldn't have a smartphone until 17. Some can fly across the country unaccompanied at 12.
    • pstuart 3y ago
      Thank you, that means a lot to me -- such recognition and correction is in short supply in forums. She actually is quite mature for her age, but I think the pressure broke her. I agree on the maturity factor, but society has gotten weird on allowing that to happen.
• deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]