Kindergartners with Cell Phones

Preparing your child for his/her first day of kindergarten can be nerve-racking. Most parents feel anxiety about the security of their child, even when they know the school is run by qualified education professionals and the campuses are secure. It's natural to worry about your child; it's a common reaction to the separation of you from your child. In today's high-tech society, more parents have considered equipping their kindergartner with cell phones to extend their reach to the child while separated. The trouble is the desire to send your child off to school with a cell phone has more to do with your separation anxiety than to do with the security of the child.

Things to Consider

Stuffing a cell phone in your child's backpack or tote may seem harmless. It's a simple thing that will make you feel better while your child is off learning new things at kindergarten. You will feel secure knowing that if there is a family emergency, you will have direct access to you child. After all, no one will ever even know it's there except you. But there are some things to consider before deciding to follow through. If your child has never used a cell phone and you slip one into his/her belongings, you should realize that to them it's a shiny new toy to play with. Let's face it, that cell phone will be in and out of his/her pack several times a day, causing disruption in the classroom for the other kids as well as the teacher. Even if the child has actually carried a cell phone, chances of it staying put away during school are very slim.

Second, it's vital that you check with the school mandates to make sure you will not be violating any policies by sending your child to school with a phone. Most schools now have provisions and prohibitions against any electronic devices in the classroom. Your youngster probably will not be able to distinguish between times that are acceptable and times that are not which can lead to disciplinary actions. The last thing your little one needs is an opportunity to get into trouble unnecessarily.

She's a Big Girl

The notion that a kindergarten student needs a cell phone is something that never was imagined just a couple of decades ago. And the truth is there still isn't a real need for it. We as a society have come to rely on technology more than necessary and at the detriment to our social development. We should focus more attention on building our child's self-reliance and independence instead of providing them with crutches. Allowing your child to be away from you for hours at a time will teach them so much about how to live life as an independent person. But having a cell phone can be equated to having a safety net. Let your child grow and learn instead of holding them back. Who knows...if they rely too much on you today, they may have trouble letting go when they're thirty. And who wants that?