Is a Blackberry too much for a Middle Schooler?

[bricegoing]

im about to get my first bb....the tour.... starting my senior year of high school i probably really dont need one but next year for college it will be more helpful. i say with her being so young not to get it because not only does she not need it but whats going to happen when she drops it or gets it wet then your money just went down the drain. but really its your call depending on her maturity im just speaking of kids i know her age.

[heidiii]

definitely not.

unless she's willing to get job and pay for the $30 data plan herself every month.

i just turned 18, and it REALLY took some persuading for my mom to let me get a blackberry.

i second what someone said earlier about the env touch. my mom actually just got that phone, and if i wasn't getting the tour, i would get the env touch. it's a REALLY nice phone, and you can access the internet and everything on it. and i think the data plan is only like $10. my mom looooooves it.

[LatinLegacy]

Originally Posted by Michael Corleone

That's sad.

why is that sad all of my fam has bb'swe wll drive bently bmw benz ferr whats wrong with having phons and things we want when we work hard for are money

[sreneel77]

I have a customer, her son is probably about 7th grade.
He has the storm, at first I was shocked that a child
would have this phone, but he earns money to pay his
data portion of the bill and he comes in when she pays
her bill and he contributes his portion and he always
amazes me at how responsible he is. I thought for sure
he'd lose or break it in a few months, lol but his storm is
probably in better shape then my curve is and I'm pretty
careful.

So again, I do think if handled properly it can be an excellent
learning experience in responsibility.

I would not pay the whole price of the tour for her or for her
data.

[mike42]

even with monitoring BB usage, its still only a matter of time before they figure out they can delete browsing history and just visit random website to make it look like they didn't lol. I still think High School is the perfect time to give a child a new kind of responsibility like that, no matter how mature they seem to be now.

[deRusett]

Originally Posted by mike42

even with monitoring BB usage, its still only a matter of time before they figure out they can delete browsing history and just visit random website to make it look like they didn't lol. I still think High School is the perfect time to give a child a new kind of responsibility like that, no matter how mature they seem to be now.

What does that matter really? if your child learns how to go see websites and hides it, taking away the blackberry would not stop them from going to those sites, now it is a parents job to educate the kids about the topics you deem inappropriate, why is censorship ok for your child but people hate it for themselves, stop just locking things away from your kids and start educating and talking...

[BIGdean3x8x]

yea i am going into grade ten and i am only getting a blackberry because of a increase in travel in my life, as i am getting older i am more resposible for maintaining email communication and such with jobs and teachers/coaches.

i also think she just wont utilize the blackberry nearly as much as she can. because i have been through it with friends and sisters im going to assume that she just wants it for BBM and mabey email. i doubt she is going to want it for the ability to costomize it and make buisness deals like most of the people on here.

[Bittersweet BB]

Originally Posted by deRusett

I am all for her getting a Tour, or any BB for that matter..

Assuming you are in control.
The ability to use the BlackBerry Calendar to put home work assignments and other dates into it then sync it at home would be great, letting you send "invitations" to doctors appointments, would mean she can't say she forgot,
BBM would be a way to check in after school, and when out with friends,

These seem like good ideas, but c'mon. What happened to writing down homework assignments and just doing them?

I just don't understand. I'm all for moving forward with technology but it's getting to the point that people are growing up with out being able to rely on their own common sense and responsibility.

Why would you even have to send an invitation to a doctor appt, when you'd most likey be taking her there yourself, considering she doesn't drive at age 12-13?

Every situation is different and technology is a great thing but not when it takes away from learning how to manage your time and priorities the old fashioned way. Having a blackberry or any smartphone like it is meant to enhance and assist you with life.

I don't know, it just seems over the top to me.

[mike42]

Originally Posted by deRusett

What does that matter really? if your child learns how to go see websites and hides it, taking away the blackberry would not stop them from going to those sites, now it is a parents job to educate the kids about the topics you deem inappropriate, why is censorship ok for your child but people hate it for themselves, stop just locking things away from your kids and start educating and talking...

Who said anything about censoring and locking away lol...My parents never hid anythign from me or restricted me from anything, but that doesn;t mean I wanted them to know what I was doing :P

theres just better ways to educate them than a blackberry haha. Why not get them a lesser phone with capabilities that they will USE?

Example: enV Touch - Unlimited Internet $15 a month with Vcast, Text Package $$ depending on needs/plan...it can be cheaper than a BB but would have more utility to a 7th grader...it can still access the internet and all that other fun stuff, so why is a BB necessary in this case to educate them haha?

[BryantZuki]

yeah its your call i don't believe that she needs one though **** i dont even understand why some of the people that go to the high school i just graduated from have a blackberry...im going to get the tour, not because of the texting and stuff, im going to get it because when commuting to school its going to make my life **** loads easier

[Bittersweet BB]

Originally Posted by sreneel77

I have a customer, her son is probably about 7th grade.
He has the storm, at first I was shocked that a child
would have this phone, but he earns money to pay his
data portion of the bill and he comes in when she pays
her bill and he contributes his portion and he always
amazes me at how responsible he is. I thought for sure
he'd lose or break it in a few months, lol but his storm is
probably in better shape then my curve is and I'm pretty
careful.

So again, I do think if handled properly it can be an excellent
learning experience in responsibility.

I would not pay the whole price of the tour for her or for her
data.

I think it's good that he pays his portion, but why even bother with a blackberry? What is a 12 yr old going to be using a blackberry for? I would assume, calls, texting, picture messaging and some games. So why not just get a regular cell phone which does all those things as well and pay a lot less money.

Is it just so the kid can walk around saying "I have a blackberry"?

If that's the case, make sure he or she has a designer case for it, the best new pair of Nike sneakers, and go ahead and buy them a lexus when they get their license too. Makes perfect sense.

[stranjal7]

I mean a blackberry is bad enough but if you had to maybe an old one like a pearl or a Curve 83xx that you can get for like $50 bucks. But even then , its the features or capabilities that would go to waste or worse, wouldnt go to waste. Why would a 7th grader need all of that, accept to get into trouble. Unless they have a little legitimate business going.

[deRusett]

Originally Posted by Bittersweet BB

These seem like good ideas, but c'mon. What happened to writing down homework assignments and just doing them?

I just don't understand. I'm all for moving forward with technology but it's getting to the point that people are growing up with out being able to rely on their own common sense and responsibility.

Why would you even have to send an invitation to a doctor appt, when you'd most likey be taking her there yourself, considering she doesn't drive at age 12-13?

Every situation is different and technology is a great thing but not when it takes away from learning how to manage your time and priorities the old fashioned way. Having a blackberry or any smartphone like it is meant to enhance and assist you with life.

I don't know, it just seems over the top to me.

I don't see how using a Electronic tool takes out using your own common sense are responsibility. you are adding a tool to make the managing of increasingly complex lives easier. You send the invitation so that Kid knows WHEN they have doctors appointments, and does not commit to anything, to find out they have one, you have sports, clubs, organizations that could be committed to, having tools allowing you to check your calendar against your parents just means you can do those things faster, or atleast agree to them, sure we didn't have that feature as a kid, but we did not grow up today either, I know I check calendars all the time mixing work, with pleasure, I have my schedule, and important events in associates schedules all loaded so I know what is going on. Giving a tool is not removing common sense, but teaching how to utilize the tools available.

[LatinLegacy]

see my cusin's and people i know wouldn't have blackberry's unless they have good grades and good in school if they didn't have the grades they have and didnt do good in school they would even have a phone

[sreneel77]

Originally Posted by Bittersweet BB

I think it's good that he pays his portion, but why even bother with a blackberry? What is a 12 yr old going to be using a blackberry for? I would assume, calls, texting, picture messaging and some games. So why not just get a regular cell phone which does all those things as well and pay a lot less money.

Is it just so the kid can walk around saying "I have a blackberry"?

If that's the case, make sure he or she has a designer case for it, the best new pair of Nike sneakers, and go ahead and buy them a lexus when they get their license too. Makes perfect sense.

Read my first post:

Originally Posted by sreneel77

I don't see why a 7th grader needs such an advanced device.
You would be paying an additional 29.99 for her to have that on Verizons net work.

If she were my kid and she really wanted it I guess I'd negotiate. She'd have to get
babysitting jobs or something to pay for that, and she'd have to earn the money for
the difference of a basic handet, so $100 difference (after rebate). And the first
month she didn't pay her 29.99 I'd have an esn change done and have her old basic
handset put back on her account.
I earned enough babysitting at her age I could have afforded that.
Make it a responsibility, learning experience, it is an expensive device if it breaks or
she loses it.
I'd also require she have insurance, I'd probably pay the monthly on that
but she'd have to pay the deductible if anything happened to it.


Editing to note, I always wanted more expensive stuff then my dad wanted to pay for
and we used to do this, we'd negotiate, I'd have to pay the difference and so on.
By high school I was pretty much buying most of my own stuff and I always took
better care of it all because I realized the cost/value of it all.

I don't think a 7th grader needs this phone.
But, if they really want it, make them work for it and pay for it.
I bought all my expensive stuff growing up. If a child starts to learn at this age about
buying their own stuff and paying their portion of bills it can be an excellent
learning experience in responsibility and managing money.