Does your Tween need a cellphone?

If your 8-12 year old is bugging you for a mobile phone this Christmas, it might be because his friends all have one. A recent survey reports that 35% of US ‘Tweens” owned a mobile phone.

Where exactly are these 10 year olds going that they need a phone? I can see the occasional need to give a 9 year old a phone if they are at a school event or somewhere where they might need to call home for a ride. I can’t see any reason why somebody that would need a ride from mom or dad to get anywhere beyond bicycle range would need to have a phone with them 24 x 7. Is there a real need here, or is this just silly parents giving the kids what they want?

for Parental Tech by COD