A new study out from Harris International confirms what we already knew: our kids would be lost without their cellphones! 47% says their social lives would end (or be severely impaired) if they lost their phones. And what the phone looks like tells a lot about your child's personality.
There's an irony alert here too. As an internet safety advocate, I've long told parents to put the computer in a central location so you can supervise what they do online. But hand them a cell phone? Heck, that simple advice about the computer in your kitchen or den just became meaningless. Cell phones are now so sophisticated they are really minicomputers with internet access, texting and Instant Messaging, even cameras built right in. And unless you get the phone handed back to you each night for review, you are missing out on a complicated, busy, frenetic e-life your child is building via this amazing device.
Make sure you at least review the bill (which should be in your name, not the child's), get the phone once in a while to see what photos are on it, who is communicating with your child and to make sure the password your child told you about still works. And if they want to put rhinestones on their phone or cover it with a skin, remember, they are just expressing their developing personality and sense of style.