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HappySqurriel on 09 April 2011
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greenmedic88 said:
HappySqurriel said:
thx1139 said:

We have already made the switch.  That is 4 3DS/NGP that wont be sold to this family.  My youngest 2 boys (13 and 9) will use the DS they have until we get them cell phones.  Not iPhones, but same difference.  My oldest and myself already use our phones.

Now we use portable gaming devices primarily for travel.  I know a good deal of other parents that do the same and not many of them plan to spend over $200 for a device to keep the kids busy while they are on the road or spending the day in airports/airplanes.


Good luck with that ...

I have a co-worker who decided that after his son broke his second iPhone in a year that it was a really bad idea to give a 16 year old a $500 smart-phone; but I'm certain it will work out better for you. After all, teenagers are known to show an amazing amount of care and respect to their possessions (especially those that are given to them by their parents); and it is probably a perfect idea to give them one of the most expensive and fragile phones on the market.

So you find an instance of one 16 year old kid who sounds like he should be wearing a helmet in public or has sausages for fingers and suddenly the iPhone, iPod Touch and pretty much any touch screen device is now too fragile to be used by anyone who doesn't understand the concept of "expensive things cost money to replace."

I think just any 16 year old kid who's ever had to mow lawns or work a crappy weekend job at retail to buy something nice shows "an amazing amount of care and respect to their posessions."

I let my 3 year old nephew play with my iPhone any time he asks for it and he hasn't broken it or dropped it even though he barely understands the concept of money.


A teenager buying their own "stuff" is different from a parent buying their teenager stuff ... and a parent who decides that no handhelds are going to be in his house and his children will have iPhones will likely be buying these products for their children.

Beyond that, having been a teenager myself, dealt with enough teenagers in my life, and known enough parents it has become clear that anything a teen has is far more likely to be broken or lost then it is for their parents. Some of this is simply because of the activities the two groups take part in, for example a teenager is far more likely to break their iPhone while skate-boarding than their parent is walking to their car.