iPhone contract from mom to 13 year old son.. Do you agree with this approach?

[billmaster]

Here is the letter that a mom gave to a 13 year old son when she gifted him a iPhone on Christmas..
And yes I agree totally with the approach.. A set of rules to own a device that needs much more maturity then what a 13 year older has..
Here is the letter -

Dear Gregory

Merry Christmas! You are now the proud owner of an iPhone. Hot Damn! You are a good and responsible 13-year-old boy and you deserve this gift. But with the acceptance of this present comes rules and regulations. Please read through the following contract. I hope that you understand it is my job to raise you into a well rounded, healthy young man that can function in the world and coexist with technology, not be ruled by it. Failure to comply with the following list will result in termination of your iPhone ownership.
I love you madly and look forward to sharing several million text messages with you in the days to come.

1. It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren't I the greatest?

2. I will always know the password.

3. If it rings, answer it. It is a phone. Say hello, use your manners. Do not ever ignore a phone call if the
screen reads "Mom" or "Dad." Not ever.

4. Hand the phone to one of your parents promptly at 7:30 p.m. every school night and every weekend night at 9:00 p.m. It will be shut off for the night and turned on again at 7:30 a.m. If you would not make a call to someone's land line, wherein their parents may answer first, then do not call or text. Listen to those instincts and respect other families like we would like to be respected.

5. It does not go to school with you. Have a conversation with the people you text in person. It's a life skill. *Half days, field trips and after school activities will require special consideration.

6. If it falls into the toilet, smashes on the ground, or vanishes into thin air, you are responsible for the replacement costs or repairs. Mow a lawn, babysit, stash some birthday money. It will happen, you should be prepared.

7. Do not use this technology to lie, fool, or deceive another human being. Do not involve yourself in conversations that are hurtful to others. Be a good friend first or stay the hell out of the crossfire.

8. Do not text, email, or say anything through this device you would not say in person.

9. Do not text, email, or say anything to someone that you would not say out loud with their parents in the room. Censor yourself.

10. No porn. Search the web for information you would openly share with me. If you have a question about anything, ask a person -- preferably me or your father.

11. Turn it off, silence it, put it away in public. Especially in a restaurant, at the movies, or while speaking with another human being. You are not a rude person; do not allow the iPhone to change that.

12. Do not send or receive pictures of your private parts or anyone else's private parts. Don't laugh. Someday you will be tempted to do this despite your high intelligence. It is risky and could ruin your teenage/college/adult life. It is always a bad idea. Cyberspace is vast and more powerful than you. And it is hard to make anything of this magnitude disappear -- including a bad reputation.

13. Don't take a zillion pictures and videos. There is no need to document everything. Live your experiences. They will be stored in your memory for eternity.

14. Leave your phone home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision. It is not alive or an extension of you. Learn to live without it. Be bigger and more powerful than FOMO (fear of missing out).

15. Download music that is new or classic or different than the millions of your peers that listen to the same exact stuff. Your generation has access to music like never before in history. Take advantage of that gift. Expand your horizons.

16. Play a game with words or puzzles or brain teasers every now and then.

17. Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Stare out a window. Listen to the birds. Take a walk. Talk to a stranger. Wonder without googling.

18. You will mess up. I will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You and I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together.

It is my hope that you can agree to these terms. Most of the lessons listed here do not just apply to the iPhone, but to life. You are growing up in a fast and ever changing world. It is exciting and enticing. Keep it simple every chance you get. Trust your powerful mind and giant heart above any machine. I love you. I hope you enjoy your awesome new iPhone.

xoxoxo,

Mom

Source .. iPhone contract from mom to a 13 year old son - Do you agree?

 

[Nerevarine]

If i was to have those rules, then id prefer a nokia 1100 that i can use any way i want to

However, a 13 year old should not be allowed to own a phone anyway

 

[The Sorcerer]

No point commenting here. We all belong to a different generation compared to him . But why not just buy some cheap phone? An iphone? really?

 

[Anorion]

huh? this is pretty progressive, nothing wrong in this, except for the password, even adults should use it like this only

 

[TheLetterD]

Dont accept Points 15 and 16.
His choice.
A parent shouldnt try to influence/change his son's/daughter's taste in anything, Esp. Music.
I guess the are talking about things like Rap Music
Very Off topic but

Spoiler

their is 2 kinds of Rap Music, BS about Cars, Money and girls
And Real music with deep lyrics about life experiences, life lessons, politics, yada yada yada
For eg. Lil Wayne , Young money fall into the BS part of Rap music, and Immortal Technique , Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, etc. fall into the Good part of the music.
And I know some words may not be suitable for 13 year olds, but Ill be very honest
At around 15 we all know what this stuff means.
Like A great man once said, "They've got the Discovery Channel, Dont they?"

 

[sumonpathak]

13 yr and iphone...
...................................................

 

[pranav0091]

Thats pretty good parenting I'd say. Nothing wrong that I can see with it. Maybe the music part is unwarranted, but itf it means to say stay away from Niki minaj or lil wayne and other ****, thats parenting at level 9000

 

[anirbandd]

even if the iPhone is the stuff of our dreams its pretty standard out there, in the land of the american dream or whatever. this a helluva good "contract" and i'd congratulate the mother on acting so maturely and trusting her child.

 

[rhitwick]

His mom is a knowledgeable person but if he's to abide by all these rules what for would he use the phone then?

 

[nickreynold]

with great powers comes great responsibility. Its better to have cheap phone and do all what you want rather than haven iphone and do nothing with it.

 

[Anorion]

expand horizon's so sweet
seriously, adults need to read this, there are people who scream in text, call at rude times, take a zillion photos and forget to actually see or experience anything, to the point where sharing a photo on fb is the actual "experience" instead of doing something, don't turn off the ring tone in a theater, have loud private conversations in public places... people don't even know that it is impolite or wrong... wanna print this out and start handing it out to people violating it's principles, they need to be schooled in cell phone usage, just like the 13 yo kid
seen people watch porn while standing in line waiting for a ticket... why why why use smart phones for such dumb things

 

[Skud]

Found nothing wrong except the password part. The music part is OK IMO. She has even asked him to play games. Good parenting.

 

[avinandan012]

parenting level : legendary

 

[Skud]

Trust your powerful mind and giant heart above any machine.

This. Never fails.

 

[debarshi]

I actually printed this out and made my Mom read it. This is epic.

I use a phone since 14 (I am 19 now), even if it was Nokia 1100, and never faced this.......

 

[rajnusker]

Interesting read.

 

[anirbandd]

^same for pretty much everyone on TDF who started using mobiles in their early teens....

i started using cell phone, Nokia 5130 XpressMusic, from my first year..

 

[ithehappy]

If I were her then I'd just mention 1 point, and that'd be, here is your gift, I wanted to spoil you, and I did.

 

[pranav0091]

^
If a mobile phone instantly spoils someone, then eating a burger should probably make someone instantly obese and die of cardiac arrest.
Its a lame comparison, but I hope the point is clear. Overuse/Misuse of stuff creates trouble, not the stuff if used in moderation. What this mum here appears to do is to moderate the phone usage of her son, while at the same time getting him something he likes/cool/desirable/useful. Good to see good parenting.

 

[anirbandd]

^