CNN: Cell Phones...

Here's an article by CNN about cell phones in the hands of America's youth.

They dance around when is the right time for students and kids to have cell phones. I can understand the need for kids to have a cell phone for the purposes of convenience of communication but don't start by giving your kids a side kick. The last thing your kid needs to START off with is a phone with a camera, mp3 player, text messaging, internet access, and a qwerty keyboard to distract them from class. Why don't you just write-in all the F's on their report card and save them the trouble of showing up to class?

This should be provisional. If students can bring phones to class, then they revoke their rights as students and can be treated as hostile combatants. "Sure you can use your phone, at the cost of 20 lashes! For text messages, it's an extra 20."

Keep in mind that cell phones are supposed to be a luxury, not a necessity. I'm sure that as a parent, you can live without talking to your kids during the 6-8 hours they're in school, not that you already do that anyway... Besides, save yourself the extra expense by waiting on getting your kids cell phones until they've proven themselves to be responsible... Or hell, make them pay for their own phone or minutes or something! But I know that request falls on deaf ears...

The article does well to promote better parenting practices but I don't think it's enough. Kids are dumb when it comes to long-term give and take, but if parents are truly militant about providing their kids with these phones, then the parents are truly dumber.

Scary Statistic:
* 54 percent of 8- to 12-year-olds will have a cell phone in the next three years (I didn't get my first cell phone until junior year of high school).