One of my very first posts at YMC, a year ago, was about when kids should join Facebook. There were so many great comments—over fifty—but then my Disqus account got set up and all of those comments were obliterated. In the age of no comments that was especially tragic, but I've carried on like the trooper that I am.
My eldest is still not on Facebook, but he does have an Instagram account. He's private, and will check with me about follower requests from people that he doesn't know. His younger brother and sister also set up a joint Instagram account, with the same parameters, and I think that's enough social media for all of them. They are friends with a few school friends and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. It's fun for me to see them interact with their friends and family on Instagram.
My eldest has occasionally asked about having a texting plan. He has my old iPhone to use as an iPod, and we've been able to text using wifi when it's available. The schools here have free wifi, but kids aren't allowed to have their devices in hand inside the school, which means that as soon as he's outside he can no longer access wifi.
When we're at our cabin, we're off the grid, except that my phone is set up to be an Internet hotspot. If we're all at the cabin and the kids stay at the cabin while my husband and I snow shoe, one of us will leave our phone so that we can check in with each other. There are times when only one of us is with the kids with only one phone plan, and I think it might be time to get our eldest a texting plan, at the minimum. Heck, he is legally able to babysit other kids.
It just seems like such a huge thing for someone who is eleven, but we live on an acreage ten minutes behind our wee town, and having the ability to text my son about changed after-school plans or from a hike at the hill would be great. I need to convince my Dutch (Read: FRUGAL) husband of this, so please help me out here.
Do your kids have cell phones? Talking plans? Texting plans? Notes in a bottle? Carrier-pigeons?
Wondering about other age-appropriate milestones? Check out "When Can You Leave Your Kids Home Alone?" and "When Are Kids Old Enough For Facebook?"
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