Controlling Kids' Cell Use

By Gregory Mone Posted 09.05.2007 at 6:33 pm 1 Comment

Now that millions of kids are toting around mobile phones, parents are looking for more ways to police how they're using them. There's the obvious stuff, such as limiting the hours your kids can use the phone, or barring them from access to certain Web sites, but some companies are also adding location-tracking features so that Mom and Dad have an idea of whether Junior is really at school or not.

A company called Firefly Mobile is offering a phone specifically for kids aged 5 to 8. Instead of a standard keypad, it will have dedicated buttons for dialing Mom and Dad or 911. (See the image at left.) Apparently civil libertarians have criticized the tracking technologies, but since when were families free societies?—Gregory Mone

Via WSJ

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popsci

09/05/07 at 9:40 pm

this is cool and all but when I was 5 to 8 years old I don't ever remember needing to dial 911 or need to call mom or dad because there was always a land line near by, because I was either at a friends house, my house, or with my parents in a public place. I wouldn't buy this if I had kids but it looks cool.

To me it seems like this is a way for the cell phone companies to reach out even more than they already have. But hey we live in America so "its all good" right?