I am single and don't have kids, so please feel free to voice your concerns. I'd like to hear them.
My 7 year old nephew is pretty bright and recently got a First or 2nd Generation Kindle from a friend. I thought it may be nice to install Google Voice--with parents permission, so he could text parents, grandparents, myself etc.
He may not use it, but I just thought it would be fun to try and may give me another way to keep in touch with him, since he obviously doesn't have a phone.
On the surface, I would think Google Voice would be nice because all activity can easily be viewed through www.google.com/voice by any parent or guardian. All messages are stored in the cloud and can be reviewed easily.
Rest assured, this isn't a gateway question.....I am not advocating getting him a cell or setting up a facebook account etc. However, does anyone think that this would give him any incentive to write more and be more concerned about spelling?
Am I nuts or foolhardy? How young is too young?
If your kid wanted to send a text from his tablet to mom, dad, sisters, grandparents, etc, would you let him if he was 5, 7, 10 and you had no intention of getting him a phone till much later?
My 7 year old nephew is pretty bright and recently got a First or 2nd Generation Kindle from a friend. I thought it may be nice to install Google Voice--with parents permission, so he could text parents, grandparents, myself etc.
He may not use it, but I just thought it would be fun to try and may give me another way to keep in touch with him, since he obviously doesn't have a phone.
On the surface, I would think Google Voice would be nice because all activity can easily be viewed through www.google.com/voice by any parent or guardian. All messages are stored in the cloud and can be reviewed easily.
Rest assured, this isn't a gateway question.....I am not advocating getting him a cell or setting up a facebook account etc. However, does anyone think that this would give him any incentive to write more and be more concerned about spelling?
Am I nuts or foolhardy? How young is too young?
If your kid wanted to send a text from his tablet to mom, dad, sisters, grandparents, etc, would you let him if he was 5, 7, 10 and you had no intention of getting him a phone till much later?
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