13-Year-Old's Christmas iPhone Comes with 18-Point Contract from Mom | Oddity Central - Collecting Oddities

VIDEO: Mom Blogger Has Son Sign 18-point Agreement for iPhone Christmas Gift. - YouTube

Best mom ever.  

 

This is, by far, the most incredulous this I have ever read. Sure there were a few good points but the rest of the shit was so forced, so heavy handed that if I were the kid I'd just forget about the whole thing and get a Nokia.

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

- not really. Iphones are can be pretty cheap now with a contract.

2. I will always know the password.

- fair enough

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.

- not really possible. Given some of the other rules, the kid will not have it tethered too him, but I like the idea.

4. Hand the phone to one of your parents promptly at 7:30pm every school night & every weekend night at 9:00pm. It will be shut off for the night and turned on again at 7:30am. 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.

- I get the surrendering the phone, but how many of you stayed up all hours of the night on a land line talking to your friends or GF?

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.

- So what is the point of having a phone to contact people for emergence's, if for half the day I don't have access to the Phone. Idiot.

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.

- Fair enough

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.

Stay out of the crossfire? WTF does that mean. mom is trying way too hard.

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

- Ok

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.

- He's a teenager, that is what teenagers do.

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.

- Fuck that. Even by saying that he shouldn't means that he will.

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.

- see 3

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.

- A little heavy handed. if you raised your kid right he will not send pictures of his shit anyways. He can't really help it if someone sends him theirs. Also, she is blowing the idea that naked pictures on the web ruin your life.

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.

- Live you experiences? who are you Dr Seues. It's a phone...

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.

- see 5.

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.

- this is almost the worst point. If you have chosen to use a stupid iPhone contract to open the world of music to your kid you are a failure. He's 13, probably should already know that the Beatles are a great band.


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

- Most games are brain teasers, only dumb people think that unless a game explicitly expresses that it is educational that there is inherently no value. Fuck you.

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.

- Uh, so lame. Listen to the birds? WTF?

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 & I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together.

- Except for the fact that I am making you sigh a contract that limits pretty well everything good a bout the phone.

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. Merry Christmas!

xoxoxo

Mom

- Thanks Mom, now that this story is a nation deal, all my friends will be texting their dicks to my phone...

 

So what? Not like a 13 year old needs an iPhone anyway. At least this way she set some ground rules for the use of it.

 

This is why I bought a simple old Nokia that doesn't do anything except ring, text, alarm-beep and maybe play that Snake game if I'm bored.

My mother would adore this concept  

 

I think it just pisses me off because she clearly wrote this as a "blogger first" mom second.

 

No one needs one.

 

Did she really tell him to talk to a stranger in #17? LMAO...moron.

And does she really expect a 13 year old to not look at porn? If I was 13 that would be the first thing I'd do with it.

 

I'd hate to see the contract she writes up when her son gets a girlfriend...

1) Upstairs outside only. No inside downstairs.

2) The Pooper is out of bounds without my written consent. If you need lube then mow some lawns or go see creepy Mr Jenkins at the end of the street. After you escape his house a week later you'll probably never want to hear of back-door lovin' ever again anyway.

3) Kissing does not need tongues. Or actually any contact at all. Blow kisses from a distance. But cover your mouth with your hand when she blows a kiss back in case you might catch something.

And so on.

 

Gingerchris just won the thread.  

 

Some of these rules make sense, others not so much. I mean an A for Effort as a parent, but some of these are a little skew-whif.

 

I agree with you, kids need to learn how not to depend on technology dependant.

 

I have no idea why she bought him an iPhone....why not a "dumb" phone? That way he can't google, he won't take it to school, because frankly that would be to embarrassing for a 13 year old to be carrying an old fashioned brick to school.

I think she was trying to be clever and funny and get kudos, when at the end of the day she bought him an iPhone.....she gave him free access to everything she tells him he can't do. I find it cruel to be honest. Let him use his smart phone like a smart phone, or get him a dumb phone and quit with the "I'm the best mother in the world because I created elaborate rules for my son", while still feeling like she blessed him with what he asked for.

FOr the record, my kids won't be getting a smart phone until such time when they can use it responsibly without me creating some elaborate 18-point contract. My 13 year olds won't be getting an iPhone if I feel like I "have" to tell them not to take happy snaps of their genitals.

Of course children should use technology responsibly....but, you should hopefully be able to raise your kids to a point where they can make reasonable choices with a gift such as an iPhone. I wouldn't buy them a pet unless I was fairly confident that they had the maturity to care for them. I'm not going to say "here's a puppy...rule 1 you must give him water. Rule 2 you must clean his poop". Ground rules will be established before...not after I give them the gift of a new pet.

 

Does a thirteen year old need an iPhone?...IMO. No.

But Kudos to mom for being creative and getting the kids attention. Kids need rules, and structure in their lives.

Considering how society is in todays time, she found a way to be a parent, and not just her kids "friend"....for this I applaud her.

 

My 8 year old has classmates with iPhones...

 

And people wonder why kids are turning into entitled little shits these days.

 

I agree. It seems she forgot the whole point of what a phone is supposed to be. You're supposed to take it with you when you go on a school trip that way you will be able to call someone if the worst happens. The rules about not telling a person you wouldn't say in person should be common sense.

I understand she wants to protect her son and some of her rules aren't too bad, but some do seem a little out of control. You can't ultimately control the decisions your child makes after all.

 

I'm 15 years old, and let me tell you, my iPhone has saved my ass multiple times.

I do all of my homework on my iPad. My teacher told me that I never turned it in. Because of iCloud technology, I was able to prove to her on the spot that I in fact did do my essay. BTW, she later found the essay.

I forgot my AP World homework in the printer, so instead, I went in before class started and showed her it on my iPhone. I emailed it to her and she printed it out for me.

Technology is slowly infusing its way into education. Parents need to accept that.

 

7:30 on weekdays, 9:00 on the weekends?
not allowed to call anyone unless it's a landline?

this kid sounds really sheltered... i mean i definitely get that phones seem to be taking the place of conversation lately and i've caught myself doing it a few times, but come on.

 

my cousin's daughter, who is six, wants an iphone and an ipad. i wonder her parents will get it for her. probaly so since xmas was not that long ago.