There’s a cell-phone contract that’s getting a lot of attention. The contract, however, isn’t from a company to a customer; it’s from a Massachusetts mother to her son.
CBS 21 asked people how they feel about this form of parenting.
It helps the mother, Janell Hoffman, is a blogger. She posted the contract that her 13-year-old son had to sign to get his Christmas present, a new iPhone.
Times have changed from when many of us first got cell phones, and Hoffman took a fresh approach to restricting what her son does on his phone.
Hoffman’s contract aims to put out all the fires of improper cell phone usage before they even start. They include a limit on use, no looking up porn, no sexting and always answer when mom or dad calls.
Tawana Poteat allows her 14-year-old son to have a cell phone. But like most parents, didn’t write up a contract for him.
“It’s between me and my son, so no I wouldn’t put it up there for the world to see, it would be humiliating to him,” Poteat told us.
We heard the word ‘trust’ often while interviewing for this story. Parents trusting their kids to not use their cell phone improperly.
“Once you lose that trust from a mother or a parent it’s hard to get it back,” said Cameron Poteat.
One teen told us the only rule his mother gave him is to “pick up when she calls.”
That was one of the ones on the contract, but the idea of a written agreement, didn’t sit well with most people.
“It’s up to you to sign it, I wouldn’t sign it,” one teen said.
We asked a dad, and he’s also not for the contract idea.
“Sign a contract?” questioned Eddie Delgado. “I’d never give my kids a contract.”
Eddie Delgado says an open relationship about his kids “not using their phones to send or look at porn” or to “never” ignore his calls has worked for him.
We asked Delgado, what if the kids give you a reason not to trust them? He replied, “Then that’s when we need to sit down and talk.”
To read the entire contract, click on the attached link.
CBS 21 asked people how they feel about this form of parenting.
It helps the mother, Janell Hoffman, is a blogger. She posted the contract that her 13-year-old son had to sign to get his Christmas present, a new iPhone.
Times have changed from when many of us first got cell phones, and Hoffman took a fresh approach to restricting what her son does on his phone.
Hoffman’s contract aims to put out all the fires of improper cell phone usage before they even start. They include a limit on use, no looking up porn, no sexting and always answer when mom or dad calls.
Tawana Poteat allows her 14-year-old son to have a cell phone. But like most parents, didn’t write up a contract for him.
“It’s between me and my son, so no I wouldn’t put it up there for the world to see, it would be humiliating to him,” Poteat told us.
We heard the word ‘trust’ often while interviewing for this story. Parents trusting their kids to not use their cell phone improperly.
“Once you lose that trust from a mother or a parent it’s hard to get it back,” said Cameron Poteat.
One teen told us the only rule his mother gave him is to “pick up when she calls.”
That was one of the ones on the contract, but the idea of a written agreement, didn’t sit well with most people.
“It’s up to you to sign it, I wouldn’t sign it,” one teen said.
We asked a dad, and he’s also not for the contract idea.
“Sign a contract?” questioned Eddie Delgado. “I’d never give my kids a contract.”
Eddie Delgado says an open relationship about his kids “not using their phones to send or look at porn” or to “never” ignore his calls has worked for him.
We asked Delgado, what if the kids give you a reason not to trust them? He replied, “Then that’s when we need to sit down and talk.”
To read the entire contract, click on the attached link.