[quote]Thirteen-year-old Greg Hoffman had been begging his parents for an iPhone all year. So on Christmas morning he was thrilled to find the object of his desire under the tree, but there was a catch.The phone came with an [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/mom-blogger-son-sign-18-point-agreement-iphone-18094157"]18-point set of terms and conditions[/URL] that he had to agree to before the phone could be his. And the agreement did not come from Apple or the [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/US/massachusetts-mom-son-sign-18-point-agreement-iphone/story?id=18094401#"]phone provider[/URL], it was from his mother.
"Merry Christmas! You are now the proud owner of an iPhone. Hot Damn! You are a good & responsible 13 year old boy and you deserve this gift," the agreement begins. "But with the acceptance of this present comes rules and regulations."
The first rule on his mother's list: "It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/US/massachusetts-mom-son-sign-18-point-agreement-iphone/story?id=18094401#"]loaning[/URL] it to you. Aren't I the greatest?"
"I hope that you understand it is my job to raise you into a well rounded, healthy young man that can function in the world and coexist with technology, not be ruled by it," Janell Hoffman wrote. "Failure to comply with the following list will result in termination of your iPhone ownership."
"I love you madly & look forward to sharing several million text messages with you in the days to come," she added.
"Oh my God. My first reaction was, why? Why did she really have to do this?" Hoffman told "Good Morning America" today.
"What I wanted to do and show him [is] how you could be a responsible user of technology without abusing it, without becoming addicted," Janell Hoffman said.
"Do not use this technology to lie, fool, or deceive another human being," read rule number seven. "Do not involve yourself in conversations that are hurtful to others. Be a good friend first or stay the hell out of the crossfire."Hoffman herself is a blogger and mother of five in Cape Cod, Mass. She wanted her son to avoid many of the pitfalls that both smart phone using teens and adults fall prey to.
Other rules forbid porn and the sending or receiving of "pictures of your private parts or anyone else's private parts." The rules also outline the hours and places the phone may be used.
"It it rings, answer it," said rule number three. "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."
Hoffman said that the lessons she outlined were for her son's iPhone usage, for his life and for anyone too attached to their mobile device.
"Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you," she encouraged. "Stare out [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/US/massachusetts-mom-son-sign-18-point-agreement-iphone/story?id=18094401#"]a window[/URL]. Listen to the birds. Take a walk. Talk to a stranger. Wonder without Googling."
Teen behavior expert [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/US/massachusetts-mom-son-sign-18-point-agreement-iphone/www.HeyJosh.com"]Josh Shipp[/URL] says a set of rules are a must for teen iPhone use.[/quote]
[url]http://abcnews.go.com/US/massachusetts-mom-son-sign-18-point-agreement-iphone/story?id=18094401#.UOCPF2872Ag[/url]
This seemed fairly reasonable to me until I read some of the points.
[quote]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.[/quote]
That's just stupid. What if he wants to contact one of his friends or maybe even his parents if something's gone wrong?
[quote]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.[/quote]
Why get a phone with a camera if you can't take however many photos photos or videos you like?
[quote]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.[/quote]
Is this kid 13 or is he 3?
[QUOTE=Super_Nova;39030973]Talk to a stranger.[/QUOTE]
What a great mother
[QUOTE=RenegadeCop;39030992]I wish my mom was that cool.[/QUOTE]
I wish more facepunchers would read before posting
Dam that's like, the best mom ever (Just kidding), but my mom made me stick with a dumb phone and I unconsciously proved to her that I could own a smartphone.
Oh and if my mom did the same to me, I would just give the danm phone back to the cellular service, and stick with my old Nokia, the oldish one that really never broke if you dropped it. Or my old pantech.
the kid won't care about the rules
This is the kind of thing I'd do with my kids. She's a pretty awesome mum.
Why is this a big deal?
And now he learns the most important life lesson of all.
Lying.
That's the direct opposite of what 13 year olds do with their iphones.
[QUOTE=Turing;39031022]the kid won't care about the rules[/QUOTE]
I have a feeling his mother is one of those who would also regularly check his (or her, as stated in RULE NUMBER ONE) phone for anything that breaks a rule.
And then the phone gets taken away.
No porn? What a boring mom
just for a moment think about the fact that for this to be in the news, someone had to have reported it to them
eg the mom
the mom told the news how great she / her idea was (or advertised the fuck out of it on her eblog)
Going to rule #1, where it's her phone that she bought and paid for.. It should be noted that she GIFTED him the iPhone.
She doesn't understand the concept of gifts.
Or the fact that a teenager won't give a flying fuck about such rules anyway.
If I were him I wouldn't take it, knowing my mom would be reading all my conversations.
[QUOTE=RenegadeCop;39031047]I did? Mom gives kid tons of shitty rules for his Iphone that he is "borrowing" from her?
If I read it wrong tell me what I read wrong.[/QUOTE]
You say this yet you also say she's cool.
[quote]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.[/quote]
Crappy shit rules.
if when my mom got me an iphone when i was like 13 or whatever, i honestly would not have accepted it with those terms and conditions. like, seriously.
[QUOTE=Valdor;39031126]You say this yet you also say she's cool.[/QUOTE]
Does anybody here understand sarcasm at all?
[QUOTE=Kybalt;39031141]if when my mom got me an iphone when i was like 13 or whatever, i honestly would not have accepted it with those terms and conditions. like, seriously.[/QUOTE]
show some backbone breh i'd say "keep your nazi consumerist bullshit to yourself ma im a free man"
[quote]The first rule on his mother's list: "It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren't I the greatest?"[/quote]
Not with these stupid rules, oh bad luck if you need to text a friend about something past 7:30 this is totally showing him how to use shit responsibly!!
[QUOTE]You are now the proud owner of an iPhone[/QUOTE]
But Rule Number one states that he doesn't own the phone but is simply borrowing it
I love how my parents would never do anything like this. They would never invade my privacy unless I was missing or something like that.
Once my mom got me an i-phone no questions asked or agreements signed.
Now I'm in college.
Thanks mom.
[QUOTE=TropicalV2;39031154]show some backbone breh i'd say "keep your nazi consumerist bullshit to yourself ma im a free man"[/QUOTE]
i think im more trying to make a point about how im glad my parents respect my privacy and trust me to not be a total fuckhead.
Don't agree with some of it. You should be able to take as many pictures as you want. Helps you remember things. Also, the "wonder without Googling" thing. No. Why should you just wonder about something when you can google it and gain knowledge?
Over protective parents.
[QUOTE=TropicalV2;39031154]show some backbone breh i'd say "keep your nazi consumerist bullshit to yourself ma im a free man"[/QUOTE]
If you'd seriously curtail to these rules as a kid then you really don't have a backbone.
[QUOTE]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.[/QUOTE]
...I don't know of anyone that has a (home) landline anymore.
[QUOTE=elevate;39031144]Does anybody here understand sarcasm at all?[/QUOTE]
Sarcasm through text, you have to be pretty thick if you think that works well
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