That is Sooooooooo NOT what we bought that phone for!!

So for SuperStar's birthday we gifted her a very nice phone. Yes she is 11 years old. Yes I was totally opposed for years to the thought that we would purchase one of our children a cell phone. No I didn't cave. Well yes I did cave. Wait....did I cave? Maybe not so much "caved" as Peer Pressure sank into the equation of it all.

SuperStar + Jr. High being really far away + other Parents purchasing cell phones for their kid's starting Jr. High + other Parents agreeing it is helpful if they are involved in school activities + a lot of "Can I PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE" ='s BigBuy and I CAVED.

Okay - yeah - I caved.

So now she has a phone. This is how it is generally used.

Texting

We were driving the other day - whole family - and BigGuy gets a text. He reads it at a stop sign and shows me.....it says "I am in the back seat"............it is from SuperStar.

It is 10pm. I am downstairs watching CupCake Wars. I get a text.......it says, "What Up"........it is from SuperStar who is supposed to be sleeping.

Now I will give you I am actually having some interesting conversations through texts with her. Things that we can say when we aren't together. She sent a text announcing that she made it for Treble Makers......she was very excited!! She sent me a text letting me know she was on her way home from school on the bus. Nice to know. She sent me a text letting me know she was a little down. We texted that through a bit.

Then came the day that she wanted to stay after for a Student Council election meeting. She called - I am staying. There was no ride set up and I couldn't leave to get her. She should have called to say....."can I stay" before the bus left. That was not the best way of using her phone, but lucky for us CB's son was doing something similar and she saved SuperStar's bacon by being on her way to pick up her own son who surprise stayed for the meeting.

Then came the day that SuperStar was staying after to attend a Speech Team information meeting. It was planned though. No worries. I woke TheKing up and made my way across town to pick her up. Only........she wasn't there. She forgot and took the bus home. Realized the goof half way, but didn't have her cell phone (which she should have because it was purchased for this reason) with her and didn't think to use one of the MILLION OTHER cell phones her friends on the bus had. Again - CB saved her bacon because NB noticed that SuperStar was crying from fear on the bus....CB let me know that my panicked search of the Jr. High school was in vain and called me - WITH HER OWN CELL PHONE - to let me know I should come home. This is exactly what we DID buy the cell phone for and again it wasn't used.

So after that SuperStar's privileges for texting and computer were taken for a few days.

Then the next day there was a Girl Scout event that SuperStar was working as a greeter for. She stood in front of me with her cell phone as she was preparing to leave. Now....going to an event without one of her parents is EXACTLY what the cell phone is for. Yea - she has it in her hands - and then she put it down and said, "Well guess I will leave this here since I can't text anyone until Friday"........

That is SOOOOOO exactly what we bought that phone for!!!