I love how sensible Kate is – no nine year old needs a cell phone!

And I bet Lily really does know Santa isn’t real – she just goes with it because it’s fun to believe in Santa I figured it out earlier than that, but it was still fun to get caught up in the whole Santa thing.

If I have kids, I don’t think I’ll tell them Santa is real because I want them to be realistic about the kind of presents they can have, but I don’t think there’s one right thing to do.

I don’t understand why parents think that telling their kids about Santa is some way damaging or hurtful to the kids. Its a kind story – not a horror tale. My neighbor told her children at ages 3 and 5 that presents came just from Mommy and Daddy’s money and people who believe in Santa are poor. It really put me off. I don’t understand my friends who are new moms who are absolutely adament about Santa not existing around their kids.

As far as cellphones, kids don’t need them. They’re young – let them stay that way. I feel like giving a child a cellphone at a young age is equivalent to putting a tracking bracelet on them or putting them in high heels and makeup; it crosses lines of over-protection and growing up too quickly.

I’m floored at the ages that some kids still believe at. I stopped believing at 4 or 5 and was under the impression that 9 was a bit old to still believe. I wonder how the parents keep it going that long?

My son will be 9 in January… I totally agree with Kate… no need for a cell phone.

When they are teenagers, sure… so you can keep tabs on them and because they go places without adults and need that emergancy line… but they shouldn’t be gabbing on one until they are old enough to pay for it themselves.

Great call, Kate… and good job keeping your daughter’s feet firmly planted on the ground.

I am a little annoyed that Kate described her daughter as possibly feeling “stupid” around her friends b/c of her belief in Santa. Whether or not she believes is her choice…not the parents. And under no circumstances should the word “stupid” be used to describe a child.

I will be 25 in less then a month and am the baby of the family and my mom still tells me that Santa exists. We also still get gifts that are listed as being from Santa, even though they show up under the tree before Christmas Eve. I grew up though knowing the real story of Saint Nick and how his legacy turned into the Santa Clause we all know today. So we always believed in the spirit of giving and not that Christmas is about getting gifts from Santa Clause. But back to Kate Beckinsale I saw her appearance on Jay Leno and found her to be quite funny, I didn’t know much about her except for seeing pictures of Lily on this site.

I’m sure I’m the candidate for most indulgent mom of the year, but my 10 and 11 year old each have a cell phone. Actually, I didn’t think it was really too extravagant and most of their friends have them. But, like most things, it’s up to the person who pays to decide. lol. As for Santa, I don’t think we have any believers anymore. Once the oldest one knows, it like dominos falling. I think Kate can probably suspend the disbelief longer since Lilly is her only child. We never really pushed Santa too much anyway because it feels a bit like lying even though it’s all in good fun. As soon as they were old enough to ask, I told them it was like a fun game that parents play. I also told them not to go sharing the news with all of their friends.

I agree children don’t need phones and when thye do get 1 (maybe around age 16) they should pay the bills themselves. That will keep them from spending 1000euro/month! I know teenagers that don’t have to pay anything and they’re on the phone day and night.

All but one of my fifth graders has a cell phone! I understand the phones that only allow 5 pre-programmed numbers (some parents argue that for kids who walk home from school, good for emergencies, practice cancelled early, etc.) but otherwise, it’s a pain getting them to turn them off, leave them alone, etc. My son is 2 and I’m afraid the way things are going, he’ll be the only one in his Kindergarten without one!

As for Santa, all of my students are 10 or 11 and most still believe. There are a few who make comments but the others shut them down pretty quickly. When Lily is old enough to know her mom was pretending (NOT LYING) she will be old enough to understand the tradition as well

I didn’t get a mobile phone until I was 19 and had a job where they wanted to call me at 5am to come in and fill in for other people.

I think driving age is a good age for a mobile when there’s a chance they could get stranded and need to call for roadside assistance, etc. Then the phone becomes part of the responsibility of driving and not a luxury entertainment item.

I must be a big ol’ meanie though because I think children should also be paying for their own phone calls. Two families in our area gave their kids phones on their normal plans and they ran up close to a thousand dollars (AUS) worth of calls. I think pre-paid credit is the way to go, then kids have to earn those phone calls and don’t abuse them as much.