Hi Nana!

Kenz got a cell phone. A real one. Her mom pays nine dollars a month for it.

What are the real costs? I hate to be negative, but I have to look at the reasons why this might not be such a good idea. Then again, the good could outweigh the bad.

The first question I ask myself is---should a child as young as five have to worry about being responsible for an item that is easily lost or broken? I have ruined two cell phones, accidentally dropping one in the toilet and one in the washing machine. This taught me that anything is possible when it comes to destroying these small devices. I felt really bad both times and I wouldn't want to put that load on a young child. My daughter says she has to learn to be responsible for things, and I agree with her on that point.

Secondly, I think about the radiation to the head issue. I'm sure she's not on it enough to have side effects, but if the side effects are cumulative why jumpstart them by a few years. Some of the research has shown that the brain tumors are not related to cell phone use. My daughter says she's only on it for two minutes a day. Maybe this will cause her to be bored with it as a teenager, when so many girls love to spend hours on it.

Then there's the germ issue. I've been told that I am germ phobic ,but that's not true. I'm a nurse. Kenz doesn't share her phone,but like keyboards in offices and clickers in homes, viruses and bacterium love these surfaces. Something that lingers close to the face and has hands all over it could be a contributing factor to illness. Sometimes, perfect strangers will even say to me, "Can I take a look at your cell phone?" Then they check out the features that are not available on their phone, like texting keyboards or video. My daughter says that Kenz keeps her phone in a little purse when they go out to the mall or grocery store. She never takes it to school, it's not allowed. The phone only goes where mommy goes. The charger is off-limits to her little hands also. ONLY mommy can plug it in!

She's learning how to dial and she can dial two numbers. Can you guess whose they are? Yep, you're right--- Nana's and Daba's. (grandpa) She uses the call log to dial up her Daddy.

It's been about a month since she's been connected to the network, and the good thing is, she forgets she even has a phone until it rings. When it does ring, it is either Daddy, Nana or Daba.

Daba and I like to call her--- sometimes just to hear the message she has recorded. It warms our hearts to hear her voice. We put her on speaker and listen with wide smiles. When she does answer it, while riding in the car or shopping with her mother, she will sometimes say, "I'll call you back, I'm busy right now.

This might turn out to be the hardest thing for a preschooler who has a phone, that is, having to put up with the frequent phone calls from her admirers.