Parents: What would you do if your found out your 14 year old had a "calmunicator" since age 12?

[Danielle]

It's a communication device that looks like a calculator and works like a calculator. To start communicating, you press the π button, then press the APPS button (the button in pink letters), then press ALPHA, then enter the 9 digit code, and then press the blue 2nd button and then press enter or =. Then your child has unlimited internet access, including websites such as Facebook, porn, chat rooms, MySpace, addictinggames.com and Wikipedia. To turn off internet, you either turn off the calculator off so if you turn it back on, the screen ill look like and function like a normal calculator or you can press the PRGM button which is located next to the pink APPS button. You can even restore your last session by entering a 6 digit code and then press the X, T, Ѳ, n button, which is located above the pink APPS button. You find out your child had this since 12, it was created by a friend to replace the existing calculator you bought as a school supply and your child goes on it at night. Your child's friend even replaces the batteries. Here is a picture of the calculator.
http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/...lssku$

[jackie m]

Is that not what his xbox does anyway?

[Beth]

Since my kids are home-schooled, and I personally buy their school supplies, I'm not seeing how this could happen. I don't expect to ever give them their own individual graphing calculator - when they get to high school level math (Algebra II/Trig at the earliest) we might have ONE for them to use and share. A 12 year old has no business with a graphing calculator in my opinion. Most kids aren't in Algebra II or Trig until they are at least sophomores in high school, which would be age 15. A 12 year old would typically be in pre-algebra, which is best done without any calculator, or with just a basic scientific calculator (which doesn't have a big enough screen to be confused with your "calmunicator".)

That said, if I found out my kid had some sort of electronic device with internet access that I had not approved - I'd take it away and punish them. If it had been provided by a friend, that person would not be a friend any longer and would have limited, if any, contact with my child. I'd probably be speaking to the friend's parents about it also.

[cathrl69]

Oooh, a little fantasy story.

Sweetie, the internet does not work like that.