Mom Gives Son a Christmas iPhone -- With Strings Attached - Mashable

It's a classic parenting dilemma of the digital age: You want your kid to have that shiny new smartphone, but don't want that to lead to an ongoing power struggle over how it can and can't be used.

It seems Janell Burley Hofmann, a blogger and mother of five, has found a solution.

She gave her 13-year-old son Gregory an iPhone for Christmas. But it came with a catch -- namely, an 18-point contract outlining how Gregory's new toy can and can't be used. Hofmann published the contract on her personal website, and it provides some pretty interesting food for thought.

The note begins:

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. But with the acceptance of this present comes rules and regulations. Please read through the following contract. 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. Failure to comply with the following list will result in termination of your iPhone ownership.

From there it outlines, point by point, Gregory's contractual obligations as a brand new iPhone owner. Among the most interesting rules:

• Mom, not Gregory, technically owns the phone and will always know the password.

• No ignoring calls from Mom or Dad. "Not ever."

• Don't take the phone to school. "Have a conversation with the people you text in person. It's a life skill."

• "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."

• Leave the phone at home sometimes, just because. "It is not alive or an extension of you. Learn to live without it. Be bigger and more powerful than FOMO – fear of missing out."

You can head over to Hofmann's site to read the entire contract, but first we want to hear what you think in the comments: Is this overbearing child-rearing, or an approach more parents would be wise to implement?

Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, stefanoborsani