NSW Gifts from Parent - Removing Mobile Phones from Children?

[Leah710]

Hello, are there any rules on removing mobile phones from kids that were gifts from their father?

 

[Rod]

Why would you remove phones from the kids?

 

[Leah710]

As a discipline asspect if they are busy playing with them instead of getting ready for school or doing there chores

 

[Rod]

That is a reasonable answer. You will need to be careful if there are courts orders saying their father is allowed to call.

If you are on reasonable talking terms with their father then probably best to discuss it with him first and set some rules around the use of the phones. Like no calls after bedtime (and say what bedtime is), no more than x calls/day, no more than y SMSs/day.

Hopefully he has given phones for the right reasons, not just to annoy you. If he has, then he is more likely to agree to reasonable use and discipline.

 

[Leah710]

We are not on talking terms and tried that and he won't listen. There is no court order as they look at it as there is a house phone they can use and I have given him permission to call on that. He is just being stubborn.

 

[Rod]

As a parent with custody, you have the right to discipline your kids. If this means removal of electronic privileges (e.g. no TV and no phones), so be it.

So court wise, no hard and fast rules, just be reasonable. The court doesn't like to see one parent stopping their children from having access to the other parent (in normal circumstances - e.g. no violence, drugs, alcohol etc)

re: Their father, unfortunately, it is hard stopping unreasonable from being unreasonable.

 

[AllForHer]

I don't think this is a legal issue, really. Your house, your rules; his house, his rules. You could take their phones away as punishment and then return them when they go back to their father's. If the father has a problem with that, tell him that he can impose whatever rules he wants at his house and you'll do the same at yours. There's no legal avenue for him to follow if he doesn't like it.