Tech Savvy 8 Year Old

We recently gave Evelina her own cell phone. Our old phone contract was up and we were changing carriers already. Overall, we wanted a way to contact her when she is at her mom's house. Evelina loves texting and has already sent text messages to some of her friends. Unfortunately, most of Evelina's friends don't have cell phones yet so the friends have to use a parent's phone or a home phone to talk. That hasn't stopped Evelina from communicating. When checking her phone, this is one of the conversations I found:

8353: Your message was successfully delivered...

Evelina: Thanks

8353: Your message was successfully delivered...

Evelina: Who is this and why did you send the same thing again

8353: Your message was successfully delivered...

Evelina: What

8353 Your message was successfully delivered...

Evelina: Are you Sprint I'm Evelina and I'm 8 years old I don't understand this text message


I laughed when reading her replies to an automatically generated message. Her innocence and curiousity made me smile. It was also a good teaching point to inform her about the importance of phone safety and not sharing her information with strangers. It's crazy to think my 8 year old has her own phone, but it's also reassuring to know she can contact us whenever she wants and no matter who she is with.