[chadbang]

My daughter wants a cell phone for xmas. For awhile she was using her mother's cell phone (we have a verizon two phone plan) until she ran up $80 in text messages at school and was banned from using it. She says I could get her a pay as you go phone. Are any of these good or just a waste of money? Any recommendations? Thanks for your help!

 

[colonelkernel8]

A 13 year old having a cell phone is a little extreme (IMHO). I didn't have my own cell phone until I was 18. Text messages are ridiculous, I hate it when people text in class, especially because they are usually talking to people in the same class or at least in the same building; just go talk to the person, honestly. Its really just a popularity statement at that age. A 13 year old doesn't need to be texting her friends, they need to be talking to them. Again, this is in my honest opinion. If they are in a lot of extracurriculars and need a phone to call for rides, etc, then a basic plan w/ no texting is good.

If you still want to buy into it, just add another Verizon line and pay 5 bucks a month for 500 messages.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Pay-as-you-go phones are so cool.

Um...letsee what is based on my personal experiences.

Tracfone has really nice customer service and their plan is the easiest to use w/o any hooks. Their phones are very basic, and the texting capabilities are horrible on it.

I had Cingular Pay-As-You-Go plan as well, that was pretty solid as well.

I'm going to try Verizon's plan next, because it says 99 cents per day, but only when you make a call on those days. Sounds like a sweet deal to me.

A caution though: make sure you "refill" your phone quickly with calliong points once they expire, because otherwise your phone will be defunct; the company will recycle your phone number and make your SIM card null and void. So beware of that!

 

[Amblin]

Try the Add A Line program. Since with Verizon, texting is free, ideally the only additional charge you will incur is the $5 each month.

 

[Zimm]

If she's running up a $80 bill and using it in school, she's not mature enough to own a cell phone. Tell her no way, or to get a job and pay for it herself.

 

[aarathi]

If the school banned in using mobile phones, why you wish to buy a phone for her daughter. Mobile phone is no good for school students.

 

[axion]

Wow, what is this the 1950's? LOL.

I had a cellphone when I was 13/14 (5-6 years ago) and it was sort of common back then. Nowadays I'd be surprised if someone didn't have a cellphone at that age. It is just incredibly common. Now I'm not sure about the effects of this and I know there's probably studies being done about the addictive nature of text messaging all the time, but whatever, it's fairly standard these days.

Obviously I'd recommend a pre-pay one so that either you can pay $20 a month or whatever for it or you can make her pay for it. Although, given you're in America you probably have some decent plans so that you can get fairly inexpensive text messaging.

 

[stevenjchang]

does she run up the minutes also? or just the text, if just the text, add her to your line for $10 and get unlimited texting ($10?), problem solved...well, until she runs your minutes out...make sure all her friends are "IN"

 

[412]

Hm, we have no land line at home, so everyone has a cell, including my 9 year old. She's pretty responsible with it, always turns it off when going to school, and what's important to me I can always get a hold of her.
I am with T-Mobile for the past, oh, twelve years? I have a two-line family plan, we share 1000 minutes between two of us, and I can add on SMS packages to any of the lines for anywhere from $5 to $10 per month, depending on how heavy is the usage.

 

[Aevum]

ok, give her a cellphone, but lay some basic rules
1-limit the ammount of minutes/cash she can use, most carriers will provide account caps, make sure the kid knows that that cap is variable and will move according to her behaviour and her responsability,
2-make sure that there are basic usage rules, she cant take it to school, cant use it during family dedicated time (meals, family gatherings and such) and other moments you find incorrect for cellphone use,
3- get detailed bills, make sure the cellphone isnt a gateway for someone to harm her, thats one of the worries parents have when giving their kids a unlimited communications tool like a cellphone or unsupervised internet access, theres alot of "free" chat services around and alot of people abuse them, its always a good idea to keep an eye on your kids communications, remember that there has to be a balance between her privacy and protection,

 

[YamiTenshi]

I didn't even have a cell phone until college, and that was the most basic, cheapest phone out there, with the cheapest, simplest plan. Now even my 9 year old cousin has a cell phone with a million features.

I know the times are changing and everyone has a cell phone, but I still feel that children do not need to carry a cell phone. There are exceptions of course, such as if need to be in touch with their parents, in case of emergencies, etc. But for things like texting there friends? It seems like at this point it's just getting a phone "because everyone else has one." This would be a good time to teach your child that just "because everyone else has one" doesn't mean you have to have one too.

A lot of schools are banning cell phones now because of how disruptive they can be and children really don't need to have cell phones. They shouldn't be texting/talking their friends in class anyway, that's what recess is for.

This is all IMHO, of course.

 

[MexicanDragon]

Let me start this off by saying that my wife works in the cellular industry, and I myself have a great interest in them. I have 3 lines I carry on me at all times (two voice/data (two different providers, one data only on a pocket PC). All three are personal lines, none are for business of any sort. I have carried a cell phone with me daily since march of 2000, and have had access to them since I was in middle school (about half my life). I also have two kids and a (now) 14 y/o sister in law who has a cell phone on one of my accounts.

There are pros and cons of 13 y/o cell phone ownership.

It takes responsibility on both the child's end and the parent's end.

Parents:
There was someone who said something about about detailed billing. This is imperative. You want to know who your child is calling and talking to, and who they are talking to for hours on end... especially at night. Make sure you get night/weekend minutes, and talk to your child about who they're talking to. I would also talk to the parents of other children who they're calling. I also know 3-way calling is big... (think party lines of yesteryear, if you're not familiar). If you want your kids to sleep, you may want to devise a trust system to make them put it up at a designated hour (maybe 10:00pm, as most plans start night minutes @ 9pm).

You need to set limits for school carry. Talk to your school to see if they allow them (many are banning them, as they *can* be disruptive, but oft times it's more a problem of the student/child than of the phone itself). If they don't allow it, there are two options I can think of. Trust your child to not use it during school, and to have it turned off (or at least on silent, not vibrate. Vibrate mode will let them know they have a text or call if they hear it in their backpack), or you can talk to the office about having them keep the phone with them for the day, and have it returned at the end of the day. A good way to test if the kid is texting during the day would be to text them during the middle of a class you know they're not supposed to have it out in. Say "hey, do you want to go out for pizza or hamburgers tonight?", or something to that effect. If they reply, you'll know they have it out in class, and BAM!, busted.

Texting can be both a blessing and a curse. Texting can save you hundreds of dollars on minutes overage (it's going to almost always happen, be prepared). Make sure you get unlimited messaging (not just text messaging, picture messaging too). Usually it's 10-15$ for one line, or 20$ for the entire family plan. Get the family plan. If you don't text/picture message, it's very possible you'll start after your kid shows you how. (Family members are always wanting pictures of your kids, no? They have cell phones too, send it that way). One thing, though. Kids can cheat by texting each other. One can be discreet about it as well. I was able to hide a cell phone from the eyes of former supervisors as long as I had about 6/10th's of a second notice. My hands are bigger than a 13 y/o's though, so it's eaiser to hide like that.

There are also good/bad phones to get depending on carrier, and depending on your kid. Drop me a PM if you'd like to talk about about any phones.

This probably isn't a complete list of thoughts, but it's a start.

Hope it helps!

**BRENT**

 

[Cry Havoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aevum /img/forum/go_quote.gif ok, give her a cellphone, but lay some basic rules 1-limit the ammount of minutes/cash she can use, most carriers will provide account caps, make sure the kid knows that that cap is variable and will move according to her behaviour and her responsability, 2-make sure that there are basic usage rules, she cant take it to school, cant use it during family dedicated time (meals, family gatherings and such) and other moments you find incorrect for cellphone use, 3- get detailed bills, make sure the cellphone isnt a gateway for someone to harm her, thats one of the worries parents have when giving their kids a unlimited communications tool like a cellphone or unsupervised internet access, theres alot of "free" chat services around and alot of people abuse them, its always a good idea to keep an eye on your kids communications, remember that there has to be a balance between her privacy and protection,

Excellent advice. I second this thoroughly! Give her an opportunity to show responsibility -- restricting her isn't always the best solution. Show her that you trust her, while still laying down pretty strict rules. If she shows she can handle it, maybe relax the rules ever so slightly.

As a bonus, you can call her and talk to her to make sure she's okay. Both sides win!

 

[Csidinim]

I can only see having a cellphone doing more harm than not having it, no matter the child. They have no dire need for it, no business that is urgent enough, and no situation that would make it easy for them to use it in a school environment. Before high school, the school and faculty are responsible for looking after your kids during all hours until release so they are safe and closeby anyone they would seek to communicate with. They wouldn't be wandering alone in which case a cellphone would be important for reaching help. Afterschool, they can coordinate with their buddies directly without having to text message. I don't see what practical purpose that a 13 year old owning a cellphone could serve outside of novelty and social prestige. So no matter the bookworm or the most popular kid at school, it is bound to affect their study habits negatively, plus social habits in that they escape learning to deal with things in person. as long as they cannot lay down a concrete and justified reason, such as- I have practice until late in the evening and need to reach someone for a ride, daily- then the use of the cellphone will fall quickly from a lack of need to juvenile pleasure, or drama if the kid is not receiving as many calls as their peers.

Also, teaching a child with tricks such as the pizza and hamburger lure is a sure way to send the message that sneakiness is an effective solution around problems as endorsed by the parents. Not clever, even if it worked, since they are 13, not 3.

 

[Robot Mania FU]

Get her a cellphone with a basic plan. Allow her to get a texting plan if/and only if she pays for it. She will become much more responsible with texting if shes paying for it. If she chooses not to pay for it, then block texting its as simple as that.

All of you talk about how having a phone is bad because kids can text, you do realize you can block texting on your childs phone.