[kpeezy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by colonelkernel8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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.

A 13 year old not having a cell phone isn't exteme at all these days. You not having one until you're 18 is extreme though. Also, whether texting during school is ok or not, you can't just walk out of class and go talk to the person. I would make lunch plans in high school via text and things like that. Not a big deal.

 

[wangerin]

Make a fake myspace account and attempt to get her number, a true tests.

That would be my biggest fear of having a young person with a cell phone.

 

[TMM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zimm /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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.

Hence the point of prepaid.

FWIW, i've had a prepaid phone since i was 13(or 12? i forget), and have never used more then $50 per 6months.

 

[Csidinim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpeezy /img/forum/go_quote.gif A 13 year old not having a cell phone isn't exteme at all these days. You not having one until you're 18 is extreme though. Also, whether texting during school is ok or not, you can't just walk out of class and go talk to the person. I would make lunch plans in high school via text and things like that. Not a big deal.

she's not in high yet. and probably isn't supposed to leave schoolgrounds during the day (until upperclassmen years of high school). kids go by the same week to week preset schedules- after the first week, they know where to rendezvous with friends or which table to search for. cellphone use between two people in the same school building is not as common as you portray. not extreme, but still ridiculous. like britney spears after the initial phase.

 

[kpeezy]

Hmm... where I am cell phone usage in schools is incredibly common (even if its frowned upon). Most kids around here have them before they even get to junior high.

 

[micaela]

If you do allow texting, you need to read the text messages that are being sent & received. I can't begin to tell you how many fights I've dealt with at my school b/c of ugly name calling that goes on in text messages. Then the kids come to school ready to fight over it. Most parents are shocked at the language & insults being used in their kids' text messages. Sadly, much of the time its the same kids over & over which tells me that parents won't take the time to monitor the messages even after they've been made aware of the hazards.

 

[Aevum]

kids can be very cruel, like i said, make sure she knows at all time that her access to the phone, and its usability is strictly dependant on her behaviour,

 

[OverlordXenu]

Also, I suggest trying to get a phone without a camera. You wouldn't believe how easy it is for predators to get a teenage girl to take naked pictures of themselves, and so on. It's sickening.

 

[wader]

Kids are going to do everything we don't want with what they manage to get their hands (or technology) on!

So, it'll be all manner of stuff you wish they wouldn't go after, and a phone just becomes another part of their fledgling urges to go crazy or just feel freely enabled in whatever strikes their fancy. I figure we need to give them something for the return of keeping limits on other things, because too much frustration could lead to far more ingenious and determined workarounds than we'd likely desire

.

Kajeet has been getting my notice lately, as they seem to offer pay-as-you-go plans specifically geared towards letting adults offer their kids phone capabilities - including text messaging - but with specific limits and ease of checking up on what's actually being sent, apparently. I have no experience with them, just researching it as an idea for what might be useful to give our kids when they get older and more savvy.

My daughter was controlling our Cowon D2 touchscreen at 4 years without a problem - technology is a natural part of their growing up in these times, it seems.

My young kid is getting a LG Migo with Chaperone service from Verizon, just to see how that all works out in practice. She's not even a teen, yet - this is an emergency device for when she's visiting friends or such. May decide it's useless right now and wait for more years, but figure it can't hurt to see how she (and we, the parents) react to her being "connectable" with us at a distance.

Good luck in your choices.

- wader

 

[Sarchi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by axion /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nowadays I'd be surprised if someone didn't have a cellphone at that age.

x 2

They are just commodity items now. In many parts of the world at least.

 

[ueyteuor]

im 18 and still dont have a cell. your daughter must be popular

 

[appophylite]

All through high school, I was only allowed to use a cellphone (that too, my parent's phone) when I was on an out-of-state trip, so they could contact me and I could use it if I got lost.

I didn't get my first phone till I was about 20 and even then, it was the simplest phone I could find because I was on pay-as-you go.

I think that at that young an age, if a cellphone is really desired, pay-as-you go is the best bet. You can either limit your child to that specific amount of cash for that amount of time, or you can just flat out tell them to add their own money as you go. My sister learned the hard way that when you make a 1 1/2 hour straight long distance call on my Dad's phone, you're gonna lose it fast and have heavy limitations.

 

[luckypictures]

If her big thing is texting you have two options.
1. Helio.
2. Ogo.

You can still get the Ogo, and it allows unlimited texting and IM. Might be your best option. If you have texting on your phone, you'll still be able to get ahold of her, but you won't have to worry about her going over any limits, or topping up, et cetera.

I'm going to guess since you had the forethought to post this, that you'd give in when she runs out of minutes and begs for more. That isn't an insult, but come on, how hard is it to say no to your kids sometimes? Lol. At any rate, I would assume that she IM's a lot as well, so I'd say Ogo.

You can't buy them in a store, but you can still get them on ebay. I just checked, $40 shipped. Can't beat that, and it has a full qwerty keyboard, and color screen.

 

[ozz]

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,

everything he said plus now you have a bargaining chip for keeping school
grades high.

 

[allysan]

At 13, your kid does NOT need a cell phone. Nonetheless, if you really want to get her one, get a pay as you go phone and tell her that if she wants to use it, she will have to pay for her own calls and her own texts. Maybe you put $10 into it each month, but that's it. My theory is that if your kid is mature enough to hold a job, then and only then is s/he mature enough to carry a cell phone.