cell phone - Page 2

[lynntocino]

My DD's turning 14 in a few months.
We got he a new phone on her 11th birthday, right before 6th grade.
It was a really, old phone. No internet, you couldn't add ringtones, etc. It had texting though.

We started her off with a plan of 250, which we paid for. She ended up going over each month, and she paid for it.

She picked a new phone last September, and it's caused problems... [at school and other places]
We put this thing her phone. It's some chaperon thing. We can look and find out where she is, and if she's using it. So when she was using it at school during class, we were able to find out.

We watch over her carefully now, and make sure she's staying out of trouble with it.

We blocked everything except texting and calling.
After a few bills of over 200 by her alone, we blocked everything except what she needs.
She has to pay for anything extra.

I say if you think you can be careful enough, it's a great, handy thing to have.
:]

[lorijds]

I should preface this by saying that my kids have always been very responsible with their cell phone use. We've never had big problems with it.

I hate to use the word "rule" because it's not like we sat down and made these rules, but here is how cell phone usage has evolved at our house. These guidelines go for everyone, by the way, not just the kids:

We have an "electronics caddy" on the kitchen counter. All phones go into it when they aren't actually on the person. No phones at the table. At bedtime, all the phones get hooked up to the chargers in the kitchen and stay there all night.

Only calls that need to be made after 9:30pm are those of extreme circumstance--illness, last minute school plans gone awry, etc. If kids call or text after these hours, I usually answer. If it's a text, I call them back. I ask them what they need, and if it's something non-urgent, I tell them politely and nicely to please not call or text unless it is absolutely necessary. I do the same thing to my friends and family, so it's not like there is a double standard.

Don't use the phone inappropriately at work or school. Keep it on mute and check it every once in a while so that if someone is trying to get ahold of you, you can return the call at an appropriate time.

We don't have a landline--all we have are cells. We also expect our children to stay home by themselves sometimes when dh and my schedules overlap. They got to separate schools at different times and they usually get themselves there independently, so I really feel like they each need a cell phone. I allow much more independence and responsibility now that there is a phone available. That's my comfort zone.

We only had one problem, once. DD#1 kept going over her texting limit. We just talked about it--she let us know that all kids text, all the time. She explained to us that kids her age do not use the phone minutes very often--that they'd rather text, and she gave us several reasons for this. We checked her phone usage, and it was true. *She* wasn't going over her texting limit with outgoing texts--she was hardly sending any texts at all--it was the incoming texts that were sending her over.

Our solution was to upgrade to a different texting package on our family plan. Frankly, now that we have it, I find I like the texting better myself.

We figure, the cell phone is here to stay. We did struggle as parents with this for a while--the advantages and disadvantages of teens and preteens having cell phones. Like all technologies--the computer, facebook, the car, etc--we are trying to guide our children in appropriate, productive usage of these items. We talk about what's appropriate and what's not, technology manners, and the how to minimize the negatives of this usage.

If dds want more than the basic phone, they pony up the money for it. If they want to send pics, they pay for it. They both have been uberresponsible, and really, it hasn't been an issue.