Children Cell Phone Plans

We live in a world where many people have cell phones but should our children have them and if so at what age should we get them one?

Weigh the pros and cons

Don’t cave in simply because of peer pressure or feeling like your child will be deprived if they don’t have a cell phone. There are few times when young kids need a calling device so really think it through before signing a contract.

Don't buy them one because "all the other kids have one" I'm sure all the other kids don't have one it just may seem that way to your child.

Do you have a landline or home phone?

If your child is at home alone before and after school without a way to call in case of an emergency than you might consider getting a cell phone.

There are homes without a landline and when you weigh the pros and cons getting an extra cell phone might be a wise idea.

Children need to be able to call in case of emergencies.

Is your child in situations where they need to call home?

Most young kids are with other adults if they go on field trips or outings so they really don’t need a cell phone.

If your child has extra curricular activities where his or her parents aren’t around then that might be a reason to need a phone.

I can see not wanting to impose on other adults to let your child borrow their phone using their minutes to call and let you know practice is over and they need a ride.

My daughter was sixteen before she got a phone, we have a landline and she wasn’t in situations where she needed to have one. Her extra curricular activities were always at school where there was also a landline.

When my daughter started driving I wanted her to have a phone to call in case of an emergency.

Can you afford another cell phone bill?

About half of American children are being raised by single mothers living on a tight budget. If you can’t afford to buy your child a cell phone it’s not going to kill him.

Kids have gone for decades without a cell phone; you yourself more than likely grew up without having one and did just fine.

Putting yourself in a bind financially just so your child can have a toy is not a good idea. There will always be children and other people with more stuff than we have and our kids learning this at an early age will help them in later life. We don’t always get what we want.

Get a limited plan

If you do decide to get your child a cell phone you can limit their minutes. After they’ve used their allotted cell phone minutes their phone doesn’t work. This will keep you from having extremely high cell phone bills you can't afford to pay.

Help your child learn to budget their time and don’t spend hours on the phone playing.

Some cell phone plans have unlimited texting. Kids can still communicate with their friends but won’t run up your cell phone bill. The best cell phone plans have children in mind and look out for parents by having these extra benefits. Texts are usually cheaper than phone calls.

There are starter phones with limited access, they only call home and a few other places you program into their phone.

You can keep an eye on their calling history to make sure they aren’t talking to predators; set it up with your cell phone provider.

Set rules

You should set ground rules with your kids before turning them loose with their first cell phone.

1) No cell phone use at school unless important or emergency. Be sure to give them reasons it would be important.

2) Who are they allowed to call?

3) Keep up with your phone. Where they should store it such as backpack or locker during school time.