SAFELY SPOTLIGHT
Should you buy your pre-teen a cellphone?
by November 30, 2011 • 1:55 am
If you have a pre-teen they’ve probably pestered you about getting them a cellphone. While it may seem crazy to give your kid a phone before they’re in high school, these day most kids gets their first phone at age 11.
Is my child old enough to get a phone? Does my child need a smartphone? What kind of plan should I buy?
Read on for helpful hints on answering these questions.
Three questions to help you decide if your kid is old enough
Do I ever had trouble contacting my kid?
Ever lost your child in a grocery store? Going to be 10 minutes late picking them up for school? Most parents get their kids cellphones because of situations like these. Having your child a phone call away makes life a lot easier.
Do my kid’s friends have cellphones?
While you’ve probably heard the “all my friends have such and such” argument hundreds of times, in the case of cellphones it’s actually true. 66% of parents got their kids their first cellphone when they were 13 or younger.
Kids use cellphones for everything from chatting with friends who are out of town to asking for homework help. While it’s not the most important factor in deciding whether to purchase a cellphone for your child, you should consider the fun conversations they might be missing out on if they don’t have a phone.
Is my child mature enough?
Kids mature at different rates. Some 8-year-olds may be responsible enough to handle owning a phone, but other kids may not be ready until they’re in their mid teens.
Has your child kept track of valuable things in the past (Gameboys, grandma’s hand-me-down jewelry, etc.)? If they have been good about keeping up with their stuff, they’re probably ready to handle owning a $100 cellphone.
Choosing the Right Plan
You’ve decided your kid is ready to own a phone. Now you face another challenge: which phone and plan are the best to buy?
Does my Child Need a Smartphone?
While smartphones are cool, the main reason kids want cellphones is so they can text. Regular “dumb phones” do that just as well as smartphones do, except they cost about half as much.
The plans for regular phones are also much cheaper. All the major carriers require a data plan for smartphones. That’s an extra $25-30 on top of your normal phone bill.
In short, if your primary motivation for getting your child a phone is safety and convenience, you should avoid smartphones.
If you do decide to get a your kid a smartphone, check out Safely’s 2011 holiday phone buying guide for recommendations on the best smartphone to buy.
Get Unlimited Texts
None of us like the thought of kids who have their nose in a phone all day. Still, getting your child unlimited texts is the best way to ensure their texting habit doesn’t send you to the poor house.
If you don’t have a texting plan, texts can cost up to 20 cents each. The average teen sends over 1500 texts a month—with no texting plan, that’s a $300 bill. Unlimited plans will only run you $10-$20 a month, depending on your carrier.
Want to Limit your Kid’s Texting? Go Prepaid
If you do want to limit how many texts your kid can send, consider purchasing them a pre-paid phone. Pre-paid phones are loaded with a set amount of money to use for calls and texts. After that’s used up, the phone stops working until additional money is added.
All the major carriers often prepaid plans (Pre-paid phone that use the Sprint network are sold under the Virgin and Boost Mobile brands).
Disable Data on Your Kid’s Phone
Unless you’ve decided to buy a smartphone, you should make sure to ask your cellphone company to disable data on your kid’s phone. Kids may not realize the internet costs extra. If you don’t have a data plan, downloading one song can cost as much as $6!
Make your Kid Pitch In
Another thing you can do to make sure your kid doesn’t text too much is make them pay part of their cellphone bill.
If your child has to sacrifice part or all of their allowance based on the price of their phone bill, they’ll hesitate before making expensive downloads or texting over their limit. This can help teach kids financial responsibility and get them thinking about living frugally as they grow into their adult years.
Wrap Up
So should you get your kid a cellphone? A smartphone—probably not. However, with the right plan, a regular phone may be a good choice for your child. Being able to check up on your kid at any time can give you real peace of mind.
No matter when you choose to get your kid a phone, be sure they know about their cellphone plan and what it includes. It’s also a good idea to set up some ground rules, like no texting during class or at the dinner table.
When do you think kids should get their first cellphone? Is 8 years old too young?
Join the conversation on twitter with @Safely.
