What would be a good punishment for an 18 yr. old that just keeps making long distance calls & making me pay?

Question

My kid lives with me and my fiancee, a few months ago I had to take the cell away from her because she jacked up the bill to over $200, now the house long distance bill came to about $285.00!!!! I talked to her, she doesnt listen to me.....What should I do? And all of this is just so embarrassing for me, I never expected to have this much trouble with her but it seems to me she is just making new ways to get in trouble.

Answer 1

either take away the phone line and tell her unless she starts listening to you, it won't come back. (sounds a bit harsh, i know, but you've tried talking to her calmly, and it didnt work, dont forget that) or make HER pay for the phone bill, since most of it is from her.
eventually she'll cave and listen to you.

hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 2

Did you make the phone bills go up? No, so you shouldnt have to pay. She made the bills go up, she pays for them. It's fair. After she pays you should keep the cell phone and have it shut off soo she cant use it anymore. Then get a block on your house phone for long distance calls. Maybe turn the house phone off and get your own self a cell phone. Many possiblities.

Answer 3

I've heard that when you hit a donkey, they just get more stubborn.....
Taking away her cell didn't work because there is still a house phone.. Why don't you change your phone plan and restrict long dist. calls. If you give her money.. reduce her allowance or discount the phone bill. Take her to your job and let her know how hard you work to earn the money she spends; or to a homeless shelter so she can see that lots of people don't have her luxuries.
If you want to get more extreme.... redial the numbers she called and identify yourself as her mother and tell something embarrasing about her.
Good luck

Answer 4

Call you phone provider and do away with any long distance calls. You may have to invest, no you don't you can use hers after you take it from her, in a cell phone and use it for any long distance calls you need to make. If you take away her cell I'm certain that she will think the world is going to end but trust me it will not end and she will learn to live with this decision.

Answer 5

Call your home phone company and get long distance blocking. No one can make long distance calls when that's done. (You could just use your personal cell phone if you personally needed to make long distance calls). Is it her cell phone you took away or yours that you were letting her use? If it's hers and she keeps making the long distance calls, make her pay for it by getting a JOB. When people do things they're not supposed to do, they get punished and pay the consequences. She will not learn how to grow up, if you don't teach her! She won't get away with that, when she's on her own! She will lose her phone!

Answer 6

Does she work? Cut the house phone off and use a cell phone for your use only. The way I handled it with my daughter is we went into a contractual agreement, whereas she can have another cell phone, we set up account, she direct deposit a certain amount into this account, when the cell phone bill comes she then has money to pay. (The account was set up so that we both have to sign before any money is taken out of this account)

Answer 7

I can sympathize completely, lone star. Well, taking her cell phone away or disconnecting service all together would be a solution. As a parent myself I'd like to know who my kid is calling long distance! If reasoning with her face to face isn't helping then priviledges should be taken away which means no phone in her room, etc. I know how frustrated you must be : (
Good luck!

Answer 8

She's 18. That makes her an adult. Put the cell in her name or make her get her own. For your phone at home, call the phone company and tell them to turn off all long distance access. Also, you can make her put in her own jack with her own phone number.

She's old enough. Make her responsible for her own credit.

Answer 9

take the cell away and put a lock on the long distance......find out who she is calling and talking with that long........or make her let you know when she is on the phone and only give a timed amount for the whole day like only 2 hrs and not all at once

Answer 10

See if the phone company can give you a code to enter in your phone before making long distance calls. If soneone doesnt know the code then their call wont go through. Our local phone company here does that for people upon request.