cell phones for kids?

Question

what do you think of cell phones for kids.
im thinking of getting my daughter one for her 13th birhtday.Is it to soon?

i want to get my daughter a cell phone for her 13th birhtday.is hse to young?
she really wants unlimted texting to talk with her friends.is that ok?

Answer 1

Personally, I think it is way too soon. I guess times have really changed, I didn't even have a phone in my room. I remember how great it was to have privacy when we got a cordless phone.
If your daughter was driving, I would say, go ahead. But at thirteen a cell phone is going to give her a lot of freedom and a lot of privacy. How much of either is she ready for? It's your call Mom. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Well, I'm a 14 year old kid, go ask me! In my experience, I got my first cellphone when I was about 8 years old. Mine was an Ericsson phone, an early mobile device. Then I switched to a Nokia 8210, then an 1100, then the 3100. I also used the Sony Ericsson J210i, which I lost in a taxi :(. I got a Motorola L6 for my birthday, and then today I have my RAZR V3 and plan to get the RAZR V6 MAXX. I did, and continue to not care about text messages nor calls, I rather use my phones for games, music, and videos!!!!!

I think cell phones for your kids are good, these are essential for constant communication and emergency purposes. But your daughter's use of text and calls should be limited, so make the units run on prepaid. Also if your kids are a bit clumsy and forgetful, you might as well give them cheap reliable ones so that your cash will not be wasted. If not, give them the latest ones out there, but make your kids take good care of these beauties.

Answer 3

that sounds like a good idea! in case of emergency. Make sure you get her the one that's programmed to just call you or her Dad & 911 so she doesn't run up the bill. 13 year old's are just way too young to have a "regular cell phone", you'd be better off giving her one that's programmed with just a few numbers. It's got that Parental Lock, mainly it should just be used in case of emergency's. If you give her a regular one, she will just end up talking on the phone with her friends way too much that it may interfere with her school work & also you will be stuck paying for a very expensive cell phone bill because of her running the minutes. Cell phone is good for kids also, but it should be limited to emergency situations only. Here's the link to the best cell phone company for kids. Maybe when she's more mature, like the age of 17, she can finally get a regular cell phone from another carrier. But here's your best bet! Good luck!

Answer 4

What does she NEED a cellphone for? I highly recommend that you don't get text messaging with it because text messages are WAY more expensive than simple calls and being 13 she will probably want to be using the text messaging the most. That's how most kids wind up loosing their cell phones because their parents cut them off after getting a $250.00 and higher phone bill. I also recommend the "pay as you go plan" and make HER pay for the minutes. Then she won't be so apt to run up a large bill.

Answer 5

Shouldn't be a problem at her age as long as the trust and responsibility is there. Be sure to educate her on how the cell plans work (minutes, text messaging, etc.) especially if you're putting her on a shared plan, so she'll know once the allocated minutes are used up the bill will go up.

Answer 6

you need to ask yourself what in the world does a 13 year old child need with a cell phone unless you never know where the child is at at all times especially at that age? My daughter is 17 and I told her to get a job to pay for one

Answer 7

I just got my son at age 10 a cell phone. I got a prepaid one to see how he handles it before I dish out money on a plan. I purchaed on the go from cingular. My husband and I curently have a cingular plan, (not prepaid) and were pleased to find out that it works well with the on the go phone.
It works like this we prepay for some minutes for my son. but because he has a Cingular pre pay and Cingular phones to Cingular are free he pays for no minutes to talk with my husband and myself. So check and see if your current provider has anything like this it can save you big $$$$

Answer 8

As a mum I think they are a fantastic idea for the kids, pre-paid is probably the way to go so you don't get a huge bill.
They make it easier for your child to contact you if they need help or finish shcool early and so on.
She'll love it.

Answer 9

well, its nice to be able to track where your child is..if you do get the phone make her be responsible with it..like checking in with you, monitoring minutes and text costs. I got my son a cell when he was 14 and i'm glad i did.

Answer 10

I would get her one. My daughters have cell phones

12 year old: Motorola Razr V3
10 year old: Motorola Razr V3
7 year old: LG Migo

We have Verizon Wireless.

I would go for it because then you can communicate with her