my daughter is 14 and is convinced she NEEDS a cell phone. is this the right age to get one?? i'm not sure if i should wait until 15 or 16.... any ideas??
2007-03-29 00:44:52 · 43 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Adolescent
Wait until she is 16. Seriously. Then she will be driving and will absolutely NEED a cellphone. And she will be old enough to have a job to pay for the cellphone bill. It's a useful piece of technology that she wants to use, so she should have to pay for it.
2007-03-29 00:50:55 · answer #1 · answered by purplmonkeez 3 · 3⤊ 3⤋
If she is involved in school sports, or goes out and does frequent activites with either friends, or extra curricular, a cell phone is a good idea. If you do decide to get your daughter one, explain to her that it is not ment for unlimited use to friends until weekends, after 9, or whenever your phone provider has free minuits. Tell her that she is getting a cell phone for contact to you and family members to let you know where she is and for emergencies. Explain if she goes over her minuits she will get the phone taken away until next month when the min. refresh.Another thing, if you do decide you want to go ahead and get her a cell phone, i would recommend calling your cell phone provider and have them shut off all incoming texts as well as outgoing.Texts can get pricey and kids dont care about the costs because they are not paying for it.
2007-03-29 01:49:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
My daughter has had her phone for almost 2 years now (she's 13) She is very involved in soccer and plays for 10 months of the year so her practice schedule is nuts. I needed a way she could call her father or myself to be picked up. When she was given the phone though, she was told what she could and could not do and if she broke the rules the phone will be taken back. She has only had the phone taken away once (this month) for going over minutes. Not bad for almost 2 years!
2007-03-29 01:30:52 · answer #3 · answered by Mom of 2 4 · 5⤊ 1⤋
The answer in my house, was no. At that age they are always with someone older who has a cell phone so the emergency excuse is just that. What happened was my daughter started babysitting.....and when she turned 15 came to me with a plan to buy her own. So $20 per month plus any and all overages were her responsibility. The contract has to be in your name. So any time she went over her mins the phone h ad to be turned over to me until her overage was paid. It only happened once. Now she counts mins better than me. (I still paid the set up fees and about $10 per month for the plan but it was well worth it...hope this helps).
2007-03-29 04:04:30 · answer #4 · answered by Sweetserenity 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i am not sure if there is a right age, but the concern that i have is SAFETY.
if you are still convinced that she does not need one, then get her a cell phone, do not activate it (yes i said do not) but let her keep it with her because by federal law, all cell phones have to be able to call 9-1-1 whether they are activated or not
that way, in an emergency, she can call 9-1-1 and then you will not have the responsibility of a bill that she might not be able to pay
good luck
2007-03-29 01:19:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋
Get a prepaid one where she is limited and graduate to a plan when she shows that she can keep it under control. Some carriers have kid options. My 11 year old has one, but I have to restrict it all the time. My older daughter has one and sometimes gets a ringer or something, but she always keeps it under control.
I will warn you that kids are very into text messaging and you should have a plan that has unlimited so there are no surprises. the standard fee for text messaging is .10/text EACH WAY.
2007-03-29 04:06:27 · answer #6 · answered by Lisa A 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It depends. Is your daughter active as in sports and other activities after school, during the summer then maybe. If shes just sitting and home going to friends house, and school then no she has no use to have a phone other then to keep up with other girls at school. My brother who is 15 is still trying to convince my parents he needs one too, but hes either at home, or at school.
Good luck :)
2007-03-29 02:16:25 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I got my nephew his first one at 14 because he was in sports and would call if he needed a ride home. I got my second nephew a phone when he was 15 because he "wanted it" but he does chores for me to pay his share of the bill.. My neice is 13 and I gave her one so I could keep in touch with her since she moved 1800 miles away. However I do not think a child NEEDS one until they start driving or can pay for it themselves.
2007-03-29 02:07:21 · answer #8 · answered by texas_angel_wattitude 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I always thought when they start driving is when they need one, but I did end up getting one for my daughter on her 13th birthday. It has come in handy because she is involved in lots of after school activities and I don't always pick her up at the same time everyday. This way she can call me when she's ready and I don't have to waste time sitting outside the school in my car. We did get her a prepaid phone though, so she can't go overboard talking to her friends.
2007-03-29 02:44:07 · answer #9 · answered by kat 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
How about this, tell her that she may get a cell phone when she pays for the bill, or pays the additinonal fees on top of the $30 plan for nights and weekends you get her.
If you are going to get her a cell phone (which is completely unneccesary, especially if she isn't driving), make sure you set ground rules. No cell phones in school (as a teacher canidate.. I already hate them), no cell phones while driving (when she is old enough, etc).
Overall, she will NEVER need a cell phone. At 20, I have never had a cell phone, and it has never been an issue. If I needed to use the phone, or my mom needed to contact me at a random time, she let me borrow her's for the day or I used a pay phone. It is YOUR decision to decide if she is responsible enough and won't be spoiled by it. Things you should take into consideration: when will she truly need it? what will it be used for? Can she use pay phones when necessary? etc. Consider when you grew up and whether or not you could have benifited from it.
I am anti-cell phone. They cause accidents, are annoying, and can lead to cheating/etc on tests, however the decision is yours.
2007-03-29 01:31:25 · answer #10 · answered by bpbjess 5 · 2⤊ 5⤋
13.
I got mine when I was 11.
Some people got theirs earlier.
Not only will she have to live with feeling left out, but with a cell phone I honestly feel a lot safer knowing that I can call my mom or whoever I need to anytime, even just to check up on her.
I don't know anyone who doesn't have a cell phone.
2007-03-29 02:43:39 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋