Should he get to keep his phone or play the game ever again?

Question

my husbands son got a cell phone for christmas he is 13. he was told to never use the internet or text message. he went instead and charged up to 180 bucks on the phone with buying 100 of it in games. the rest went to text and accessing the internet. he purchased from the phone membership for runescape online game. we told him he was getting membership for his birthday next month. also knowing we don't have tons of money he bought 100 bucks in games. our bill was 300 and threw a red flag. now cingular did take off the charges after i called and begged. thank GOD. shouldn't he loose the phone till he is more mature and not use internet game runescape for going behind our back and charging it on our cingular bill. we did not know he still had internet still. we though cingular took it off since the last charge of 60 showed up. so what would you do?

Answer 1

Someone handed this kid a candy store and then said, "But no eating any chocolate, even though all your friends do."

Sounds like someone wasn't thinking straight when they gave the kid the phone.

Thirteen is too young to understand fiscal responsibility if he's never had to deal with it before. He should have been given a pay-as-you-go phone (or no phone at all - why does a 13-year-old need a mobile?) so that he understands about minutes and texting and what happens when you run out.

Take the phone away, and in a year consider getting a pay-as-you-go for him, in which he has to EARN his top-ups with chores, grades, and general good behavior. This way he learns some responsibility.

Answer 2

Ok, THIS is why parents need to be updated & in the know how about the newest technology.

DID YOU KNOW :gasp:
That if you CALL cingular and say "THIS PHONE IS ONLY TO MAKE/RECEIVE PHONE CALLS. REMOVE THE TEXT AND INTERNET" they will remove those services from his phone. You can even ask that your son is UNABLE to receive text messages so you wont get charged for that either.

When i first got my phone, i could NOT access the internet, text, dl pics, or music, or games EVEN IF I WANTED TO because those options were blocked on my phone

I suggest you do the same

Oh, and why does he need a cell phone anyway? Kids dont need them till they start driving. If he cant drive, he'll never be anywhere without an adult or someone who has a phone.

Answer 3

I would repossess the phone. He would not be allowed to use it for a time because of the fact that he did not comply with your rules of usage. Who does he need to call anyway at 13. When my son, (who is 24) asked for his first phone, I told him when he got a job he could get a phone (I think he was about 16 or 18 at the time). He got over it and eventually got a job and a phone of his own, until then, he used the house phone. As for the games, I never purchased a toy for my son that cost more than 10 after he dropped his gameboy in the bathtub. I explained to him how many hours of work the price of the gameboy and the game translated into and told him since he did not seem to value the money and effort it took to get the game for him I would no longer be responsible for getting him toys. I was a single parent and could not afford to supply toys that he seemed to take for granted or take as his due. He survived that also and we have a great relationship today. He is now a parent, and he does not buy his son expensive toys- he considers it a waste of his hard earned money.

Answer 4

I have 2 teenage sons and it's good to be able to stay in touch, so I'm not sure I would want him without a cell phone.

However..... both of my sons have a prepaid phone we got at Wal-Mart. They can go buy the cards for more minutes whenever they run out.

It just doesn't seem that teens (esp. a 13 year old) are very good at keeping track of how much they are spending. They just don't have the life experience to think about how much it is ALL actually going to cost.

In my humble opinion... a 13 year old does not need a phone with internet access, etc.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

It is nice for the kids to have a cell phone so you / they can coordinate schedules and handle emergencies.

You can talk to the phone company about that one cell phone... have them block the various features that are running up the bills. Have them put a cap on it. They can do that... it they can't do that, then have it turned off. You do not have to foot this bill.

Insist that the kid pay you back the $$$ that he ran up abusing the privilege. He will have to get a job of some sort... mowing lawns, cleaning pools, delivering newspapers, scooping dog poop... whatever.
He has to learn the value of a dollar.
Turn this into a positive learning experience.

Answer 6

Personally, I'd take the phone but if you're asking I'd say your husband or his ex doesn't want to do that. I don't know about the game since you were going to buy it for his birthday. Even though the company took the charges off the bill I'd be tempted to make the kid come up with the money it would have cost to pay for them.

Answer 7

Since he is not your son, you should try to leave it up to your husband and the boy's mother. If you're concerned that he is using up money that your husband could be spending on you... then talk to your husband about it. On the other hand, if this is causing a huge financial problem for your family, and he can't handle using his phone responsibly, you should make him work to pay off the bills. Yeah, I know he's 13, but you can make him work in the yard, around the house, and under the table jobs so that he realizes the value of money. That could keep him busy enough so that he doesn't have time to waste your money too.

Answer 8

get him a phone that the cant go on the internet with. Or get him a prepay'd phone, put a certain amount on it every month. If he runs out of minutes then thats his fault dont add minutes until the 30 days from the time you did it before. he will learn to be responsible and make his minutes last.

Answer 9

Aren't you the parent? Personally my two teenagers ran my phone bill up to 500 dollars and I took those phone faster than you can say can you hear now. If they are not mature enough to respect lines set by the parents than they don't need a phone just yet.

Answer 10

He is way to young to have his own cell phone and has proven this through his irresponsibility. I would take away the phone for a couple years until he can learn to be mature and responsible.