Omaha Nesties
rachjim
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Cell phone for kids?
I'm thinking about getting my SS a cell phone for his birthday this year...he will be 11. H thinks I'm crazy and is completely against it, but he will be home with his sister alone quite a bit this school year, and they walk before and after school when they're with their mom, and it's not a great neighborhood. Plus we don't have a landline, and I'd like them to have SOMETHING in case they needed someone. Ideas? I did look at Kajeet and Firefly, but H wants him to have something with a prepaid card, not a monthly plan. Does anyone else think TracFone cards are pricey?
"The best thing about loving and being hurt is that you get to know what true love really is. For as gold is tested in fire, and so will love be perfected in pain."
Planning Bio/Blog
Planning Bio/Blog
Re: Cell phone for kids?
OK, i see the need for one in case of emergencies since you don't have a landline and times have changed since we were little in terms of the crime, etc. Buuuut, that being said, DH and I have both agreed that our kids won't have a cell phone until they are closer to 15/16. I think it's getting a little ridiculous seeing all of these super young kids having cell phones, texting, internet access. Crap, WE don't even pay for internet on our phones because we refuse to pay the extra $60/month for both of us.
My sister was talking about getting one for my 8 year old niece because all of her friends have one to text. Are you freaking kidding me? Plus she tries to justify it by saying things like "well that way if she was at soccer practice and something happened and we couldn't pick her up...". Um, pretty sure that's happened to me and the coach brought me home. Excuses, excuses.
I guess my kids will be underpriviledged in this area.
I agree. I don't see the need for them. I think kids are way to dependent on them nowadays and if something happened where they needed one, there is enough people out there that they could borrow one.
If you want something for home I would just get a land line that way you know they are home if you want to check up on them. Otherwise I think, depending on the kid of course, that they would play outside or try to go places b/c they think Oh I have this cell phone with me. I think a land line will be a lot cheaper too since you won't need long distance and all that fancy junk.
We have an auxilery line through cox for our land line and its $9.99/mo so maybe that instead of a cell phone?
That being said, I'm pretty sure my youngest SS was 10 when he got his, the other two were older...I think my oldest SS was at least a freshman in HS, the middle one was probably 12?
There used to be a phone offered through Verizon that basically had no text capability, and actually no key pad/screen either, it just had four or five preset buttons on it that were programmed to dial numbers, and then a 911 button, for the exact reason of it being for Emergency use only for kids walking home from school, or home alone type of situations.
I must be the minority here. I would feel odd having children at home alone without some way to get a hold of someone if they needed help. I think there's a pretty serious difference between having a cell phone in your pocket in the 3rd grade and having a phone at home in case of emergency. Adding a line to a family plan can be as little as $10 a month. This is probably an area where my kids will likely be "spoiled." It's a phone. It's not a license to ignore your family and skip dinner. Kids talk to each other. I know I was on the phone a lot when I was young. I don't think it's the big bad thing it's made out to be. It's all in how you approach it, the limits you set, etc.
ETA: when we were paying for the basic landline 5 years ago we were paying $30 a month for it. (in Lincoln)
My thoughts exactly. We would be spending more on a landline per month than a cheap tracfone. Plus, he could have it when they're walking in their ghetto neighborhood when they're at their mom's house, which we have had them missing twice now, and trust me, I wish I had gotten him a phone last year. It's not like he will have unlimited minutes or the internet on it. He will get very few minutes, and only be allowed to call us and his mother. Believe me, we are extremely strict at our house...no tv, no video games, they have to ask if they want to get something out of the fridge, they can't go outside without asking, period. But safety is my #1 concern, and when we live in the boonies and there isn't any way for them to contact anyone for help if they needed, that is inexcusable in my mind.
Planning Bio/Blog
You just answered your own question. :-)
check out virgin mobile. I think they have minute plans. I would also check at walmart, target, etc. I know a lot of them have the att, sprint, ver. etc. but some may also have the trac phones that are just loaded with so many minutes.
And personally after working in a cell phone store for a kid that age I would go with a trac phone, no worries about a contract and with those phones you only get what you paid for vs. sprint/verizon etc where you may not have texting but if he or she sends or receives one you will be paying. I've seen a lot of young kids run up their parents bills playing games, texting, etc. on their phones because "they thought it was free since the phone let them do it".
We bought one for my SS when he was pretty young too. For us, it was because we could never talk to him at his Mom's because no one would ever answer the phone..I think she even told him he wasn't "allowed" to answer even when it was his own Dad. She likes to make things complicated.
I will tell you that a kid that young is going to forget to charge it, and will probably eventually lose it...but as long as you don't have too much invested..not a big deal.
I'm in the landline category. But that is mostly for the reasons Holly listed. I see 8and 9 year olds with phones and that, to me, is insane. My kids won't have a phone until they are driving and then it will be limited minutes and not texting, etc.
If we still don't have a landline when our kids are old enough to be home alone, walk home, etc this is what we'll do. I couldn't have them out there with no way to contact us. I do not believe in giving kids a phone that has texting, internet, etc. I just hope by the time my kids are old enough there's still a basic phone that doesn't have that!
love is for every her, love is for every him, love is for everyone
I think this is the basic thing with Firefly. We plan on doing this when our kids are older.
Planning Bio/Blog