Doro PhoneEasy. Especially the candy apple red one. And a Consumer Cellular cheap phone plan. Problem solved.
2
Parents in charge - a novel concept! More should try it.
1
Yeah! Run away tech under control. I have been a software engineer from my first job at 21, so computers are first, second, and third nature. I never got excited by tiny (by a ratio of 20 to 1 when compared to an iMac), low powered, hand held computers, especially ones so intrusive. They are still tiny and low powered, even the very latest iDevices, but even more intrusive. My Brother's Bar, which does not use computer devices of any kind, might let you bring in one of the new fangled dumb phones!
1
I use Mobicip.com, a parental control system that will protect up to five devices. It replaces the browser with its own, and then blocks inappropriate sites with pretty good success. It has default settings, and you can also block or allow specific websites. It also reports where your kid has been on the Web. My granddaughter grumbles, but she's gotten used to it. The best part about it is the price - I think it's sixteen bucks a year - and the exceptionally good customer service, which persists until a problem is solved, even with a tech-dummy challenging them.
4
Our four children got there first dumb phones when they were in grade 12. They paid for them in full and maintained monthly plans. None complained. They are wonderful young adults now with excellent friends and very productive lives. All prefer face to face relationship development to virtual. They love each other and have rich relationships with my wife and I. You can raise great kids in this era especially if you show them how to use technology to enhance the experiences that have always made life wonderful. My children understand that a phone is a great servant but a blind and therefore destructive master.
2
Do not agree with the idea at all. One should give children more challenges.
I have had dumb phone for a long while. It is an Alcatel to go phone from ATT
https://www.att.com/catalog/en/skus/images/alcatel-871a-silver-450x350.png
I never use it on the internet, that's what my laptop is for.
Dumb phones are findable but you have search.
https://www.att.com/catalog/en/skus/images/alcatel-871a-silver-450x350.png
I never use it on the internet, that's what my laptop is for.
Dumb phones are findable but you have search.
1
I too had one of these phones, used it for on-call at work. It was a great phone for that however it did have an option to connect to internet which made me nervous if I hit the wrong button
As a middle & high school teacher, I can add a few salient observations on young adults and device use.
1) Prior to providing any device, you need to know how to operate it yourself. I've seen parents in action and heard countless tales by smugly relieved students of how inept family members are at understanding devices when it comes time to check phone activity. This is instantly undermining. Be savvy! They are.
2) Phones = status & children will purposely destroy them to get new ones. I've seen them hurled at walls, jumped on, kicked, and picked at til skeletal. A crack is one thing. If it looks any other way, you need to investigate HOW the damage occurred before providing another. In rare cases, the destruction may be due to theft by a peer or bullying/harassment. Get the whole story. Don't provide a new one til you're sure it's the whole truth.
3) Old phones = "burner" phones. Many kids know how to activate/re-activate these when "their" device is taken as punishment. Taking a phone must mean ALL phones, even old ones, and keep any of your spares out of reach too.
4) If a phone is "dumb", kids will use others' devices. Sometimes friends allow borrowing during a class, a day, or entire weeks (remember "burner" phone scenario?). If your child has a device you don't recognize, you need to figure out where it came from. Even better, see to its return yourself. Oversight works best when parents work together to set and maintain expectations.
1) Prior to providing any device, you need to know how to operate it yourself. I've seen parents in action and heard countless tales by smugly relieved students of how inept family members are at understanding devices when it comes time to check phone activity. This is instantly undermining. Be savvy! They are.
2) Phones = status & children will purposely destroy them to get new ones. I've seen them hurled at walls, jumped on, kicked, and picked at til skeletal. A crack is one thing. If it looks any other way, you need to investigate HOW the damage occurred before providing another. In rare cases, the destruction may be due to theft by a peer or bullying/harassment. Get the whole story. Don't provide a new one til you're sure it's the whole truth.
3) Old phones = "burner" phones. Many kids know how to activate/re-activate these when "their" device is taken as punishment. Taking a phone must mean ALL phones, even old ones, and keep any of your spares out of reach too.
4) If a phone is "dumb", kids will use others' devices. Sometimes friends allow borrowing during a class, a day, or entire weeks (remember "burner" phone scenario?). If your child has a device you don't recognize, you need to figure out where it came from. Even better, see to its return yourself. Oversight works best when parents work together to set and maintain expectations.
8
Book recommendation:
The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with Her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale
Written by Susan Maushart, this book inspired me to take my own personal digital sabbatical once a year in addition to locking down the "wormhole of distraction" (credit to the commenter who came up with that brilliant description) that pervades my kids' every waking moment. I think we ALL need to take a step back and evaluate how and when we use our devices. Several years ago, I gave up my smartphone for a dumb phone, much to the surprise of the staff at the local Verizon store. I haven't looked back.
The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with Her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale
Written by Susan Maushart, this book inspired me to take my own personal digital sabbatical once a year in addition to locking down the "wormhole of distraction" (credit to the commenter who came up with that brilliant description) that pervades my kids' every waking moment. I think we ALL need to take a step back and evaluate how and when we use our devices. Several years ago, I gave up my smartphone for a dumb phone, much to the surprise of the staff at the local Verizon store. I haven't looked back.
3
The comments on Facebook are out of control. Someone is posting inappropriate pictures/links, possibly to prove a point. Moderator?
There is no need for parental planning. They should provide their children with an ordinary phone, which has no features other than texting. The children simply don't need the smartphones that's it.
The children should be smart enough to understand the significance of paying attention in class, respecting their parents, teachers and elders, believe in discipline, sincerity, dedication and hardwork that includes practice, practice, practice, practice, practice and practice and also by not possessing a smartphone, which is the biggest hindrance to achieve their goal.
I am sixty six years old more or less like a child. So I use only ordinary phone. I don't even text except on one or two occasions. Whenever someone asks me why don't I possess smartphone, I simply say that I am not at all smart.
The children should be smart enough to understand the significance of paying attention in class, respecting their parents, teachers and elders, believe in discipline, sincerity, dedication and hardwork that includes practice, practice, practice, practice, practice and practice and also by not possessing a smartphone, which is the biggest hindrance to achieve their goal.
I am sixty six years old more or less like a child. So I use only ordinary phone. I don't even text except on one or two occasions. Whenever someone asks me why don't I possess smartphone, I simply say that I am not at all smart.
6
I'm only 40. I've had a iPhone since the iPhone 3 launched.
Every month when I pay my bill, I hate myself for it.
A coworker with 4 kids under the age of 15 says her 9-year old constantly begs for "an Apple product" (yes, those words) so she "can download apps from the App Store." That is so ridiculous to me. No reason a 9 year old needs her own device to download anything from the App Store, especially when they already have an iMac and iPad for family use.
I recall being a kid like it was just yesterday. We passed handwritten notes in the hallway, belt notebooks that we passed back & forth if we wanted to document our teenage angst. As an elementary school aged kid, the only times if ever had to call home were in case of illness, and then the nurse makes the call, or if I forgot something important (rarely) and then I'd go to the office & they let me use their phone. Even grades 7-12, if I were staying after school for sports practice, drama club, etc., I'd pre-arrange a pick up time because we knew we'd be finished at a certain time. There were also pay phones in the hallway at every major entrance.
I had a phone installed in my bedroom by putting a coupler in the line in my mom & dad's room, running a line around their baseboard & poking a hole through their closet into my bedroom.
If kids have Internet access at home, on a computer, there's really no reason why any kid who can't pay for it themselves should have a smart phone.
Every month when I pay my bill, I hate myself for it.
A coworker with 4 kids under the age of 15 says her 9-year old constantly begs for "an Apple product" (yes, those words) so she "can download apps from the App Store." That is so ridiculous to me. No reason a 9 year old needs her own device to download anything from the App Store, especially when they already have an iMac and iPad for family use.
I recall being a kid like it was just yesterday. We passed handwritten notes in the hallway, belt notebooks that we passed back & forth if we wanted to document our teenage angst. As an elementary school aged kid, the only times if ever had to call home were in case of illness, and then the nurse makes the call, or if I forgot something important (rarely) and then I'd go to the office & they let me use their phone. Even grades 7-12, if I were staying after school for sports practice, drama club, etc., I'd pre-arrange a pick up time because we knew we'd be finished at a certain time. There were also pay phones in the hallway at every major entrance.
I had a phone installed in my bedroom by putting a coupler in the line in my mom & dad's room, running a line around their baseboard & poking a hole through their closet into my bedroom.
If kids have Internet access at home, on a computer, there's really no reason why any kid who can't pay for it themselves should have a smart phone.
5
Another opportunity for the psychological tormentor. Socially-bulletproof kids will deal with being handed a lame phone; but kids who are punching-bags can expect the full monty.
4
I'm surprised that the author didn't mention a couple of phones on the market for seniors who just want a simple telephone. I'm sure they aren't limited to seniors but that is who they are marketed to. One is the Jitterbug.
3
Maybe I'm the only person in America who feels the way I do, but I think kids should have a smartphone as soon as their fat little baby finger can punch the keyboard. I want them to be able to call and text for help in an emergency whenever and wherever they are. And any naughty thing they can look at or perform on a smartphone, they can also do on their, or someone else's, laptop. Just explain all the bad things and explosive stuff in advance (stalkers, perverts, sexting, porn, bullying, etc., etc.), and tell them why those things are dangerous or wrong. If they seriously mess up, cut off data and texting for awhile, and explain carefully where they went wrong.
This is what I did, and it worked fine. The only thing I would change if I did it again, would be to use more explicit language and go into greater depth to explain the dangers of sexting and other high-risk behaviors.
This is what I did, and it worked fine. The only thing I would change if I did it again, would be to use more explicit language and go into greater depth to explain the dangers of sexting and other high-risk behaviors.
2
I'll bet in the whole history of "kids with cellphones", not one kid has actually had to call their parents due to a dire emergency -- a real one, not a missed lunch bag -- and if they did, what could you do from work, if the kid called and said "a monster is after me"????
To call 9/11 only requires the most basic "dumb phone".
Any phone with a camera given to a teen is a big flashing sign saying "let's look at porn" or "let's do some sexting".
To call 9/11 only requires the most basic "dumb phone".
Any phone with a camera given to a teen is a big flashing sign saying "let's look at porn" or "let's do some sexting".
5
It is also up to schools to require children to turn off their phones during school hours. The problem in my 11-year-old's class is between those who have simple phones for calling and those with smart phones. My young son is frustrated not to be able to watch the movies that some is more spoiled classmates do o,n their smart phones at recess. It is so frustrating that schools don't monitor this better.
1
instead of schools monitoring better perhaps your child should learn to bit the bullet and actually study instead of watching tv while at school.
6
Teachers are not the 'phone police'.
4
Let me get this straight. You provided the smart phone to your child, and you expect teachers and schools to police your student's use or misuse of it. Brilliant. Teachers & administrators have enough to do without your attempt to delegate your parental duties to them! Yes, teachers take away phones in class, but during lunch and passing times, students are expected to be responsible and follow school rules- it's right there in their handbooks, and on the form you/they signed at the beginning of school...
1
Not having a phone for middle and high school kids today is similar to not having a bike back in the 20th century. It is not a basic need but it is part of the cost to play. Kids don't call home phones, they text. They use heir phones for interactive games. Not having one means no one will call and the child won't be able to play. When my high schooler was in middle school, she had a Kajeet with full parental controls that meant it was off during school, homework time and at night. We've talked about appropriate use, dangers etc. for years. Now she is in tenth grade. She has a smart hone with unlimited data and no parental controls. It is on the charger at night. Other than that, she has control. She had it confiscated at school ONCE in 9th grade and lost it until my husband was available to pick it up in the office 48 hours later, lesson learned. In two years, she'll be in college, hopefully, she will be an experienced manager of her smartphone use and able to appropriately. I have no guarantees, but I think the odds for successful management are greater than if we hadn't given her the chance to learn.
4
Our younger son started 3rd grade this year but they get off the bus on their own and because mine and my husband's schedules are unpredictable and we have my older mother in law here with our younger daughter during the day we decided it !might b a good idea and he is now a little freer to go to his friend's houses we thought it would be a good idea he have a basic phone, he wanted one like his older sister...so we agreed to give it a try. He has done very well with it, keeps it off during school hours and uses it if there is an emergency. He uses it to talk to us, his grandparents, aunt and uncle, etc.
I'm an adult paying $42.50 a month for an Iphone, when I could use a slightly dumbed down version that lacked internet access for $15 to $20 a month. I can't be bothered parsing the internet with these tiny screens. I have six laptops and 3 desktop computers. Apple and Samsung the smartphone producers would love to make this version, but there's a marketing bottleneck preventing it. With cellphone tariffs falling, carriers are doing their damndest to keep monthly smartphone rates higher. If the Sherman act were still in effect the carriers couldn't get away with this. As it stands one needs approval of carrier, manufacturer and retailer of the phones themselves for a phone to be marketed at any price. Recently Strraighttalk offered Samsung Galaxy 5s through Wal-Mart stores. I was game but the only color they offer is black. I wanted white, so elected not to get one. See, Wal-Mart and possibly Samsung benefit from providing just a single version of a high profile smartphone. The Federales, whether courts or lawmakers need to break up this cabal. Smartphones need to observe the same reasonable technical standards for all phones so that any phone, smart or otherwise can be used on any carrier. Don't be fooled by industry claims the technical problems make this impossible. All that has to be done is a government that forces it to happen.
6
All that has to be done is a government that forces it to happen.
or use a white phone. Don't be so picky.
or use a white phone. Don't be so picky.
You could have just gotten a white case but that aside my husband and I use a carrier called Consumer Cellular, they advertise constantly with retirees and their biggest thing is that you can name to your price plan...we have 2 phones on there at the moment and pay $40 a month (no contract) for talk text and data. The phones that they carry range from your basic flip phone to the apple i6 and motoX
We love them considering we had at&t for about 5 years and paid $70 a month for no contracts
We love them considering we had at&t for about 5 years and paid $70 a month for no contracts
I have a Virgin dumb pay-as-you-go phone which I bought at Radio Shack. It offers phone calls and texts, though I never use that feature. The cost is a mere $15 every 3 months. Although the phone I bought is no longer sold at RS, various other inexpensive phones are still available.
6
I never have a problem finding "dumb phones"; the author isn't looking in the right places. Most dollar stores or similar sell very cheap basic phones for about $10.
1
I am 100% on board with parents setting some ground rules with phones. Especially if the goal is to teach some basic etiquette. But limiting teens to a set number of texts? At best it shows basic ignorance of teen development. At worst, it's just plain mean.
4
so limiting teen phone access is "mean"? what , exactly, did students that age do before this invention?
2
It's mean because you are drawing a line in the sand for no other reason than , well, being mean. Financially there is no benefit to limiting texts. (Unless one is an idiot and don't know how to shop). What did they do before this invention? That's irrelevant. But if you must know, they got on a horse, rode to a friend's house, and then died of polio. Why make your kid stand out like a (loser) sore thumb just to make a point about how things were in your day?
Texts are not a 'teen development' need. They are a teen want, not a must, not a need.
And parents are supposed to be mean.
And parents are supposed to be mean.
Here's but another example of how children grow strong with strong parenting. Whether or not we all agree on the exactitude of the contract or any other parenting ideas advanced by others, the bottom line is: if a parent cares enough to define, and then require adherence to, a given discipline, the child will always benefit. Always.
5
My three kids ages ages 11, 16, and 17 all have iphones and are part of a family data plan. We have had the sexting talks, talks about mind rest from electric stimulation, what's an appropriate snap chat story etc. This is the world today and I don't want to keep them from it. They need to learn to manage it. Mobile communication will of course be important to any future careers they may have. The smart phone is becoming the most important human tool worldwide. When they do mess up, shutting off data and taking phones is far more effective for teenagers today than restricting access to the car. What I love is the location services and the find my friends app. I like knowing exactly where they are at all times or of course at least I know where their phone is. I can also calibrate it so I am alerted when they leave a location. ( I like knowing when they have left school and are on their way home.) If they are even a 1/2 second late, I start tracking them on my phone.
1
I hope I never become the kind of parent who feels the need to micromanage his kids' choice in music. Yeesh.
8
Great tools for successful parenting.
If only Donald Trumps parents had these available !!!
If only Donald Trumps parents had these available !!!
So tehy never learn about the newest technology, how cute.
1
I grew up pre-cell phone. I work in technology now. They'll figure it out when they finally get a smartphone (not that there's that much to figure out).
8
I find this article so infuriating. It assumes that adolescents are incapable of navigating the Internet in a world in which many of them are most likely more e-apt then their parents. This generation has matured with the Internet all around them, and a dumb phone will do nothing to curb that.
We should be teaching our children safe Internet practices, not forcing them to be technologically unprepared.
Let's stop villianizing the Internet and smartphones and hold adolescents accountable for their own actions should they become dangerous.
We should be teaching our children safe Internet practices, not forcing them to be technologically unprepared.
Let's stop villianizing the Internet and smartphones and hold adolescents accountable for their own actions should they become dangerous.
7
While, in general, I agree with your premise, there are some kids who are responsible and some who are not. Kids don't have fully developed frontal cortexes, and if your kid might make some dumb decisions, he/she might need some help.
2
I wholeheartedly endorse Ting. We have 4 smartphones and pay an average of $68 monthly. The best feature from Ting is the automatic use of wifi. The phone switches to wifi so the cellphone plan data usage is limited to those times when we are not near a wifi. The bonus is my children are learning to wait until they are near wifi to use data, or get on a computer. They understand that we are already paying for internet access and the phone piggybacks on that network instead of using up cell minutes or data. They also know not to use phones to play games as it will use up too much data. We waited until last year to get a data plan. It will go away if we start wasting money. The older child has a smartphone because he is active and needs to get in touch for rides. The middle school child does not need a phone yet.
I'm unclear on who is pictured in the photo. Is that Janell Burley Hofmann? Three of her children? Or just random people doing stock photo things?
6
I wish there were some super simple rules so here are the ones we live by.
1. At night the phone is on the charger in the kitchen not next to the bed.
2. Only the parents have the admin password which allows applications to be added.
3. Find my iPhone or equivalent gets installed (so you can know where they really are. They aren't going to turn their phones off).
1. At night the phone is on the charger in the kitchen not next to the bed.
2. Only the parents have the admin password which allows applications to be added.
3. Find my iPhone or equivalent gets installed (so you can know where they really are. They aren't going to turn their phones off).
7
A large swath of parents still don't fully grasp the sheer amount of power they are equipping their five to fifteen year olds with. If left unrestricted, they have unlimited, global two way video and audio communications with any stranger or group in any city,state or country. They also have classmates and friends who know how to render any communication completely invisible to probing parents. It won't show up on their phone or on your bill. The use of various apps and other techniques to cover their own tracks is not technically difficult. You kid will also have full access to absolutely anything and everything on the Internet. If you don't restrict some of this power up front, curiosity and peer pressure will certainly rule the day. If you don't adequately parent your child's use of smartphones and computers... all things good, bad and ugly on the Internet will do it for you.
17
For Children, No Phone Is Definitely Smartest Option
11
Here in Germany at least I have a doro phone, with which I can only text and call/receive calls; it has a large display and large keys, and an emergency call button, and is a clamshell with the added advantage of protecting the keypad to avoid dialing by mistake when in a pocket or bag. It was relatively inexpensive and is perfect for my needs. It would certainly be sufficient for teenagers, too.
10
this phone does not sound "hip" so teenagers will not like it.
1
Hah! That pretty much makes it sound perfect!
Why should we care if they think it's hip?
1
What about making your own dumbphone? If you have a Maker mindset, consider building one of several open-source DIY designs with your young one! It's a great way of learning about electronics, bonding with your kid, and demystifying modern technology.
There are several DIY designs, all of which are based on the popular Arduino platform, and which cost about $100 in parts. All of these phones can send and receive calls and text messages -- and have well-illustrated tutorials and bills-of-materials written in clear language. These include Adafruit's "Arduin-o-Phone" kit, Seeed Studio's ArduinoPhone design (on Instructables), and the "DIY Cellphone" by MIT doctoral student David Mellis.
There are several DIY designs, all of which are based on the popular Arduino platform, and which cost about $100 in parts. All of these phones can send and receive calls and text messages -- and have well-illustrated tutorials and bills-of-materials written in clear language. These include Adafruit's "Arduin-o-Phone" kit, Seeed Studio's ArduinoPhone design (on Instructables), and the "DIY Cellphone" by MIT doctoral student David Mellis.
6
It sounds as if some parents are more into worrying about peer approval for their kids, and their kids' approval of them as parents, and have ceded all attempts at rules. Altho' perhaps they seek control by having their child on a digital tether.
Safety issues-- get scrambled with all of the social issues.
Just as it's necessary to speak to younger kids about "good touches" and how to seek help appropriately, it's necessary to talk about what's out there on the web in age-appropriate ways so that they have comfort in knowing how to handle whatever is thrown their way. You don't need your own smartphone to encounter sleaze or possible predators...
Socially, it is important for parents to model and insist on certain courtesy boundaries, use limitations and understanding of costs. Understanding, as many have pointed out, the difference between needs and wants. if the parents aren't clear about what is important to them and why, no growing teen worth his/her salt is not going to do what they do themselves.
Safety issues-- get scrambled with all of the social issues.
Just as it's necessary to speak to younger kids about "good touches" and how to seek help appropriately, it's necessary to talk about what's out there on the web in age-appropriate ways so that they have comfort in knowing how to handle whatever is thrown their way. You don't need your own smartphone to encounter sleaze or possible predators...
Socially, it is important for parents to model and insist on certain courtesy boundaries, use limitations and understanding of costs. Understanding, as many have pointed out, the difference between needs and wants. if the parents aren't clear about what is important to them and why, no growing teen worth his/her salt is not going to do what they do themselves.
5
Wow!
The parent in 'the phone contact' is telling the child what kind of music to listen to.
It makes me feel so anti-authoritarian, I am at a loss for words.
The parent in 'the phone contact' is telling the child what kind of music to listen to.
It makes me feel so anti-authoritarian, I am at a loss for words.
19
The parent is telling his child to try something different, something he might otherwise not have heard. She is doing a magnificent job.
1
but the child will resent this type of intrusion and ignore the parent. This is reality. What child want s to be told what music to listen to by a parent? How long has it been since you were a teenager? DId you listen to only music approved or recommended by your parents? Why would you think times have changes since then?
I personally use a blackberry 9790, and think it is the perfect "dumbed" down phone you can get.
If you are looking for a simple phone, I would definitely check out buying a Blackberry.The old ones (pre 2013) have touch screens (9790,9900), decent cameras, full keyboards, and conversational texing -- yet arent capable enough to use the internet and arent wormholes of distraction.
If you are looking for a simple phone, I would definitely check out buying a Blackberry.The old ones (pre 2013) have touch screens (9790,9900), decent cameras, full keyboards, and conversational texing -- yet arent capable enough to use the internet and arent wormholes of distraction.
7
My 15-year-old son has a text-only phone. It has been the correct choice. I have no desire to deprive him of internet access, but he doesn't need the distraction at school or anywhere else out of the home.
18
I'm a 30 year old who has used a 'dumb phone' his whole life. I'm tech savvy enough to use my wife's smart phone, an IPAD, and a computer. I have enough technology ruling my life (and I haven't even talked about TVs yet).
Phones are a reality of everyday life, so making an absolute argument to not have one at all seems a bit outdated. Kids want to be adults and the desires they have are usually driven by the idols they grow up watching and learning from. My point; be a model of good phone behavior and your children or those you care for are likely to follow suit.
I'll let you know if I succeed or this post is a bunch of hogwash in 15 years...
Phones are a reality of everyday life, so making an absolute argument to not have one at all seems a bit outdated. Kids want to be adults and the desires they have are usually driven by the idols they grow up watching and learning from. My point; be a model of good phone behavior and your children or those you care for are likely to follow suit.
I'll let you know if I succeed or this post is a bunch of hogwash in 15 years...
17
Won't do peoples kids much good to be engineers with no creativity. Asia is still trying to figure that one out.
2
I get the sense that this article wasn't exhaustively researched, because I'm aware of other options out there, such as wi-fi-only phones/plans.
6
What kind of parent makes their kids sign a contract? Lady, if you find kids that stressful and demanding, why did you have them? I can't imagine how annoying you are as a mother. Not to mention, you are CLUELESS. Here's a hint, kids don't text anymore.
9
I believe that the term used for non-smart phones among kids is a "STUPID phone"; that gives you an idea about how successful this plan will be.
5
This household's solution was a TracFone. They are decent enough phones with voice and texting capabilities. TracFones have taught my kids to budget their usage because if they use up all of their minutes before a time period I dictate (let's say three months) they are either A) stuck until that time period is over or B) doing extra jobs to pay for a TracFone minutes card.
27
I wish we had never gotten a smartphone for our son (now 16 - he had a flip phone for talk/text until he was 14). For everyone who says "just control your kid" - it's not easy, it's like a game of whack a mole to supervise phone/PC use.
43
All the kids I know with smartphones have become total zombies -- they stare at those darn things 24/7. You can't have a conversation with them. They cannot tolerate even a few minutes or waiting or boredom, without hauling out the phone. They can't eat a meal without the phone in their lap or on the table.
Even if all the stuff they could access was totally benign -- it would still be awful. But it isn't benign. If you are a parent and you don't realize that kids watch porn, listen to music with lyrics that would strip paint off the wall (obscene, degrading to women, violent) and to flirt inappropriately -- some times with adults! -- and to take photos that are irresponsible if not obscene -- you are utterly native. This can and does go on all the time. We've made it so ridiculously easy.
Even if all the stuff they could access was totally benign -- it would still be awful. But it isn't benign. If you are a parent and you don't realize that kids watch porn, listen to music with lyrics that would strip paint off the wall (obscene, degrading to women, violent) and to flirt inappropriately -- some times with adults! -- and to take photos that are irresponsible if not obscene -- you are utterly native. This can and does go on all the time. We've made it so ridiculously easy.
3
Give him back the flip phone.
1
Republic Wireless has a $10/month plan with unlimited calling/texting and no mobile data. The phones are pretty good. Your kids could access the internet using WiFi but you can put some controls on that by turning WiFi off during bedtime or homework hours.
I use this plan for myself and love it. Unfortunately I would need to get a divorce to move my wife and daughter to this plan!
I use this plan for myself and love it. Unfortunately I would need to get a divorce to move my wife and daughter to this plan!
9
When my children wanted a cell phone, I allowed it - but they got inexpensive prepay phones and paid for the access themselves by mowing yards, raking, shoveling and doing odd jobs. When their minutes and texting ran out, they were responsible for adding more time and data to their accounts themselves. It is amazing how well a child will take care of a phone they pay for themselves by earning the money on their own and paying for it with their own money. Parents who give their children high tech expensive phone with all the bells and whistles before they are even old enough to babysit are not doing their kids any favors. It creates entitled, materialistic and selfish children that think that everyone owes them something. When you make a child responsible for their own things it makes them grow up to be more responsible adults.
76
My son wants an iPhone for Christmas. He's willing to contribute to the cost of service each month and will assume responsibility if something happens to it. He is a well-adjusted, respectful, active kid, who has earned my trust. He climbs mountains, reads avidly, and can engage any adult in thoughtful conversation. He is kind and generous to others. He and we understand that an iPhone is a "Want," not a "Need." So is everything else on his Christmas list (and mine too if it comes to that). He knows that there will be boundaries and rules, as there already are when it comes to technology in our home. I've come to understand that I can't give my children the technology-free childhood I had -- the world has changed. So, it's better to teach him how to be happy and well-adjusted in the life he's living. He's getting an iPhone for Christmas.
27
Good luck. My 14 year old daughter has an iPhone, and it's all good. My 16 year old son has an Android phone, and honestly, between that and video games on the PC, I feel like the parent of a drug addict. Not that we don't largely control the hours/set conditions (grades, etc.), but without restrictions, he would play until he starved to death or the house burned down around him, and you can tell that for many other activities, he's thinking, does cut into the time I could be playing computer games? For some kids (and parents), these things are way more engrossing/addictive than anything previous generations had to deal with - you just need to look at how many people can't stop themselves from using their phones while they drive...
7
Keeping them off the Internet won't help their studies, if it's their parents in fact who are texting them while they're in class.
3
You can also enable the "Restrictions" on an iPhone and simply turn off access to Safari and disable the ability to download Apps (meaning no other browsers are available). For parents with sexting concerns, you can even restrict camera access. Now your kid has access to useful things (talk, text, maps, weather) but not the full horrors of the modern digital age. Works a treat when you have an old iPhone to hand down.
9
Why does a grade school age child need a phone at all? And why does a teen need a smartphone? Desire I understand, but not need. Smartphones are essentially mini computers, continuously connected to the internet, on the pricey side (which most people don't notice with carrier subsidies) with a never ending bill. I don't understand why it has become de rigeur for parents to give in and buy these for their kids as a norm. It's particularly confounding when parents later complain about sexting, Facebook, anonymous message apps, and so much more. Do they not see a connection?
26
I remember when it was a big deal for a kid to have a telephone in their room, not to mention *gasp* their own number.
We survived. Kids will also. Heck, they more about the net than you do.
We survived. Kids will also. Heck, they more about the net than you do.
8
Totally agree. All these cases of parents moaning when their child racks up a bill of hundreds of dollars on their tablet on paid apps. The answer isn't always for tablet manufacturers to tighten security. It's for parents to turn around and say "how about we buy you a book instead of a tablet this Christmas?" or "how about we save the $500 towards university?"
13
I'm getting an Iphone for Christmas,
Mommie and Daddy are sad,
I'm getting an Iphone for Christmas,
getting one will make me be glad
I'm getting an Iphone for Christmas,
Otherwise I've promised to be bad!
( With apologies to authors of I'm Getting Nuttin' For Christmas)
Mommie and Daddy are sad,
I'm getting an Iphone for Christmas,
getting one will make me be glad
I'm getting an Iphone for Christmas,
Otherwise I've promised to be bad!
( With apologies to authors of I'm Getting Nuttin' For Christmas)
So what if the carriers don't sell talk/text only phones? Just go on ebay and buy an unlocked one for 20 or 30 dollars and order a simcard from your company. These parents who believe they can control what their kids are doing on a smartphone are in lala land.
20
I upgraded a simple samsung to an Iphone with Straighttalk without telling Straighttalk in the Phillipines I was doing that. I had complete verizon service with 1 gig of internet for $30 a month. There was a whole class of us that managed to pull this off. Ten months in, after never once checking in with ITunes, my phone was grabbed by WIFI in a public library. Straighttalk had either figured it out, or the wifi grab in the library clued them in. For the next six months they hassled me once a month about the phone, even tried to get me to stop using it, claiming it was broken. There were probably hundreds of thousands, possibly millions getting the $30 a month service. In the 16th month, they stopped hassling me and probably the rest of us who'd pulled off this stunt, told me by email they wouln't renew my prepaid $30 credit card draft at the end of the month. I dropped my iphone for a month or two, was willing to buy a new one to get a simpler cheaper service available with cheaper non-smart phones. Some people at Straighttalk steered me to a prepaid discounter that would light up a smartphone for $25 or so. With the help of a live phone assist I tried to buy and activate a phone, but the catalog I picked it from just hadn't been updated to reflect the truth that it wouldn't. Couldn't manage it. Tried a lot of other workarounds. None worked. I'm back with my Iphone, paying $42.50 monthly plus tax. In 5 years, smartphone service will be $20.
Last year, we bought a flip phone for our 11 year old when she started taking the subway to school (she had aged out of yellow school bus service eligibility). The darned flip phone broke in two months. We looked into having it repaired, but the cost was prohibitive. So we just got her a smartphone. The market for flip phones is so small now that I believe manufacturers are making very poor quality flip phones. For us, it was simply not worth it. My advice: just go straight to the smart phone and deal with the challenges of limiting screen time.
15
Or, give the kid a few quarters and let her use a pay 'phone. I ditched my 'phone a couple years ago, and I'm doing just fine.
I spent a couple of minutes pondering, and realized I cannot tell you the last time I saw a functioning pay phone. At least a few years. So perhaps where you live, that's practical advice, but where I've been it would completely unworkable unless parents in addition to that quarter, they game the kid a time machine.
3
Public pay-phones still exist?
Even the local libraries, hospitals, schools, city hall, and community centers took them out years ago. And, most self-standing phones in malls, sports venues, or outdoors were vandalized over time, and never repaired because they generated no revenue.
Even the local libraries, hospitals, schools, city hall, and community centers took them out years ago. And, most self-standing phones in malls, sports venues, or outdoors were vandalized over time, and never repaired because they generated no revenue.
1
There is a substantial, and telling, contradiction between rules #3 and #4 on the phone contract. Put your phone away, don't be rude, UNLESS I am calling you, in which case you are obligated to answer the phone no matter what you are doing, where you are, or whether it would be rude to do so.
20
Nice one. For what it's worth, when I interviewed the rule-writer, she was quick to admit that it is often the parents who perceive the phone to be a need more than the kids...
12
"T-Mobile doesn’t sell dumbphone"
That's incorrect. We bought our middle-schooler son a T-Mobile Kyocera Rally for $15 with a pre-paid plan from Walmart. Here's the link.
http://goo.gl/fxSxSj
He uses the phone to communicate with us on school-days, especially now that he has started biking to school with friends. It has worked very well.
Why any parent would give school kids a smart phone is a mystery to me.
That's incorrect. We bought our middle-schooler son a T-Mobile Kyocera Rally for $15 with a pre-paid plan from Walmart. Here's the link.
http://goo.gl/fxSxSj
He uses the phone to communicate with us on school-days, especially now that he has started biking to school with friends. It has worked very well.
Why any parent would give school kids a smart phone is a mystery to me.
17
Dumb, that is what the parents are if they cannot control their children. By extension, this idea will tell you the dumber the parents, the smarter the child. I hope the author of this article has been smart enough to trad mark 'dumbphone', if not, he is really into 'stupidness'.
4
The "smartphone" was contributing to the dumbing down of my son, so away it went. Got him one with talk and text only...can't wait to see next marking period's grades. But, it was hard to find with so-so (3G) service, and I had to leave my carrier. It is past time for the cell phone carriers to recognize that not everyone needs/wants/deserves a smartphone!
10
While the concept of a 'dumb phone' is intriguing, I find it amazing that a child under the age of say 15 or 16 should actually need (note 'need' not 'want') a mobile phone at all. Their time is really not that precious. That money for a phone can literally be better used elsewhere. Their responsibilities include getting a good education, having a good relationship with their parents and their friends, and having a good social life on the outside (in fresh air). Neither of these requires constant access to the internet as an absolute must. By all means have a family computer at home with restricted internet times so as to supplement their school learning etc, and then by all means buy them a laptop if they are heading to university. But a mobile phone for someone under 16 is not a necessity, I feel.
40
I agree with you that it a smart phone is not a necessity for a teen. But the reality is that texting is how they communicate now. It's not email, or even social media (sure, teens use email & social media, but not as much as texting). Texting is king. It's part of their social lives.
6
There are situations you where you need to contact a child to know when to pick them up, etc.
2
Many city kids past fifth grade commute alone by mass transit; that is usually the trigger for getting a phone. The city gives them a Metrocard in lieu of school bus. And pay phones are few and far between these days. Modern kids usually can't use one to call home if track practice ends early and they need to be picked up.
26