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Natalia
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Do your kids have cellphones? at what age do you give your children one? what plans do you have? Any reasons why they shouldn't have one?
Natalia, who is trying to decide if her 14 yog should have one.
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guitarnan
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My ds got one at 15; he was training for a long distance bike ride and we didn't want him to be on the airport loop trail without access to help, even though I was on another part of the trail.
He's been great about using it...he doesn't use it at all except to call us from Scout events. In 9 months I have only had to "recharge" it once!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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lapazfarm
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Mine don't. Though I will get one for dd when she goes off to college in the fall.Right now they just don't really have a need for one, at least not so much as to justify the expense.
But then again, dh and I don't have them, either.I gave mine up a few years ago and dh gave his up this summer. All part of the effort to simplify our lives a bit.
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Theresa
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JodieLyn
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2 thoughts...
do they NEED one? do you NEED them to have one?
Will they keep hold of it and not lose it (though you can get some insurance for accidents)
or I guess 3 thoughts.. you can get phones that only have preset numbers in them.. so like you can set it to only be able to call you, your dh, your house.. and I believe they can also dial 911.. but it's not able to be used for just anything.
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MarieC
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My children are younger (going on 10 is the oldest) but I have thought that as they do more and more activities without me present I may want to have a children's cell phone. It would be loaned out to whichever child needed it at a particular time but wouldn't be given to any child in particular. It seems harder and harder to find pay phones and I wouldn't ever want the child to need me and not be able to reach me.
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JodieLyn
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The flip side of that Marie is that the coach/leader is very likely to have a cell phone the child could borrow.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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sewcrazy
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We got one a year ago to use as a "children's phone". It has been nice to have at events, museums, the zoo, christmas shopping, and such. I will allow my teens to go with a group of friends separate from us and keep in touch by phone.
The phone is on a share plan with mine. The phone itself was free and only costs us an additional $9.95 per month.
No it wasn't a need, but it has been convient.
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LeeAnn
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MacBeth
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DD (17), who commutes into Manhattan several times a week, has had one since she was 14. It has been a good lesson in budgeting for her (she had to spend all her earnings from one gig on a phone bill once, and she never ran the bill up again). 
None of the other kids needs one, though DS (nearly 16) might get one as he adds more after-school activities and long-distance biking.
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Lisbet
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I have one, and when my kids are doing things away from me where I think one may be handy, they use mine. I think we'll keep it this way until they begin driving, then I'll consider it again.
On a side note, I just asked my dh the other day "Honey, how do I go about getting a cool ringtone like MarieC's?" LOL! 
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Willa
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MarieC wrote:
| My children are younger (going on 10 is the oldest) but I have thought that as they do more and more activities without me present I may want to have a children's cell phone. It would be loaned out to whichever child needed it at a particular time but wouldn't be given to any child in particular. It seems harder and harder to find pay phones and I wouldn't ever want the child to need me and not be able to reach me. |
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That's what I think our next step will be. We just moved from one-cell-phone-kept-in-the-car-for-emergencies to a family plan where my husband, my son in college and I each have a phone.
Next on the wish list would be a generic extra phone that any teenager who was out and about by himself or herself could take along. That would be more of a mom-reassurance thing for me than a fun thing for them.
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Willa
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Cay Gibson
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My 14yob wants one but he doesn't have one.
The two older ones got theirs around age 15 or 16...when they began driving and working outside the home and could pay their own phone bill.
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Cay Gibson
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Kathryn UK
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Love 'em .
Both my older dds had them from age nine, when they got given hand-me-down phones. I think, though, that the phone system may be very different in the UK? Here the culture is to use them almost entirely for texting, and very little for actual phone calls. Also we all have pay-as-you-go phones, so they can't ring up bills. No credit, no phone use! My 12yo has to pay for her own credit, and my 9yo gets given it as needed (she uses it very little). Both girls do quite a few outside activities and I like that they can contact us and we can contact them. It costs only a few pence to send a message so the expense is minimal.
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LLMom
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My 17 dd uses mine or dh if she is going to be away from us. We will keep it that way until they are driving if they can afford it.
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Lisa
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Mary G
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We started getting them for our older kids once they were old enough to be out at night or gone all day ... they have always helped pay for the phones (and if they lose them, they replace them).....
We originally got them both trac-phones -- where you pay as you use it. When Joe went to LSU this summer, he upgraded to a T-mobile phone but was able to keep the same number. Since he pays the bills and it's his commitment to T-mobile, I have no problem with that.
My 16 yod, who works evenings and is otherwise out and about has a trac-phone that she pays for each month ... has text messaging (which kids seem to use more than phoning anyway!) as well as unlimited minutes each month for around $50.
Hope that helps!
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MaryG
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Wendi DeGrandpr
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Our two older girls have them. Dd (17) has had one for a couple of years. I like it especially when she is driving on her own. Dd (12 1/2) has one and while she got it at a much younger age it is because she is diabetic. She works in a horse barn 20 mins from home 5 days a week and I like to know she can always get in touch with me if she needs me and I like to be able to keep track of her blood sugars if she is at a friends house etc.
Also, dh travels and is gone most weeks m-f and he likes the older kids to be able to text him or call him if they want.
I didn't consider them "necessary" until I was away shopping and realized I had left my phone at home and they couldn't reach me. Fortunately dh was home that day - must be what "let" me leave the house so casually! 
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Cellphones or not?
