Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 16

Thread: Cell phone for kid in 2021

  1. #1
    Site Supporter rob_s's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    SE FL

    Cell phone for kid in 2021

    I searched and read through the first two pages of results and didn’t see anything. So sorry if this is a repost. But, with tech changes so frequent, maybe it doesn’t matter.

    Our older daughter is 12, about to be 13. Current circumstances, and those in the near future, have made it so that it would be better for us if she had a phone. A phone. Not a social-media/mental-health-crisis-creating device.

    I assume there are such things? We’d like her to be able to call and easily text. Don’t want internet access, don’t need photos (although not opposed, I suppose)l don’t need apps or email...

    I know I can google this. What I’m wondering is if any of you, my anonymous friends on the internet, have had any recent experience in this realm that you can or would like to share.

    A flip-phone seems logical, like the Alcatel Go Flip 3, but three-letters-per-button for texting is annoying (and I’m old enough to remember just how annoying...).

    IDK if there’s a way to have an iPhone or similar that has all internet-related access shut down and no apps? There are benefits to us having her have an iPhone since both her parents and her local grandmother are all on iPhones. Find friends, iMessage, etc would all be helpful. I just don’t know if we can do all that without allowing for any sort of online activity.
    Does the above offend? If you have paid to be here, you can click here to put it in context.

  2. #2
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Fort Worth, TX
    You can get a full featured phone but put it on a restricted plan. Or, you can use apps to restrict what the phone is allowed to do and when.

    Speaking as a father that let his daughter color her hair, rather than have a FB account ("If you won't let me get on Facebook then I want to color my hair".... "Deal".)... IMO, once you establish good habits, you'll be inclined to allow more freedom. I'd go with restricting a decent phone rather than buying a phone you'll want to replace in 6 months.

    YMMV, of course.

    https://gabbwireless.com/

    https://families.google.com/familylink/
    "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776

  3. #3
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Fayetteville, NC
    If everyone has iPhones then you'll want an iPhone. Restricting it will be the trick because kids are devious and always find a way around restrictions.
    Good luck.
    --Jason--

  4. #4
    My work phone is a Kyocera flip phone, no full keyboard.

    My son is young. When the time comes for a phone, hopefully I have instilled the right values. Even then, we may start with something like a flip phone to slowly merge into it. Right now the wife and I are both taking a break from FB and the like. So I hope he can see that stuff isn't value producing in life.

  5. #5
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Midwest
    Circa 2012/13

    Both my kids had to carry a rock with them for 30 days before I would buy them a phone.
    The rock had to be produced on demand.
    Failure to produce the rock cost 3 days toward the 30.
    3 failures to produce would shelve the process for the academic quarter.

    Sis went first as she is an academic year older, she took one 3 day hit.
    Brother, the same.

    Each got a simple phone for the 6 th grade year.
    Each got an IPhone when they started high school.

    You are headed toward an iPhone for sure.
    There are all manner of apps etc that will limit issues.

    Do the rock, buy some older iPhone refurbs. Do the parenting/limiting apps.
    Put them in otter boxes and drive on.

    Drive home the point now that any text/image sent or received is forever.
    Drive home the point that any naked image sent or received is potentially a crime with life altering consequences.
    Drive home the point all apps/features etc you put on stay on the phone period. Full.Stop.

    You pay for the plan, your phone, your rules.

    I unapologetically “find” my 21 y/o kids in OKC and NYC on a near daily basis.
    I am not your attorney. I am not giving legal advice. Any and all opinions expressed are personal and my own and are not those of any employer-past, present or future.

  6. #6
    Site Supporter Trooper224's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Wichita
    Consider a disposable phone first. Very limited features you have to worry about. The limited number of hours will help her develop phone discipline as well. See how she handles that before invested in something more expensive and stressful.
    We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......

  7. #7
    While not a complete solution to your problem go to Crickett Wireless and take a look. I started using them a few years ago and they have been reliable and hassle free. Oh yeah, and way cheaper than the rest of the ones I could find. My parents even switched from ATT or Verizon and it saved them over $100 per month.. They went from $175 per month to under $70 for two lines. You can add a line for next to nothing with I think a one time $35 hook up fee and you can cancel any time with no penalty. They have a variety of options of how much data and whatnot. You can get phones in there for like $20 or you can buy your own phone and run the latest and greatest.

    For kids though texting is certainly a requirement in my book. For example during several big storms etc you could not call because of a system overload (on any network such as verizon, ATT, etc) but texts could go through. I personally think limited data for emergency use only would be a good idea. I've had times when I could hook up to a hot spot and send an email when all else failed. On that note you might even want to set up a special 'family email account' and have that be the email for the phone... and dad has the password to it. Have one for each kid set up through gmail or something.

    The main thing (if I were raising your kids) is to make it a habitual thing to where they had to give you their phone(s) for a few hours on demand. No rhyme, reason, or timing, but about once a month like clockwork do a 'spot check' of the phone. You can see what they installed on there (if anything), check photos, how much data is being used etc. That way it won't be some huge issue in the future should you need to actually take steps like that for a reason. Just make it part of the normal rules to having a phone that dear old dad gets to check their phones once every so often on a spot check. Period. That way up the road you can avoid big time drama activities to address things that could arise.


    I don't know about anyone else, and I certainly don't have any kids but if I did and they ran off to play in the woods for 6 hours I wouldn't care. But if they stayed in their room online for the same amount of time THAT is when I would start to worry. It's the day and age for that you know.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by vcdgrips View Post
    Circa 2012/13

    Both my kids had to carry a rock with them for 30 days before I would buy them a phone.
    The rock had to be produced on demand.
    Failure to produce the rock cost 3 days toward the 30.
    3 failures to produce would shelve the process for the academic quarter.

    Sis went first as she is an academic year older, she took one 3 day hit.
    Brother, the same.

    Each got a simple phone for the 6 th grade year.
    Each got an IPhone when they started high school.

    You are headed toward an iPhone for sure.
    There are all manner of apps etc that will limit issues.

    Do the rock, buy some older iPhone refurbs. Do the parenting/limiting apps.
    Put them in otter boxes and drive on.

    Drive home the point now that any text/image sent or received is forever.
    Drive home the point that any naked image sent or received is potentially a crime with life altering consequences.
    Drive home the point all apps/features etc you put on stay on the phone period. Full.Stop.

    You pay for the plan, your phone, your rules.

    I unapologetically “find” my 21 y/o kids in OKC and NYC on a near daily basis.
    FIND yes yes and hard yes.
    I'll wager you a PF dollar™ 😎
    The lunatics are running the asylum

  9. #9
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    ABQ
    My entire family is on pay as you go Tracphones. Phone selection is definately not new, state of the art, but I pay less than $80/month for four lines with unlimited calls and texts, so, in other words, what a phone should be for. Kids get Norton Family software installed on the phone before they receive it. Then I have the ability to track the phone's location; monitor internet activity, texts, and calls; and the ability to brick the phone, allowing certain (mostly the parent's cells and home land line) numbers to actively text, call, and receive texts and calls, until a parent lifts the restriction.

    After a decade, She Who Must Be Obeyed, HRH Mrs. UNM1136, is finally expressing dissatisfaction with phone choices and whatnot, and I believe I can keep managing her expectations for another couple of years.

    pat

  10. #10
    We all have I-Phones. My wife has a good plan with unlimited data through her work. The kids use the phones for school sometimes. They take pictures on their I-Phones for art etc.

    We have the Life 360 app on all our phones. https://www.life360.com/ You can see where everybody's phone is. The kids call it the Stalker App. Good to know where everybody is at.

    My wife used to have a Tracphone. She called it her slut phone because it would hook up with anybody.

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •