cellphones for children

[CatrinaF25]

were getting our 8yr old 11 yr old and 13 yr old prepaid cellphones in aug and wondering who is the cheapest to go threw? and any that offers discounts on phones.. yeah I know some of you dont agree with geting it for them at this young of a age however they need them for emergancys . They are all in sports and i cant be at 3 places at once! lol so they need one to call me on incase practice will be over early and such. we want a prepaid one with like one hour a month on it. they will be locked up when they dont need it. anyways what is a good one

[sivohdarba]

I have been using a tracfone for a few years and love it! I also have one for each of my kids to use for emergencies. You can purchase minutes just about anywhere, and they are good for a couple of months, or longer if you purchase larger amounts. If you add more time to your phone, they don't expire until the new minutes are added. You can check out their website here-- www.tracfone.com I would love to send you a referral so you could get an extra 100 minutes free when you purchase and activate a new phone ( I would also get free minutes too :) If you are interested, please email (sivohdarba@yahoo.com) me!

I think it's a good idea to give phones to your kids these days to use for emergencies. Like you said, it's impossible to be three places at once, and id does give you peace of mind knowing that they can reach you no matter where they are if they need too.

[buttrfli]

I am getting our girls firefly when they come out next week
http://www.fireflymobile.com/product/index.htm

My 7 y/o has one now, but once these come out, I will be taking it back. Hers is emergency only, so as long as she is with me, she dosen't have it in her possession.

[Mystic32]

simply amazing!...I really like the idea of the Firefly....but geez these are just kids...stuff is getting way out of hand & definitely commercial.....I didn`t get my son a cell until he was 15. My dot is only 4 but the firefly is definitely in the back of my mind when she gets a lil older.....Gawd! i wish I could go back to the days when I was growing up....this is getting to be tooo much...

[buttrfli]

simply amazing!...I really like the idea of the Firefly....but geez these are just kids...stuff is getting way out of hand & definitely commercial.....I didn`t get my son a cell until he was 15. My dot is only 4 but the firefly is definitely in the back of my mind when she gets a lil older.....Gawd! i wish I could go back to the days when I was growing up....this is getting to be tooo much...

ITA but we live in a world where you never know what is going to happen next. I seriously thought about giving DD a cell phone for a long time and decided that if she can follow my rules with it (which she has) it can never hurt.

I am a paranoid parent and I look at places like Columbine and think "what if".. yes the chances are small, but it has happened here as well... nothing as horrible, but a child in middle school took a gun to school several years back and shot other students.... I got the phone for safety reasons and DD has yet to ever have the need to use it. (thank goodness). Just this year a 1st grader took a loaded gun to school and was waving it around on the front steps of the school... stuff like this. I have a need to be able to have my children contact me 24/7 if they need to.

I too wish that I could go back and let my kids grow up as I did.. heck we ran the streets until after dark and rode out bikes all over our town. The worst thing I had to worry about was not being home on time for dinner LOL

Unfortunately this is just the world we live in.

I am quite excited for the firefly to come out so that both my girls can have one. I can't give a regular phone to my 9 y/o because she really can't work a regular phone and I am afraid that she would be calling china (lol) but I thin the firefly is perfect for her :)

[cathych]

wow, $199 for 1200 minutes!!!!!!! (and that is not including tax). cheeze, tell them to find a payphone........I mean, I am a parent too, but if Columbine was happening in my backyard, a bunch of firefly phones would not make a hill of beans. Don't you think any of those kids (at the Columbine incident) had cell phones? My kids got their own cellphones when they could pay for it themselves.

[tigger4]

Those Fireflies are cute. My dots and son take my cell with them whenever they walk around the block. But, they aren't allowed to have their own cellphones. The school would take them from them if they were caught with them. Our district has a strict no cell phone policy. Before I went and bought phones, I would check and make sure they can take them to school.

[buttrfli]

wow, $199 for 1200 minutes!!!!!!! (and that is not including tax). cheeze, tell them to find a payphone........I mean, I am a parent too, but if Columbine was happening in my backyard, a bunch of firefly phones would not make a hill of beans. Don't you think any of those kids (at the Columbine incident) had cell phones? My kids got their own cellphones when they could pay for it themselves.

I don't know what the prices are on the site, but my local target is already advertising them for $99 for the phone and $99 for 2000 minutes and you don't have to make a monthly purchase, you just buy when you need minutes and it would take a LONG time for my kids to use those minutes... a year or more.

I know the kids in columbine had cell phones, I was simply making a point. I want my kids to be able to get in touch with me 24/7 no matter what. When you want to talk about paying for things themselves.. my kids earn everything they have, not just a cell phone, but EVERYTHING. They may not be able ot work a job, but they have chores and there are times if they want something special that will be more than their allowance or what they have saved, they can do extra things around the house and earn what they want.

[queenangie]

Is the firefly a kid proof phone?

We have teenagers and a Cingular family plan (4 phones).
DS#2 has had his phone go through the washer twice,
and he was pushed into the swimming pool at the local
water park - the 3rd major wet event.

We have dried it out and it is still working!
Amazing!

I do think a cellphone is good for emergency situations with kids or adults.

[Freebeemom]

I cannot imagne my 7 yr old with a cel phone. He isn't out of my sight long enough to even use one. That is totally unbelievable to me. IMO, my kids will have one when they can afford it. I will use hand held radios for around the block walks, etc. I don't even have a cel phone. All those ring tones, and extra phone charges...it is a total waste to me. I use vonage, for my phone...so I am only paying $23 in phone bills. I can't imagine adding a cel to that!

[icequeen8455434]

Both of my girls, ages 14 and 9, have their own. We have Cingular. The youngest takes hers on her visits with her father. Safety reasons because of his history. And my oldest has one, well, just because. She pays her own portion of the bill with her extra chores and by helping the manager in our office.

[CatrinaF25]

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[tommyjo]

I LOVE Virgin Mobile, must buy the phone, but 20 bucks required topup every three months is all we need, so if i was going to buy for children, this is the one i would go with...JMHO