When Does My Kid Need a Phone?

My daughter is only 3...but I hear 6 year olds are carrying around phones now! So I guess I better do my research now!

Your kids are pestering you for a phone, giving various reasons that their friends have one, they need to call you to pick them up, they need to ask their friends for the homework of the day and they use the ultimate reason: you would want to know where they are, wouldn't you? So how do you decide when is the time that they really need a phone?

- Time spent outdoors
Your kid only needs a phone whenever he or she is out of home, else the house phone serves the purpose of asking for homework or chatting with friends. Then, think of where your kids would be most of the time when they aren't at home. If they are at school, there is easy access to phones whether public ones or at the headmaster's office. If they hang out at their friends' places a lot, then they don't need a phone as well as you can easily reach them and vice versa.

- Responsibility level
Carrying a phone takes responsibility. Even adults misplace or drop them all the time. You wouldn't want to spend a couple of hundreds only for your child to lose it a few weeks or months later. Not only that, your child must also be able to use the phone responsibly enough, else you will get a huge bill at the end of the month, not only for calls and texts but also downloads and data usage.

- Expenses
Are you ready to pay for another phone in the household? There are numerous plans and packages that you can opt for your child should you decide to get him or her one. It is best to take one that has a relatively low limit. It is recommended to speak to your child and make it clear that they are entitled to, say a $20 reload credit monthly and anything else after that will come from their own pocket money.

It is indeed useful to be able to contact your child at any time, which is what you will be able to do if he or she has a phone with him. With the increase in crime nowadays, it is better to just spend a couple of hundred for the ease of mind in knowing where your child is. You just need to have control over their usage and the phones for kids will be of good use.

Anna has been writing articles online for nearly 3 years now. Not only she is a part time tutor, you can also check out her new website Princess Phone to learn more about different types of cell phones for kids.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anna_Peacocks

Erin & Lynda

No comments: