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08.15.08

Cell Phones for Kids - 6 Things to Consider Before Buying

Posted in Kids and Money at 10:19 pm by CreditMom

All of 3 of our children have cell phones - even the 10 year old twins.  Why did we decide to buy them mobile phones at such a young age?  It’s pretty simple.  We want to be able to contact them at any time.  Call us helicopter parents or over protective.  We really don’t care.  We want to be within earshot of our children whenever they are not home.

So, here are 6 things you should consider before purchasing a cell phone for your child.

  1. Cost of Cell Phone - Adding 3 lines to our plan was not cheap. It cost $10 extra per line plus some pretty hefty taxes when added to the family plan.  But this is a good way to tie in allowance and good behavior.  If they don’t do their chores they lose their phones.
  2. Added features - Your child likes to text?  Add $10 per month for unlimited text messaging.  Your loved one likes to surf the web, e-mail, download music and games?  The sky is the limit on that one, ranging from a couple of dollars per month to another down payment on a house!  Much to our children’s disappointment we have blocked all web access and digital download applications from their cell phones.  Our teen has unlimited text and the twins have no text at all (if you listen closely you might be able to hear the fighting in our house).
  3. Phone Privacy - We immediately listed their phones on the National Do Not Call Registry but it didn’t stop the credit collectors from repeatedly calling our 10 year old because his phone number was originally registered to someone that didn’t like to pay his bills.  Thankfully he didn’t erase the phone numbers and we were able to get his number off of the calling list.   Also, we don’t allow our children to store any personal information (addresses, passwords, locations etc) in their phones in case they are stolen.
  4. Safety - Kids and cell phones are a haven for sexual predators who are looking for a receptive chid on the other end. This happened to my friend’s daughter and she was smart enough to not engage in the conversation and not erase the phone number.  Our children answer calls from their contact list only and ignore un-recognizeable and restricted numbers.  We also make sure our chidren do not erase unknown numbers.  In addition, many companies like Verizon offer parental GPS tracking which notifies the parent when their child has left the zone they have pre-programmed.  We haven’t added it so I’m not sure how effective this is but if any one uses it I would love to hear about your experience.
  5. Using the Phone in School - This is a really tough one.  Most schools do not allow cell phone usage.  Besides being a distraction and downright rude, the schools do not allow cell phones because some kids use text messaging to cheat on tests, send bullying messages to others and even take unauthorized pictures of other kids in the bathroom. However, our older son takes public transportation to school.  So what do we do?  We allow him to leave his phone on while commuting and he must shut it off when he arrives at school.  Does he listen..NO WAY!  And that would be why the dean once confiscated his phone. Let’s just say life was not very good for him when I got that phone call at work.
  6. Responsibility - My favorite.  We learned the hard way about setting ground rules.  Let’s face it, having their own cell phones makes it easier to make phone calls at will.  I don’t know whether it’s independence or novelty but something comes over them when that phone is in hand.  Like the time our 10 year old called his best friend’s house for a play date at 1 AM and his friend’s father automatically started getting dressed because he thought there was an emergency in our house.  Or when we caught our 14 year old doing his homework, reading and sending text messages at the same time.  The good thing is the cell phone is very portable and easy to confiscate for quick (and very meaningful) punishments.

Of course at the end of the day, purchasing a cell phone for your child is a personal decision that may not be right for every one.  Most children want one because it’s cool and certainly not to stay in touch with Mommy and Daddy.  There is a compromise however, and as a working mom with 3 children wanting their independence, it is our well worth it peace of mind.

So what do you think of cell phones for kids? When would you allow the first cell phone and what limitations would you impose?

07.14.08

Teenagers and Cars: My son says, “I’m Not Asking for a Rolls”

Posted in Kids and Money at 12:13 pm by CreditMom

My 14 year old teenager loves checking out “hot” cars.  For some reason he has this idea that when he turns 16 we’ll be buying him a new car.  I’m not sure where or why he would get that idea other than the fact we live in an affluent neighborhood where many people go into credit card debt to pay for cars, weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and communions.

So yesterday we were driving in my Nissan Murano and I noted the car would come off of lease in 2 years, perfect timing for when he turns16, so perhaps we buy it and he make the car payments (from the job he will be getting!).  This way we wouldn’t have to buy a used car from a dealer or someone we don’t know.  Plus the car is very well made, reliable and sturdy…a perfect car for a teenage boy.

Well - You would have thought I was offering him a 1975 Dodge Dart (actually that might have been better than my prized Murano).  He said, “sorry, Mom but I really don’t want this car.  It’s not my type, especially the color (silver).  I mean can’t I just get a small Lexus like Jennifer?  Come on, I’m not asking for a Rolls!”  And then he had the nerve to say, “ok, maybe I’ll just get a motorcycle.” 

You know those moments when you say, “where did I go wrong?”  Well I had one of those.  So bascially I told him what we’re going to do.  Since we can’t do anything right now, we’ll wait 2 years.  Then you figure out how much of YOUR money you can spend on a car including gas and insurance and we’ll see if miraculously that Murano becomes just your “type”….and by the way, if through working you have enough saved for a Lexus…go for it.

It’s not easy living in a neighborhood of entitlement, actually it’s a battle every day.  Do any of you face similar issues?  How do you handle them?