Cellphones for kids...

[Nufy]

Both of my boys have asked for cellphones...

Specifically iPhone 5's but there's no way they are getting a newer phone than dad...

Are there any good deals out there.

I am currently with Telus but can go with another carrier if the price is right.

[Rathji]

My niece and nephew have phones. Well my niece has a phone and my nephew has lost his within 2 weeks of it getting it, and then again when it was replaced.

Ask yourself why does a kid need a smart phone? To play games and be on Facebook?

You have 3 options:

1) Get them a smart phone that will end up broken, lost and you footing the bill to replace or paying for the contract while they don't have a phone.

2) Sign up for wind with an unlimited talk and text plan, and make it prepaid if you want, so you don't have surprise charges for roaming, and either:

a) Get them a simple phone to call and text and something like an iPod touch to do all the stuff they would otherwise be doing on their smartphones.
b) Get them a phone that handles basic social media (Facebook, Twitter etc) with a small data package.

[keratosis]

Both Koodo and Wind have lots of options. Check them out. Koodo sells referb phones cheep.

Sent from my SGH-T989D

[ken0042]

I was looking at Mobilicity for my son. Price was good and they had a decent smartphone for around $130. The only reason was they didn't have coverage down where I live. Double check- your neighbourhood should be fine.

We ended up giving him one of our iPhone 3GS phones and getting him a plan on Bell. A little more, but he has the apps he wants. Plus we already had "find my iPhone" enabled, so we can see where he is- as long as he has wifi access. I've made a point of adding his phone to as many wifi networks as I can.

[J epworth]

How old do kids get their first phone nowadays? I remember I got my first phone, my parents old nokia with the awesome snake game, in grade 9 when I started spending more time just with friends so my parents needed to have a means of knowing where I was.

[photon]

Lots of kids in my sons school seem to have them, and it only goes up to grade 5.

[Nehkara]

My nephew got a phone at 12 and my niece will get one when she is 12.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by ken0042

We ended up giving him one of our iPhone 3GS phones and getting him a plan on Bell. A little more, but he has the apps he wants. Plus we already had "find my iPhone" enabled, so we can see where he is- as long as he has wifi access. I've made a point of adding his phone to as many wifi networks as I can.

Couple things:

1. Find my iPhone doesn't require wifi. So it's actually more valuable to you than you might have originally thought.

2. You should get all of your devices _including_ the 3GS upgraded to iOS 6 to get the latest version of Find My Friends. They key benefit here is that in addition to the location services you get on your kid's phone via Find My Phone, you can also do some extremely cool stuff around alerting - basically, alert me when my kid leaves that location, or when he arrives at this location. Extremely useful, and as far as I know, the alerts are set 100% on the remote end, so it's not something your kid needs to remember to turn on or monitor or do.

3. You should teach your kid how to use Find My Friends to locate your phone as well. Why? Because it's a good tool to allow caretakers, security, police, etc, to find you if the kid gets separated and you aren't answering your phone.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by photon

Lots of kids in my sons school seem to have them, and it only goes up to grade 5.

oh god no.....my daughter is pushing for a phone, and she is in grade 4....

[InglewoodFan]

We picked up a phone for our oldest (12 yr old) on Mobilicity. Great coverage where we live and the unlimited package pricing is exactly the same every month so it is cheap and predictable. It's some kind of HTC slider phone I think.

He wants an iPhone, and his dad (I'm step-dad) says he will give him his old one "any day now". If so, he can pay for the data plan. It's kind of stunning how many new iPhones you see in a jr high.

9 yr old wants a phone. Not gonna happen.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

1. Find my iPhone doesn't require wifi. So it's actually more valuable to you than you might have originally thought.

It does require an internet connection; doesn't it? We don't have a data plan on his phone; it was easier to turn off cellular data than to try and manage his Youtube use.

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

2. You should get all of your devices _including_ the 3GS upgraded to iOS 6 to get the latest version of Find My Friends. They key benefit here is that in addition to the location services you get on your kid's phone via Find My Phone, you can also do some extremely cool stuff around alerting - basically, alert me when my kid leaves that location, or when he arrives at this location. Extremely useful, and as far as I know, the alerts are set 100% on the remote end, so it's not something your kid needs to remember to turn on or monitor or do.

We are still on iOS 4.3 on the 3GS phones. I heard nothing but bad things about how slow the phones became with iOS 5- I would hate to see what one with iOS 6 would be like. Have you actually installed it on a 3GS and used it? I would be tempted to try- if there was a way to roll back without jailbreaking the phone.

[Nufy]

Originally Posted by InglewoodFan

We picked up a phone for our oldest (12 yr old) on Mobilicity. Great coverage where we live and the unlimited package pricing is exactly the same every month so it is cheap and predictable. It's some kind of HTC slider phone I think.

He wants an iPhone, and his dad (I'm step-dad) says he will give him his old one "any day now". If so, he can pay for the data plan. It's kind of stunning how many new iPhones you see in a jr high.

9 yr old wants a phone. Not gonna happen.

Yep 9 and 12...

Thats what I have as well.

thanks for the info...I'll check em out.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by ken0042

It does require an internet connection; doesn't it? We don't have a data plan on his phone; it was easier to turn off cellular data than to try and manage his Youtube use.



We are still on iOS 4.3 on the 3GS phones. I heard nothing but bad things about how slow the phones became with iOS 5- I would hate to see what one with iOS 6 would be like. Have you actually installed it on a 3GS and used it? I would be tempted to try- if there was a way to roll back without jailbreaking the phone.

You said you got a plan from Bell, so I figured you had at least a little bit of data - when I'm ready to hand my daughter (age 9) a 3GS, I'll try and get it some meager amount of data or get us on a family pooled plan to facilitate it. I don't think you can limit youtube usage on 3G - I plan to manage that policy parentally; I couldn't find a good solution.

Personally though, if you are going the Find My iPhone/Find My Friends route, it seems to me that the times you absolutely will wish you had it are probably the times when he doesn't have wifi.

As far as iOS 6 on a 3GS is concerned, it's fine - my wife used hers daily for a long time on iOS 6 with no issues.

[Rathji]

I used iOS 6 on my 3GS until a couple weeks ago. Might have been a tiny bit slower than with iOS 5, but could have also just been my expectation that it would that was fueling that observation.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

You said you got a plan from Bell, so I figured you had at least a little bit of data - when I'm ready to hand my daughter (age 9) a 3GS, I'll try and get it some meager amount of data or get us on a family pooled plan to facilitate it. I don't think you can limit youtube usage on 3G - I plan to manage that policy parentally; I couldn't find a good solution.

Yeah, we tried to keep the plan as inexpensive as possible. The problem with having data for a "find my phone" option is that there isn't a way to provision that data. So if he is at school and decides to go on Youtube, he has the option of just connecting to the school wifi, or just letting the phone grab the data over cellular. Of course it's easier to not enter his username and password, so that's what will happen. Same when he goes to a new friend's house- easier for it to grab data then for him to ask his friend for the wifi password.

You are right in that for the sake of safety it would be better to be able to track him at all times. However that really borders on being a "helicopter parent." Also I would say that he is considerably safer having a cell phone than not having one. We were going to get him a cheap cell phone that just had text and voice; so at least this is better.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by ken0042

You are right in that for the sake of safety it would be better to be able to track him at all times. However that really borders on being a "helicopter parent." Also I would say that he is considerably safer having a cell phone than not having one. We were going to get him a cheap cell phone that just had text and voice; so at least this is better.

The helicopter parent thing is a topic I've given some thought to - I think it can be mitigated somewhat by a few things:

- the tracking is two way. If my kid is enlisted in Find My Friends, I'm enlisted in his as well. Fair is fair.

- the location services icon on the phone won't be suppressed (you can tell FmF and FMi not to show the location services chevron in the status bar) - kid has the right to know when the phone is reporting position.

- FmF won't be used without a proceeding phone call. If the kid isn't going to answer the phone or return a voicemail/text, and I need to get a hold of them urgently, then I can use the tool and walk/drive over. This seems respectful. If I want to know where my kid is, I'll call them and ask. I'm not going to double check behind their backs.

I'd far rather, I think, develop a protocol and set of expected behaviours on both sides of the fence with regards to location services that is respectful to all parties, rather than not have the option in an emergency.

Mostly I see the tool as a way to do less helicoptering - the kid can range a bit farther afield on their own if we have a way of finding them if they don't come back. It's a very individual decision though obviously - and I know many parents in my neighborhood that are complete helicopters; kid won't ride the bus, kid can't walk to friends house, can't cross the road, etc - whereas mine are allowed to walk to the corner store on their own. If they had a phone with location services on it, I'd probably let them go even a bit further.

[Russic]

Sclitheroe makes some solid points. I don't see the usage of Find my Friends or Find my iPhone to be helicopter parenting. Certainly they could be tools of the helicopter parent, but if you use them in a way that doesn't directly impact their life I think it's reasonable. I also agree that it should be a 2-way street, and it shouldn't be something that's secret. Let's also not forget these are very expensive devices, and Find my iPhone should be enabled at the very least for that day it gets left behind somewhere.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Russic

I don't see the usage of Find my Friends or Find my iPhone to be helicopter parenting. Certainly they could be tools of the helicopter parent, but if you use them in a way that doesn't directly impact their life I think it's reasonable.

I'd even suggest that if you are a helicopter parent, or think you might be, this might be the tool that would let your kid walk the 4 blocks to their friend's house to socialize like a normal kid. But what do I know.

#talkinboutmygeneration