What cell (plan) to get for a pre-teen

[sclitheroe]

I just wanna know when 11 year olds started being considered "teenagers". Eleventeen isn't a number, and my 7 year old sure as hell isn't a teen in three years!

[Cheese]

No way Id cave to peer pressure and allow 11 year olds to have a phone. All the cool kids? really?
Its more like parents that dont have the ability to just say ...no. It wont ruin relationships with "cool" kids.

[Buzzard]

^ Hence pre-teen in the title. I don't think anyone did consider an 11 yr. old a teenager, although I could understand the confusion as it should be at the very least a teen wanting a cell.

[Buzzard]

Originally Posted by Cheese

No way Id cave to peer pressure and allow 11 year olds to have a phone. All the cool kids? really?
Its more like parents that dont have the ability to just say ...no. It wont ruin relationships with "cool" kids.

I think you're confusing a little sarcastic humor Cheese or did you forget green text?

"All the cool kids have one" has been an old half jokingly first line of defense for kids over the years.

[JustAnotherGuy]

Originally Posted by Cheese

No way Id cave to peer pressure and allow 11 year olds to have a phone. All the cool kids? really?
Its more like parents that dont have the ability to just say ...no. It wont ruin relationships with "cool" kids.

Well. Sounds like in this case the mom is saying yes and the dad is saying no. Which is a no win situation for the dad.

[Buzzard]

^ BAM!!!.....ftw!

[Temporary_User]

What about simply purchasing a cell-phone for the family. Essentially a phone for her, but that she only has access to when she is not home. She would have to come and ask permission from one of you before taking it out. This would allow her to communicate with friends when she is not home, and more importantly communicate with you two.
When she is home, I would assume she has access to a computer and IMs all her friends that way.

[Rathji]

Havent read the thread but pick up a pre-paid cell phone from some place like 7-11.

10 bucks for 2500 texts that expire 30 days after being acitvated. Then it is easy to limit the usage and enables you to educate them that it costs money. Give them $X a month for the phone and when the money is gone it is gone.

I have 2 neices that my sister does this for and they love having the phone and the flexibility of being able to add an extra 2500 texts with their allowance if they go over, and having a full 30 days to use them rather than be tired to the first and last of the month. In most cases, they put the money into texting and just put a little bit into the phone for the emergency use because it isn't as cost effective.

[Mtt48]

Fido offers this city plan, where you get a great rate but it is only cheap if you use it within Calgary city limits. Its 2000 minutes and unlimited texting for 40$/mo. I have it, it's pretty good.

[Titan]

I went with Telus pre-paid for my kid. The refurbished phone was about $50 and you can put minutes on it. She is only 9 but the reason we got it is that she takes the bus across town to school and we need to be able to contact her if we are late to pick her up or whatever. She knows it is not to call friends or text but most of her friends don't have phones anyways.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Rathji

10 bucks for 2500 texts that expire 30 days after being acitvated.

I have 2 neices that my sister does this for and they love having the phone and the flexibility of being able to add an extra 2500 texts with their allowance if they go over.

Wait a minute. They have over 80 texts A DAY alloted to them, and they STILL go over? Jeebus.

[Antithesis]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Wait a minute. They have over 80 texts A DAY alloted to them, and they STILL go over? Jeebus.

I had a student last year tell me that their record in one month was 15,000, and no one looked shocked or horrified at the number (except me). True or not, I don't know, but the other students took it like someone telling them 2 + 2 = 4.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Antithesis

I had a student last year tell me that their record in one month was 15,000, and no one looked shocked or horrified at the number (except me). True or not, I don't know, but the other students took it like someone telling them 2 + 2 = 4.

I think the average texts per month for a teen is about 3500, according to something I read online recently.

[4X4]

The gf picked up a phone at Wind Mobile last month, and so far so good. It's pay as you go loosely based on a plan. Ie, she's on a plan, but at the end of the month, if she doesn't pay the bill, the phone goes dead. The prices for phones were pretty reasonable as well. She got a BB 9700 for just under $400, unlocked, whereas Rogers made me think that my BB9700 was worth more like $700, locked. Granted, I got mine almost a year ago, but still, I had to pay $200 for my "$700" phone, plus re-up my contract for 2 or 3 years. The woman paid $400 for hers, has no contract, and pays $45 per month for unlimited everything except MMS ($.30 per).

The only thing I've noticed about her phone is it's a bit patchy. Their network isn't quite as established as Rogers. On the other hand, for every time she's been in a no service area on the fringes of this ridiculously large city, I've had a call dropped thanks to Rogers having way too many customers for their infrastructure.
Prices on phones at Wind range from $30 to $500+. You can spend as much or as little as you want onm the handset. The plans also vary greatly. You can get plans for as low as $15/mo. and they can be automatically withdrawn from your CC, or you can have to actually go online and pay it. That might be nice if the kid is acting up and you don't want to pay the bill for a week or two.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

This would be great to get for a teenage boy. It would be there for any emergencies, but you wouldn't have to worry about him using it too much.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

I didn't get a cellphone till I was 15 and I had to share it with my sister. I guess times are changing.

Geez, what are you 17 or something? I didn't get a cell phone until part-way through university. And that was simply because it was a hand-me-down from my sister. I think that thing only had a 4 hour battery life. Period. Without phone calls. Hell, my current phone is just a phone I bought from Wal-Mart that i got activated on my account. It doesn't even have a camera.

[Buzzard]

Originally Posted by Teh_Bandwagoner

Geez, what are you 17 or something? I didn't get a cell phone until part-way through university. And that was simply because it was a hand-me-down from my sister. I think that thing only had a 4 hour battery life. Period. Without phone calls. Hell, my current phone is just a phone I bought from Wal-Mart that i got activated on my account. It doesn't even have a camera.

Hah! I was....lets see here...33! The reason I remember is because my wife was pregnant with the child that now needs a cell phone!!!!

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

Hah! I was....lets see here...33! The reason I remember is because my wife was pregnant with the child that now needs a cell phone!!!!

Where does the time go, eh...its unreal.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Teh_Bandwagoner

Geez, what are you 17 or something? I didn't get a cell phone until part-way through university. And that was simply because it was a hand-me-down from my sister. I think that thing only had a 4 hour battery life. Period. Without phone calls. Hell, my current phone is just a phone I bought from Wal-Mart that i got activated on my account. It doesn't even have a camera.

For what it is worth I'm 24. And I didn't really use it much because I had no social life.