Cell phone for kids...which one?

[MaryKLady]

OP I thought of you today when I saw in Toys R Us that they had the green firefly phone packaged with some accessories on clearance for $25. I don't know if it had a minute card included.

Ooooh, thanks for the heads up

 

[MissouriPrincess]

We also have AT&T and we added a phone to our plan for about $10. We just picked out a free phone at the Wal-Mart booth. We don't have a landline anymore, so it mostly serves as the "home phone." But my daughter uses it when she goes somewhere (like a friend's house in the neighborhood). We have shared minutes and they rollover, so it's not even been a cost. She's not allowed to text or anything. We just have it if we need it.

 

[SILLYANDI]

Are you serious? I'm not getting it so she can gab on the phone all afternoon.

I will start working soon but will be home in time to get her off the bus. If on the off chance I am not there right when she gets off, she has instructions to go home with a friend's Mom or to our neighbor's house. But in the very rare instance neither is available, I want her to have a way to get in touch with me or my DH and vice versa.

I found Firefly. The phone and plan is not expensive. And the phone only has two buttons, Mom and Dad. There is a phone book where you can store only 20 #'s. The best is you can block all but the stored #'s for incomming calls. This is what I might do. Does anyone have experience with Firefly?

We had the firefly (I got it on clearance for $5 coudn't pass it up!) and it is actually more expensive than you would think. You buy prepaid minutes and if you don't use them in a certain time frame you have to purchase a new card, activate the card, re activate the phone &get a new phone #, etc.
Also, the reception was not great and it is time consuming to program (ours kept dumping the entire memory everytime the battery died-not sure if they are all like that or it was our phone?!). If she is only calling mom or dad it is not so bad-any of the other phone #'s are hard to get to/time consuming. I just didn't feel like it was user friendly like a regular cell phone would be (weird considering it is marketed to kids as user friendly?)

Honestly the kids didn't need it and used it more as a novelty than necessity. I can't recall even one time that they "needed" to use it for an urgent circumstance.

 

[SILLYANDI]

OOPS double post

 

[SILLYANDI]

Although I think it's a little strange to get a cellphone for a 5 year old (sorry OP), the idea that you need to be in HS before you can be out without adult supervision is nuts! Can we retard the normal development of adolescence even more?! My kids walk to school, my 10 and 12 year old bike around with friends, walk to the pool (across town), go play up at the school on weekends with their friends... I'm sorry, but kids need some independence.

I second this. I read about a mom who let her 9 year old son take the subway home in big scary NYC and he lived to tell his tale! I have always been of the mindset that kids need to explore to grow and need room to do that. There is nothing that irks me more than to see a kid frozen by panic because mommy & daddy are not there to think for them...

 

[lurkernj]

DS had the firefly on our regular ATT plan for 9.99 extra per month. It did get poor reception, it even "feels" cheap. He was 11 when we got it for him, but he quickly became embarrassed to call me with it in front of his friends. When basketball practice was over, he actually would call me on one of his friends phones. When he turned 12, we got him a cheap "normal" phone from ebay for $25 so he wouldn't get made fun of. Some of his friends were using $300 phones at 11 years old! This year he turned 13 and wanted a "cool" phone with texting. He saved his money and bought it himself (I pay for the texting). DS10 got a normal phone this year that came free with the plan. He really doesn't need it, but there will be times when he will be alone and I would like to be in touch.

I do think that 5 is pretty young, but everyone's situation is different.

The thought that they should have an adult with them until high school is a upsurd. My kids would be horrified if I went everywhere with them. They need the opportunity to become responsible individuals. I am assuming the person who said this either doesn't have kids or has very young kids. You'll be surprised about what you allow when they are older.

 

[MaryKLady]

DD has a Firefly. We removed the SIM card and put an AT&T one in and added it to our family plan. It's $10 a month and we share minutes. DD doesn't NEED a cell phone, but it has come in very handy on a few occasions and gives me piece of mind.

Thanks for that, I think I will get her the pink firefly. We are switching to AT&T in a few months and will switch her's also then.

 

[livie1205]

not judging.....I just think that using a cell phone just in case you can't get her off the bus is a little strange.

If it was me, I'd probably get one of those prepaid ones.

why is that strange?I gave my son my old cell phone for that also...he gets on and off the bus 4 miles away from home at a store so if the bus happened to come early or be very late he could call me and let me know....I do not want him to be up there alone (he is the only one that gets off there)also he takes it to his dads so he can call if he needs to since his dad does not have a home phone.He has a rumer because we have free text and he can text me if he needs too.

 

[GJM]

We got our DS a cell phone and he is 8. The phone was free and I added him to our Verizon plan for $10 per month. I make him take it when he rides his bike to his friends house or if he is sleeping over.

The main reason was - DH is deployed for a year and I wanted him to have the phone with everyone's telephone number programed in. So if he wants to call my mom - it is programed in as "Mimi" that is what he calls her. Since we don't have any family living were we do now it made me feel better. Plus I programed in our friends telephone number just in case he had to get in touch with them.

Makes me feel better - and he never really uses the phone, plus we share minutes on the plan.

 

[8 Ears]

No advice on an inexpensive phone but I just HAVE to chime in. We allow our "boys" (now 14 and nearly 17) to do more because of the cell phones.

It also feels nice when I see a child ask to use one of our phones to call their parents to say they will be late, early; rather than waiting for parents to get there or taking a ride when they really shouldn't.

Good luck on YOUR decision.

 

[OlderMan]

....when DW got an iPhone recently, we got a new sim card and phone # (we're on AT&T) and gave the old RAZR with the new # to our DD's, ages 11 & 10.

The novelty has worn off over the last couple of months, but we/they know it's there for emergency use. They hardly turn it on, though, unless one or the other is expecting a friend to call or one of them goes to a friend's house to play/study, etc.

PS: They go to a "school of choice," so they aren't in a neighborhood school. The school is about 15 miles away, and there have been occasions when the afternoon bus has been delayed due to traffic/accidents/bomb scares, etc. So, it's just extra peace of mind for them and DW and me.

 

[islangrl]

I don't think young children should have cell phones. It's just giving them an opportunity to get into trouble.
Until high school age- they shouldn't be anywhere without a responsible adult anyway.
-Sarah

Wow! You know what happens to so many kids that are smothered this way...they go CRAZY when they finally get some freedom. I've seen it happen in my own circle of HS and college friends! This may sound harsher than intended, but maybe you should wait until your kids are a little older before you make broad generalizations like those in your post.

Although I think it's a little strange to get a cellphone for a 5 year old (sorry OP), the idea that you need to be in HS before you can be out without adult supervision is nuts! Can we retard the normal development of adolescence even more?! My kids walk to school, my 10 and 12 year old bike around with friends, walk to the pool (across town), go play up at the school on weekends with their friends... I'm sorry, but kids need some independence.

I totally agree, mjkacmom!

Back on topic.. though I have no personal experience with the product, I think the firefly is a great choice for a 5 year old. There aren't so many confusing buttons that might trip her up, especially if she is a little nervous waiting for you.

 

[angelegod]

I would get the firefly one