FireFly cell or Verizon type

[disneymarie]

Just wondering if anyone has experiance with the firefly, and didn't Verizon carry something like that?
I want one for he grandson,

 

[SILLYANDI]

We had one for a very short time. It was hard to program, my kids didn't like using it (bad reception and the shortcuts that were supposed to make it easy to use actually made it more difficult) and after about 2 months it melted on the charger. No joke, it literally super heated and melted while plugged into my daughter's wall socket. Luckily we were home and smelled the smoke and found it stuck to her carpet. I worry what could have happened if we weren't home.

We have since bought the cheapest model of verizon phone that was available (env2) and for $10 a month our daughter can get ahold of us anytime she needs to.
Keeping in mind, she is 12,in middle school (which is more than 5 miles from our house), plays sports which require me to drop her off at practices (I have 4 kids and can't be with all 4 at their various events at the same time). She has very strict rules (no one uses it but her, no one gets added to the contacts without our approval, the phone is subject to mom being nosey at anytime- I can read all texts and see call history) and we upgraded to unlimited texting...just in case, but I text 100 times more than she does lol.

She has been very responsible and doesn't use it nearly as much as I expected her to. All four of my kids can use it easily, my five year old texts me from her sisters phone anytime she finds it laying around- it's much more user friendly than the firefly was.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

I don't know about the Firefly but I wanted to add that for $4.99 a month you can add usage control to any Verizon phone. We have it on my daughter's phone. I can set usage limits on minutes and texts and I can control what times her phone can be used. For example, her phone only can make or accept a call or text from a "safe number" (home, dh cell, or my cell) during school hours or after 9pm.

 

[disneymarie]

Thanks for details.
The grandson is 5 and speech delayed, just coming out with the help from speech therapy.
He was recently subjected by the court from supervised visits to 2 unsupervised. Mother has mental health and anger management issues and in a day program currently. She lacks any positive good judgement.

The family would feel much better if dgs would have an easy to use phone contact. The last semi supervised dinner date, mother did not answer her cell phone when a contact was needed about school clothes causing alarm.

She was a dear close person in my life, but in the mental health issues have allienated, her choice, all of the support system and family for those in her day group......
I have an Envy2, upped to my Envy 3....I have a tracfone.....not sure he would be able to use these, he can not memorize phone contacts, nor do I think short cuts.
I am not going on the firefly if it does not meet our needs...

 

[SILLYANDI]

my 5 year old can call and text on my envy2. I think if it only had 3-4 phone #'s in it he could do it with some practice.

 

[MandM-Mom]

you might be amazed how fast he picks up on it
Kids pick up on electronics so fast half the time my dd9 could give me a lesson, it may be tricky at first but he will get, goodluck finding one you like for him, you will find a good match!

My dd6 can make calls out to grandma on her own without my help on my LG Lotus no texting yet!!! My dd9 has had her own phone since she was 7 its the LG lime green rumour maybe but before that she had no problems using my old rant, she is very responsible and if a contact name doesn't show up when someone calls she lets it go to voicemail, I didn't tell her to do it she just fiqured it to be safer! My rule about texting no short hand, I want to see her spelling things out, shes just too young to not carry it over to her school work and not realize I think.

 

[JB2K]

Just wondering if anyone has experiance with the firefly, and didn't Verizon carry something like that?
I want one for he grandson,

No, it was never a Verizon phone. It is a GSM device that used to be carried by both Cingular (before they assumed the AT&T name) as a contract phone, and by Firefly, themselves as a pay-as-you-go device.

Firefly phones, which were marketed as a simple communications device for young kids, used to be available at big-box stores such as Target, Walmart, etc. At one time, you could buy the airtime cards off the same rack as Tracfone, and others.

As for the phones, they are still around, but are now available only at the Firefly website.

Given the details you've shared about your grandson, I think the Firefly would be an excellent first choice as there's not a lot of "stuff" to memorize (OP's situation is very much unlike yours, MandM-Mom) -- it's a few, simple buttons.

 

[MandM-Mom]

No, it was never a Verizon phone. It is a GSM device that used to be carried by both Cingular (before they assumed the AT&T name) as a contract phone, and by Firefly, themselves as a pay-as-you-go device.

Firefly phones, which were marketed as a simple communications device for young kids, used to be available at big-box stores such as Target, Walmart, etc. At one time, you could buy the airtime cards off the same rack as Tracfone, and others.

As for the phones, they are still around, but are now available only at the Firefly website.

Given the details you've shared about your grandson, I think the Firefly would be an excellent first choice as there's not a lot of "stuff" to memorize (OP's situation is very much unlike yours, MandM-Mom) -- it's a few, simple buttons.

Realize its different just stating how sometimes kids understand alot more than we realize, my dd6 who has a major speech delay and receives Education intervention services can very easily find Nanny in my contacts and hit the send button. Sorry OP Should have left out the other about older dd just stating how responsible she is with a regular phone and how it surprised me.

 

[luvmy3]

No, it was never a Verizon phone. It is a GSM device that used to be carried by both Cingular (before they assumed the AT&T name) as a contract phone, and by Firefly, themselves as a pay-as-you-go device.

Firefly phones, which were marketed as a simple communications device for young kids, used to be available at big-box stores such as Target, Walmart, etc. At one time, you could buy the airtime cards off the same rack as Tracfone, and others.

As for the phones, they are still around, but are now available only at the Firefly website.

Given the details you've shared about your grandson, I think the Firefly would be an excellent first choice as there's not a lot of "stuff" to memorize (OP's situation is very much unlike yours, MandM-Mom) -- it's a few, simple buttons.

You are correct that it was never a Verizon phone, but the OP thought that Verizon had a version like the Firefly, and they do, its called the Migo.

http://phones.verizonwireless.com/search/devices/lg_migo.html

OP, my dd's first phone was a Firefly and we never had any issues with it other that the fact that the coverage in our area was awful. We found it easy to program and she found it easy to use, but only because we made her practice every so often. She had it for emergencies onlyand thanfully never had to use it.
Its been quite awhile since she had had it, but if I remember correctly you are able to program numbers into it that can be called with the push of one of the symbol buttons, and you can program the phone to only recieve calls from certain numbers.

 

[JB2K]

You are correct that it was never a Verizon phone, but the OP thought that Verizon had a version like the Firefly, and they do, its called the Migo.

I forgot all about that one -- it, too, would make an excellent "kid phone".

OP, my dd's first phone was a Firefly and we never had any issues with it other that the fact that the coverage in our area was awful.

As for the Firefly service not being "all that", you can chalk that up to AT&T (and that was before the iPhone came around).

 

[disneymarie]

No, it was never a Verizon phone. It is a GSM device that used to be carried by both Cingular (before they assumed the AT&T name) as a contract phone, and by Firefly,

As for the phones, they are still around, but are now available only at the Firefly website.

Given the details you've shared about your grandson, I think the Firefly would be an excellent first choice as there's not a lot of "stuff" to memorize (OP's situation is very much unlike yours, MandM-Mom) -- it's a few, simple buttons.

Yes, that is the concern,
With dgs, he is "still" at the age he would "play with the phone" using up minutes and annoying anyone he could reach pressing no's.
Also, he may loose anything I could get him. But with mom's mental health, I need a way for him to help. Gee a watch phone with a panic button would make me happy.

Recently Dad took a fall, and we never taught him how to call for help, I was next door and dgs handed Dad the phone, and then came to get me.
I thought I remember a tween phone from Verizon, back about 2005?
But I would not want a contract phone lost.

I have a spare tracfone I think if I work on it I may at least get him to have two numbers in it and show how to use them. Even if we reinforce, I am not sure he will remember.
BUT I did buy him a fisher price camera 2 years ago and he knows all kinds of stuff on that