First cellphone for a 13 y/o...?????'s

[goofy4tink]

I'm thinking of getting my dd a cellphone when she turns 13 this fall. She'll be off doing more school stuff and out of touch, so I thought this might be a good time to think about it. But, I don't want there to be too many options for her..basically the ability to call us and some of her buddies. So, can any of you offer some suggestions or words of wisdom before I jump into this?? I've heard such horror stories about phone bills that equal a small countries yearly budget, I just can't afford that kind of thing. I have a cell phone, but it doesn't take pictures and I don't even leave it on..use it to call out, unless I'm in WDW and someone may need to find me. So, obviously, I'm not the most technological type you'll find.

 

[njcarita]

I'm thinking of getting my dd a cellphone when she turns 13 this fall. She'll be off doing more school stuff and out of touch, so I thought this might be a good time to think about it. But, I don't want there to be too many options for her..basically the ability to call us and some of her buddies. So, can any of you offer some suggestions or words of wisdom before I jump into this?? I've heard such horror stories about phone bills that equal a small countries yearly budget, I just can't afford that kind of thing. I have a cell phone, but it doesn't take pictures and I don't even leave it on..use it to call out, unless I'm in WDW and someone may need to find me. So, obviously, I'm not the most technological type you'll find.

we got our 10 year old a tracfone--
I hold on to it-- and give to him when he goes on playdates, class trips , sleepovers etc.

 

[powellrj]

check out trac phone. They have a special now if you buy 60 minutes of time at $20. you get the phone for free. We love trac phones for the kids because they are so cheap that if they get broken or lost, its not that expensive (yes they do get ruined if you leave them in your pocket on a water ride). The minutes are expensive if you use them alot, but the nice thing is, once they are gone, they are gone. They can't go over them without buying more minutes.

 

[Goofy4]

Check out Disney Mobile. We just received ours and they offer a lot of interesting "parental" controls over the use of the phones.

http://disneymobile.go.com/disneymobile/home.do

 

[DawnCt1]

Verizon's Migo has the ability to receive calls and program in four numbers. In addition, it has a Chaparone feature with GPS so you can know her where abouts. Nextel has the same ability and you can download www.ulocate.com. It depends upon what your needs are.

 

[Imzadi]

Tracfones are great for teens. It teaches them how to budget their money & the minutes they use in a month. The battery & charger come with the phones. They have a package deal for 60 minutes with a reconditioned phone included for $19.99. (They give you 20 minutes free during activation online.)

The best way to utilize this deal is getting a referral to activate the phone for a bonus free 120 minutes. Depending on how much you are going to use the phone, the trick is how & when to ADD the airtime minutes on in a way to get 4-6 full months of airtime before needing to buy another minutes card! Plus there are often promo bonus codes for another free 40 minutes or more, so you will be getting a total of 240 minutes + 4-6 months activation, all for the $19.99.

I can send a referral and detailed directions to get you set up. Just send me a Private Message.

There are ALWAYS bonus minutes codes for free minutes to add on along with each Minutes Card - some are DOUBLE minute codes, so that cuts the price of a card down by half.

Each card adds on 2 months of service. It is those extra months as well as the minutes where you want to be saving. Say, you want to add on about 300 minutes. It is actually better to buy two 120 minute cards, add each on SEPARATELY with a bonus minutes code (for each card.) You'd end up getting 240 minutes + the free bonus minutes amount, say an extra 200 minutes + FOUR months of service.

Plus, when you are adding on the minutes online, there is a Tracfone advertizement box to the right of the screen, offering another 60 minutes for $10 and 30 minutes for $5. You can add the 90 minutes on for half price of a regular minutes card.

Plus, if dd gets to send any referrals, she gets 120 minutes + 2 months service FREE. If she gets a few referrals, she may not have to BUY any card for a while.

On the Tracfone website, there is a place to enter your zip code to see if they have coverage in your area. Tracfone.com

Tracfone doesn't have their own cell service, per se. What they do is RENT cell service from existing carriers in your area. Instead of getting a Verizon cellphone, & only having serviced dedicated to Verizon, when I've traveled, the Tracfone SWITCHED to whatever carrier was available to me, in that area: Sprint, PacBell, BellSouth.

Tracfone does give you 30 days to RETURN your phone if you find out, it doesn't have enough service/coverage for you or not the plan you want for dd. I think this is what the "reconditioned" phones are. When you return a used phone, Tracfone has to wipe the old telephone number from it's memory before selling it again.

Also, there are packages for 1 year service, but be aware that if dd uses all her minutes up in the first couple of months, she will still need to add on more minutes to talk & use the phone. The 1 year service basically reserves the phone number for the wihole year. But you will need both minutes AND airtime to talk on the phone. It would be better to teach her to budget out her minutes by adding new minutes on every 2 months (with a bonus free minutes code.)

 

[Robinrs]

I also got Michael a tracfone. I've had one for years and also sold them on eBay for a VERY nice chunk of change.

 

[pumba]

I have had my tracfone for two years, got hubby one last year ..you know for those JUST IN CASE.......and granddaughter got hers this past year too.....she likes it and uses it when she needs to be picked up at school or practice or work.......it is a good deal too

 

[Hedy]

Do you have a cellphone? It might make sense to get her a prepaid phone on your network (some offer in network calling). Those kid's cellphones make me nervous-what if you were on a payphone and your call couldn't get through? Also, what if your number is blocked from caller ID (eg your work)?

 

[goofy4tink]

Thanks for the advice...lots of options...I love the Disney cell phone, but wonder if her friends might call her silly. Ah well, off to think some more.

 

[N.Bailey]

Whatever you decide to get, ask around in your area what type reception others are getting. I got my kids TracFones a could years ago and they could literally be right out front and not be able to get or receive calls.

When we went out of town with them (to a larger area), you could call our landline and we never have a dropped call.

If they work well in your town, I don't think you'll be disappointed with one as it seems to suit your needs perfectly.

 

[EthansMom]

I agree with the PP who said to ask around about reception. In our rural area, Cingular is the only cell company that gets any reception.

I would definitely recommend a pre-paid cell phone. We have ours through Cingular. The prepaid phones aren't terribly profitable for the cell companies and are hard to find, sometimes. (On Cingular's website, you have to go to "Rate Plans" and then click on the the "Prepaid Plans" tab. ) But, our basic cell phones cost DH and I each $40 and a $25 refill lasts 3 months (longer actually, since your minutes carryover if you refill before your old minutes expire).

When my kids are old enough for their own cell phones, I plan to teach them to use cell phones similar to the way DH and I use them -- not for chatting, but for emergencies and meeting up (calling when your friend isn't at a meet-up location on time, for instance). There's plenty of time for "chatting" in person, on land lines, and on the computer -- no reason to run up a cell bill talking on the cell phone.

 

[golfgal]

We got the kids add on phones on our plan. They are $9.99/month and so far they have been very responsible with them. DS13 has had one for 2 years and the twins just got theirs last month when we switched plans with our move. DS13 isn't much of a phone talker and he pretty much uses it to call for rides home from things, which is why we got him one. They are very handy.

Our basic rules are that they are for calling home for rides and keeping in contact with us when they are gone somewhere. No sitting on the computer chatting with their friends, like a lot of their friends do (especially when the call isn't long distance).

If they go over their minutes, they pay for the extra minutes.

If they lose the phone, they pay for a new one.

If a friend needs to use the phone, they do so when you are standing there, they don't go somewhere else to call (the only time they should really need to let a friend use their phone is to call their parents for a ride home from someplace).

DS13 has been great with his phone. I think over the past couple years he has only used about 30 minutes total. DD11 will be a different story but so far since the novelty has worn off, the twins take their phones if they go somewhere but that is it.

 

[golfgal]

Another thing, if you have a family share plan, like we do with Verizon, all the calls with other Verizon customers are free so none of the calls between our phones and the kids' phone count against your minutes. My sister has Verizon and I can call her for free too.

 

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

We added a phone line on to our account for DS. I put the numbers he's allowed to call in his phone-book and he doesn't have his own phone number so he can't give out his number for his friends to call. It's worked well so far, he takes it to school and calls when he's walking home, takes it to golf class and lets me know when it's over that kind of stuff.

 

[Imzadi]

Whatever you decide to get, ask around in your area what type reception others are getting. I got my kids TracFones a could years ago and they could literally be right out front and not be able to get or receive calls.

This is not specific to Tracfones only. As I stated above:
Tracfone doesn't have their own cell service, per se. What they do is RENT cell service from existing major carriers in your area.

If you live in a home where you (and others) do not get good reception with Cingular cellphones, it will be the same with Tracfones that have Cingular as their main carrier in your area. That is a Cingular problem, not a Tracfone problem.

I've had various Tracfones for about 5 years, from when they first started. I traveled cross country with my Tracfones. Instead of getting a cellphone from Verizon & only having serviced dedicated to Verizon, when I've traveled, the Tracfone SWITCHED to whatever was available to me, in that area (while roaming.)

When I've been in the boonies with friends & we all turned on our phones. The Sprint people almost never had coverage because of the all digital network. If there was a carrier out there that Tracfone works with, I usually had service. Something to think about whether you decide on a cellphone carrier, Tracfone or otherwise. Of course, in some areas, none of us had any service.

OP, if you decide on Tracfone, ask a few friends with different cellphone carriers to come over & test out their service in your home. Then call up Tracfone Customer Service to see which model they have will give you that carrier in your home area.