My daughter Rosa, who turns 13 in a month, wants her own cell phone.
She’s put together a proposal, she’s got her heart set on an iPhone, and she wants to finally get her own Instagram account, which is actually something I’ve talked about on the blog before.
Related: What You Need To Know About Kids & Instagram
Since this is uncharted parenting territory for me, I made a trip to chat with a pro (you might recognize him!) and I want to hear YOUR advice too.
How do you decide that your kid is ready for a phone? How do you choose a plan that isn’t going to bankrupt you or them? How do you decide on features, the type of device, and contracts? And how they heck do you keep it safe for your kids?
Here’s what a few of you said on Facebook about teens and cell phones:
Having a plan with a small amount of data that stops instead of charges overages is what you want.
Smart!
Our rule about cell phones is that when our kids have a legit job and they’re making enough money to pay the bill themselves, then we will look into getting one. In my opinion 13 is too young. If she loves photography you could spend the money on a nice camera for her instead!
Yes! We’ve definitely had this chat!
I just bought a new phone. My soon to be 14 year old got my old phone… He has a learning disability. HATES writing. He has written more in FB and messenger this past month than I’ve ever seen!
My kids LOVE to text too. Big time.
Add in your device protection!
Good call!
My two younger children are getting two flip phones for calls and texting when they are not with me or their dad. They will be signing a contract of what they can and can’t do and what would cause them to lose phone, along with what chores they need to do to earn the money for the phone bill. In a year if they have respected the contract I will look in to newer phones, but for now I think flip phones work for what we need.
Love that idea! A trial run to help them learn the responsibility.
As you can see, there are a lot of different angles to come at this topic from, so I’m excited to hear what you have to say. (Oh, and in case you’re wondering… I haven’t 100% decided on what the outcome will be for my soon-to-be teen. Stay tuned!)
