Comments on: Does my Teen Really Need a Cell Phone? http://theteendoc.com/parenting/does-my-teen-really-need-a-cell-phone/ Changing the World One Teen at a Time Sat, 05 May 2012 13:50:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Kemi http://theteendoc.com/parenting/does-my-teen-really-need-a-cell-phone/comment-page-1/#comment-77 Kemi Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:44:26 +0000 http://theteendoc.com/?p=325#comment-77 I like your suggestion and this is an even better way to help teens budget, the prepaid cell. I have had so many parents annoyed and even angry at their teen who didn't take this information into consideration before purchasing the phone. Happy to know you took it one step further. I like your suggestion and this is an even better way to help teens budget, the prepaid cell. I have had so many parents annoyed and even angry at their teen who didn’t take this information into consideration before purchasing the phone. Happy to know you took it one step further.

]]> By: Megan http://theteendoc.com/parenting/does-my-teen-really-need-a-cell-phone/comment-page-1/#comment-75 Megan Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:06:16 +0000 http://theteendoc.com/?p=325#comment-75 Great tips! This issue has been on my mind the last couple of weeks as we recently got our two teens their own phones. I especially like the idea of using the phone as a tool to teach financial literacy. We opted for prepaid phones to sidestep the whole 'surprise bill' issue. ;-) I also do not agree with supplying unlimited minutes or even texts to a teen. That defeats the purpose of the whole exercise, it's like saying: 'don't worry, this is not a limited resource and you don't have to worry about the consequences of overusing it'. The Tracfones we use are ideal - we buy 200 minutes each for the month and they can use their allowances to buy more minutes if they want. It is after all, like you said, not a necessity but another luxury. Great tips! This issue has been on my mind the last couple of weeks as we recently got our two teens their own phones. I especially like the idea of using the phone as a tool to teach financial literacy. We opted for prepaid phones to sidestep the whole ‘surprise bill’ issue. ;-)

I also do not agree with supplying unlimited minutes or even texts to a teen. That defeats the purpose of the whole exercise, it’s like saying: ‘don’t worry, this is not a limited resource and you don’t have to worry about the consequences of overusing it’.

The Tracfones we use are ideal – we buy 200 minutes each for the month and they can use their allowances to buy more minutes if they want. It is after all, like you said, not a necessity but another luxury.

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