Cell Phone for a 10 Yr. Old?

I would definitely talk it over with the mother first. Her opinion in this decision should matter, since it sounds like the daughter is with her the most, hence the cell phone responsibility (as far as losing/misplacing it, taking care of it, etc.) will land mostly on the mom. I would also be cautious about what kind of plan you get for a 10 yr. old. Maybe just a phone that is only able to call YOU and her MOM and only able to get calls from you and her mom. That will eliminate any surprise bills.
Personally, I don't think any 10 yr. old needs a cell phone, but that's just me. I don't think a 13 yr. old needs them either.

I would recommend a prepaid cell. You can pick one up at WalMart, Kmart, or Target. They usually charge 10 cents per minute and a dollar per day. Get her one that is serviced by the same cell company that you already use and then she can talk to you for free. (If you go with a major brand like T-Mobile, Cingular, etc. their prepaids include mobile to mobile). If she lives in the Akron area Revol is another good one because the minutes are unlimited and their is no contract. I hope this helps.

Hi C.,
I have an almost 9 yr. old boy and for x-,mas this past yr. my husband I got him a Firefly phone. It can only call the numbers you as parents put into it and it has a mom and dad button for easy dialing, just to them. Check out the website: www.fireflymobile.com. I thought it was a very good idea for him. It also can prove to us that he can be responsible with the minutes, not abusing the phone and calling anyone he/she wants; also only people you put into his "phonebook" can call him/her, that way no strangers can call.We will probably in a few years upgrade him to a "real" cell phone. I thought this might help. Let me know how it goes.-MHumphrey

I think that as far as things are goin and you and her dad need to get ahold of her and cant, it would be a good idea as long as she uses it for good reasons. Maybe a prepaid for!!

C.,
My daughter is only 7 years old.. She will be 8 in July and has had a cell phone for almost 3 years... My mom bought it for her cuz of course my daughter is attached to her grandma and always wants to call her, but we had different cell phone providers. So my mom bought a cell phone and added it to her plan so my daughter or I could call her whenever we wanted without using minutes on my cell.. It's worked out great except that her dad doesn't like her to have the phone at his place, but we've came to an agreement that its her phone and she should be allowed to have it.. I bought her a used phone off of Ebay so I wouldn't be out alot of money if she broke it and it would be easy to replace with a different one off of Ebay.. My fiance's daughter who is 11 also has her own cell phone so I guess as long as you talk to her mother about it and discuss the issues your having then yea it should be ok for her to have a cell phone...

I think it is a great idea. 10 years old unfortunately especially for a girl in the times we live in is a very crucial age. Cellphone would be great not just for communication purposes. I'm not sure how you all stand economically but I know some cellphones run fairly decent prices anyway, you should try looking into a cellphone/cell company that provides the gpa system. Just never tell your child it has it. It sounds like the ex isn't that responsible and this way with the built in GPA for the present time would be great. If you ever need to pick her up and ex is unreachable you can find her yourself. As she gets older (mind you NEVER tell her it has a GPA system in it lol) You can track her down. So if she says "I'm going to Erika's house" you'll be able to check that she really is at Erika's. You'll be seen as cool parents with the perk that you'll always know she's ok.

I agree that you should talk it over with her mom but her dad certainly has a right to get a cell phone for his daughter. I think it is a good idea for kids that age to have cell phones in order for parents to get a hold of them and for the child to have a way to get a hold of the parents. I have been talking about getting my 9 year old a phone also. There are a few phones out now that are geared towards younger children.

www.marykay.com/jneuerer

look into that new disney cell phone plan.....that way you can make it that she can only call your #'s and only your #'s can be incoming calls.
and it has GPS on it as well...all via the website. it's amazing, if i ever get a phone for my girls thats the one i'll use..good luck

We bought a cellphone for our 10 yr old daughter for her 10th birthday. We programmed all of her friends numbers into the phone that she's allowed to talk to along with all of our immediate family members numbers incase of an emrgency. It is working out very well and it makes it easier to contact her when she's on play dates or down the street at the playground with her brother's.

It has made her more responsible and it has been a great tool in helping to convince her to keep up with her chores.

I recommend getting her a Trac Fone. They're fairly inexpensive phones and the airtime is prepaid, so there's no risk of her going over her minutes and getting charged for them. As is the case with most items, buying airtime in bulk saves money.

The only caveat with this program is that the airtime only lasts for a specified amount of time (normally 6 or 12 months) and will not roll over unless additional airtime is purchased before the deadline.

We bought one of these phones for the house since we decided to get rid of our land line and use our cell phones exclusively. It helps to have it around for the babysitter's use in an emergency. We also let our 7-year-old use it to call us in an emergency when she's out in the neighborhood or at a friend's house.

I babysit for my 2 cousians age 5 and 9. And they have the Firefly phones where you can program around 5 numbers in it. My cousian has extreme seperation anxioty from his dad so right when he walks out the door he calls his dad with one push of a button. so you may want to check it out. I dont even havea cell phone myself so im not sure all the things about them but i know its blue and has a mommy button and daddy button on it pretty spify :)

I think that 10 is way too young for a cell phone but I would consider the Firefly since it only gives them about 4 choices to call.

It kind of depends on your cell phone provider. We have Verizon, and we were able to get her the the Migo. It only dials 4 #'s and 911. You program the 4 people she can call and add her's to your plan and it's only $9.99 a month. She just turned 8 and has had it for a year, but anytime she goes to a friends house she can call me with any question she might have, and if I just want to check on her, I just call. It's nice to have her close even when she's not here. I would check with your provider and see what specials they have. Most of them have a "kid safe" phone now. Good Luck.

I only had a chance to read through the other responses quickly, but I agree with some of the other moms that you should consult her mom first- just to be sure it's OK and won't cause any problems.

BUT assuming all is well, I THINK there is a cell phone plan through Disney??? If I remember correctly, you can program certain numbers she can call/receive calls from and the number of minutes she can use each month. I think there are also additional tracking features on the phone.

Maybe some of the other carriers offer this as well. I'm not sure. I think this might also teach her some additional responsibility, even if she already is responsible.

Hello C.. I really have not read through the other responses, but I did want to share something with you. I would be conserned\ that maybe the mom doesn't want her to call and that is why the daughter is unable to. Also, would her mom let her call you on even the child's cell phone? And I know a mom whose son's dad got him a cell phone so he could call his dad and when his siblings play with it or the phone is dropped or missing she says "oh well, it's his dad's money". That would be my greatest concern. I wish you the best of Luck with oyur delima!

I have an 11 year old 'tween' boy and I got him a Trac phone. I bought it at the grocery store. This seems to be a good learning phone because the phone itself doesn't cost much ($20)and if he loses the phone I'm not out a major investment. Of course he wants one that flips up and takes movies and has unlimited minutes but he has no concept of the cost involved. The minutes for a Trac phone are $30 for about 240 minutes. He blew thru those in 2 weeks when he gave his number to these chatty girls. When he wanted more I said you'll have to wait till next month. The following month he was better about using the house phone when he could and telling his friends he'd call them back on the house phone. He thinks the phone is cool and he can talk to all his friends. I didn't tell him it's really for ME to keep track of his where abouts. When he was eight we gave him a walkie-talkie so we could call him for dinner. He lost it in two days. Now what do you do with one walkie-talkie. Ten is a good age for them to have thier own phone but it is a learning lesson for everyone. Good luck.

I have a wonderful nine year old daughter who wanted a cell phone badly. I work two jobs (both full time) and its great for her to be able to call when she is with a caregiver. Also, we can text and I feel like we can stay in contact better. I thought of getting her the Amigo from Verizon (my cell phone carrier) but the phone itself was $50 and then I would have to add her to my plan. The great thing about this phone is that you can only call and receive calls from four numbers. This is a great idea, but I wasnt sure how responsible she was going to be with the phone, so instead, we opted to get her a tracphone(all prepaid). The phone itself was $20 and the phone cards range in price from $20 and up. I felt this was a better option for the first phone, if she loses is I can swallow $20 better than $50 for the phone. Good luck!! Also, its great for family members that live out of town, they like calling their granddaughter or other relation and buys minutes on occaision.