My 12 yo wants a cell phone...yes there is a 12 yo out there without a phone! I still don't feel she's responsible enought or even really needs one. I have to admit there has been a time or two that it's crossed my mind and I wished she had one. I feel that I would probably have the phone more than she for having to take it away for whatever reason. As I ponder over it, any suggestions as to type of phone would be suitable for that age. My husband and I are on a family plan w/AT&T and would add her on it. Has anyone had any experience with a LG Neon Phone? (which is what I'm looking toward)
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone...
I got her the LG Neon and she loves it! She was so happy on Christmas Day. She said "Thank You" while in tears and even got up and hugged her dad and I. I wasn't expecting that one. :) LOL!
hi! not familiar with those. She may NOT be responsible enough yet, but what better way to teach her responsibility. Set some very tight guidelines, with set consequences, the reward, obviously being able to keep her phone. :) I think she should have it for safety purposes though. ya know?!
C. w
work at home mommy
Hi,
For my 12-year-old, it was a choice btwn the LG Neon and the LG Xenon. We ended up going with the Xenon...I think b/c it has a touch screen(?). I can't remember for sure why we chose it. She has had some problems with it...it freezes up almost every time she tries to dial a number to make a call. She can text no problem, and she can use her address book to make a call as well, but if she tries to dial on the keypad it freezes up. She is working around it but it is kind of a pain. If I remember correctly, both the Neon and the Xenon have problems with this (I read all the reviews on the ATT site). Other than that, she loves her phone and feels very cool with it. I make her turn it off while she's doing homework and she has to give it to me at night to charge downstairs (so she's not texting after bedtime). We've had no problems (so far) with her abusing the privilege...she will be 13 next month and has had a phone for a year. As long as you make the rules clear and stick to it, you should have no problem. Some of my daughter's friends aren't really even into texting and all that yet...I know it is going to get worse before it gets better! Good luck!
Hi,
We got our daughter a cell phone at 12 so she could always be in contact with us. We made her sign a contract stating certain rules such as it would never be turned on at school, that she would not lend it out, that she would never text, etc. About 10 rules in all. (I can send you the contract if you like). She's now 15 and has never broken the contract. It's for her safety. You can limit what she can do with the phone on AT&T such as no texting, no internet, etc. The Neon seems to be ok as long as she understands phones are fragile, no matter what type they are. You can also check online to see when she's using the phone (the call history for that number). My daughter knew we could see when and who she called or who called her, so she was careful to not use it when she wasn't supposed to. We gave her a set time to call her friends if she wanted to (like 1 hour at night) and she told her friends to NEVER call her except during that time cause we'd find out. So far so good. In this day and age it's almost required that they carry a phone for safety's sake. As long as firm rules are set down and she understands them, there should be no problem. Good luck.
I wouldn't add her to the plan just yet. Get her a less expensive pay as you go plan so that she can learn what happens when you text too much or run out of minutes. If she follows through, then up-grade to the family plan! There are also some phone plans out there that will allow you to program the numbers she can call or monitor the usage easier than regular phone plans so you might want to check those out... Good luck!
