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Oh this is easy as a parent when he/she can support the phone by themselves. When they go over the time limit, they deal with the bill collector. It may sound mean but its also a way to teach a valuable lesson.

Don't get what you can't afford. I never had a cell phone and survived just fine

[John_L]

Oh this is easy as a parent when he/she can support the phone by themselves. When they go over the time limit, they deal with the bill collector. It may sound mean but its also a way to teach a valuable lesson.

Don't get what you can't afford. I never had a cell phone and survived just fine

[Rawe]

I have had this system..

My parents will pay the phonebill for me, but if I order something, like a logo, I'll pay for it myself. Doesn't really matter since I don't order anything usually. And my phonebills aren't that big nowadays, somewhere around 9-8 euros.

[John_L]

Yep you are correct about the prepaid phone, but if they have no job to support it then they don't need it. Am I correct?

Of course i do see arguments where the child should have one, but it has to be a very significant reason.

Give them a few walking around bucks and let them use a pay phone like we all used to do before cell phones were everywhere.

It's called growing up and having responsibilities, my daughter asks for one almost daily and she's not getting one until she can solely support it, no job no phone, period.

[octoberlyn]

I'm so glad my daughter is 30 and I got past being a parent during
this cell phone craze. I'm just amazed at the added monthly expense
and how so many people have moved the cell phone from an emergency
thing to an "I can't live without it" thing.

[warriorscot]

Yeah but what about the fact that most of the phone booths are being removed when they are damaged but not replaced. Even when im in the city there are maybe three or four i have seen im my wanderings around the uni and considering the uni is spread over several miles in the capital you can see the problem and they are those internet ones not proper phone boxes.

A job is a definate luxury, i have only had one year at school when i could have possibly managed to fot it in and still get good grades and that was my last one(joke of a year really had good enough grades in the previous year). If your child isnt acedemic then they will be able to manage a job but if they have dreams of being an acedemic or professional and arent a child prodigy then a job is not something you want them to do as a responsible parent . You can see pretty clearly in peoples grades who had a job and more often than not its the ones that can concentrate soley on study that do well and the ones with jobs as well fail.

Its a safety thing as well i can think of more than one occasion where i would have been in serious trouble of i hadnt had a mobile or someone i knew didnt have their one. It makes them feel safe as well.

I spent like a tenner in 4 years at school an in my last two i spent twenty pounds, most of that was actually calling my parents or grand parents. So i never needed a job the phone was a christmas present and it came with money on it and it took a long time for me to run it down.

Its also very hard to get a job under the age 0f 17 nowadays for legal and safety reasons, and the ones that you can get arent worth having as its usually rather unscrupeous people that pay them almost nothing.

Edited by warriorscot, 27 September 2005 - 12:09 PM.

[dsenette]

well scott...i would disagree with part of your last post...in that it's not possible to be a good student with a job....the deal there is that a cell phone should...if used properly..cost about..30 or 40 dollars a month...(basic service and not much use) which would be more than covered by a part time job (25 or 30 hours every 2 weeks) which would be more than doable...which would also teach the child that not everything is going to be handed to them....so the combination of a part time job and a prepaid cellphone (that they have to pay for) would definitely help...plus...if by UNI you mean college...then that's not the issue here...we're talking about elementary to junior high kids here... 6, 7, 11, 12 year olds....who have no real reason for a cell phone to begin with

[warriorscot]

Well since we go straight to high school we dont have the luxury of a freindly junior high its straight into the fray of 1500 people from 11 to 18 so you kinda need one in that environment. But also you have to be 18 for a contract phone im using a pre paid as an examplem those being the most popular. They can quite easily cost five pounds a year or nothing as with me the first year i had mine. And at 12 i needed one for the pure safety factor as it was a vital thing to have, saved me many times from getting the living daylights kicked out of me by a bunch of thirdyears who seemed to think that i was lying when i said i was a first year because i was six foot tall.

Edited by warriorscot, 27 September 2005 - 12:40 PM.

[John_L]

As far as I am concerned that has no bearing on this at all. I have a cell phone and a busy life, most days! i rarely if ever use my phone.

The reason and sole reason my daughter will not have a phone until she can support it is easy, she's 15 and loves to talk. If i gave her a phone she would always be saying dad i need more money for this thing, no way!!!

I still stand by my first statement if she can support it without any help from me then she can have one, until then do without.

What did people do before the cell phone craze?

Everyone and there dog has one, why such an important piece of equipment?

As far as getting your butt kicked in school, that's a part of growing up as far as i am concerned, take your lumps like everyone else has, and will have to do.

I guess I'm an old school knuckle dragger, my parents would have laughed at me i f i said i need a phone. And said the same thing i do if you want it get a job and support it.

[warriorscot]

see there you go though the glory of a pre paid phone they are never going to spend more than you give them, therefore no support they have a phone which would be a gift as per the usual deal on that front and then if they want to pone other people then they would pay for it otherwise they have a phone they are happy you feel safer knowing they are a phone call away and so do they, before people used phone boxes but there isnt any.

And i got more than my fair share at school but thats because i am pretty big and it seems to be a alpha male thing to find the biggest person and try your luck, i dont like fighting though i tend to hurt people more than i mean to, its just not good for anyone, but i suppose girls dont have that problem.

for phones boys 11/12, girls well never really give them a signal flare for emergencies its cheaper.

[canders7]

Just to add my opinion to the discussion, I got my first cellphone once I graduated from highschool (so I was 17) and it was (and still is) an awesome gift (because as long as I don't do anything crazy and rack up a big bill my stepdad pays for me) but I know that a lot of people didn't really feel the need for a cellphone until they reacher highschool, because then they were expected to fullfill obligations/responsibilities that their parents have set, and by then they can always be "checked up on".

So providing that a younger individual (ex. Preteen, one 11-13) understood that having a cellphone was not a right but a privilege and undestood that they were responsible for their cellphone usage and that they had to fulfill other criteria (one example being keeping good grades in school) then I truly see no problem with having younger persons with cellphones.

[Kat]

I bought Ashley a pre-paid cell for Christmas, just before she turned 16. I paid for the phone, and the first 100 minutes as her Christmas gift. yes..she has a job. If she's out of minutes, she buys her own or she simply does without. She IS required to never let it go under 10 mins. I don't care what friend she needs to call "right now"...if she has only 10 mins left, she can't use it. I made that rule so she always has those few minutes there to be able to call me (or the police, etc) in case of an emergency.

[John_L]

See thats a good idea

If she does infact stay with it.

[Kat]

She's had it ten months now, and it has never once gone under 10 minutes