This is Wireless

Cell phones for kids? A father’s perspective…

 

 

Think your child is too young for a cell phone? I used to think that too, then I experienced the most terrifying 12 minutes of my entire life, when I lost my daughter at the mall. Time nearly stood still. Every minute that I didn’t know where she was, was an eternity. My mind was racing, slamming back and forth between focusing on finding her and imagining the worst. It was a bona fide nightmare in broad daylight.

 

Thinking back, if she had had a cell phone as she does today, that event would have been immediately reduced to nothing more than a few seconds of uncertainty. Instead it was 12 minutes of sheer parental terror. Being able to communicate with your children during an emergency is absolutely huge.

 

Like anything in life, there are pros and cons. As a parent who is very safety aware, I strongly support the idea of a child having a cell phone. On the flip side however, there are of course legitimate arguments for kids not to have a cell phone.

 

What should parents look out for when purchasing a kid’s cell phone?

 

Here is a short list of the most common concerns:

• Uncontrolled incoming and outgoing calls
• Spending too much time chatting and texting
• Health concerns about kids using a wireless device
• Access to the internet
• Expensive phone charges at the end of the month

 

Each of these concerns are legitimate and should be considered. And fortunately, each of these items are easily mitigated with some simple measures.

 

So what should parents look for when purchasing a kid’s cell phone?

 

Here is a brief list of our findings and opinions:

• Simple to use
• GPS enabled and traceable by the parent
• Parental controls for internet, texting and incoming/outgoing calls
• Free or reasonably priced
• Cool factor for the kids

 

Simple to use
Except in the very young, this feature seems to be more important for the parent than the child! In our house, my 10 year old often helps me navigate the cable remote.

 

GPS enabled and traceable by the parent
As a father with three kids, this is paramount in my mind. While a non-GPS phone for a child is much better than nothing, having GPS really helps me sleep better at night. In the event they get lost or are injured, every minute increases the chances that they might meet with danger.

 

Parental Controls
Features to consider would include controlling what contacts are in the phone to restrict both incoming and outgoing calls as well as filtering inappropriate texts and internet content. The ability to go online and easily change these limits is an important convenience feature. With these controls, parents can provide their children with the safety of wireless service while setting sensible boundaries for it's use.

 

Free or Reasonbly Priced

These days, the phone carriers heavily subsidise phone purchases so you benefit greatly with phones that are very inexpensive, free or even better than free, where you can actually get the phone AND cash. Now that's a deal.

 

Cool Factor For The Kids

Aside from cell phones being an amazing parentally beneficial tool, phones have also become a fashion statement and source of "cool". This is not lost on the young. The cool factor is significant which is why we do not recommend the "kiddified" phones for kids, except for kids very young. And any child that would be ok with one of these "baby" looking phones, may be too young for a cell phone in the first place. Kids want a "real" phone that looks cool and has cool features. (hmmm, just like the parents!)

 

We hope you enjoy our recommendations.