Cell Phone Situation...

I do not think children need cell phones. They are losing their childhood to these things--they no longer run and play or look at cloud shapes, they text and talk all day and night. I've seen kids as young as 8 texting away and never looking around them. When they are old enough to work and earn money, they can buy their own phones if it's so important to them. This junk about being connected to the entire world on a constant basis is ridiculous.

I strongly believe every child should earn whatever it is they want. My daughter has her own cell phone but she earned it by doing various chores or helping someone else. She also earns her phone cards every month for it. If she doesn't earn it, she is without a phone. She wants to go to the fair, she knows she has to save her money or earn it some other way. When my contract is up for one of my foot routes, I'll be turning it over to her and she can't wait. She'll be earning her own money and learning more about responsibility as well. I took on the route foreseeing this happening soon.

A lot of times when you buy phone cards on a regular basis they will sometimes give you extra minutes, if it were my kid i would let them keep the minutes because its not really a lot of minutes, and its a gift to them...As far as buying your brother an ice cream cone because he lost his money would be nice to share ...I think its nice to share and i have always taught my children to share, but if i buy them a gift, and they benefit from that gift then it is theirs to keep....but they should not deny you a phone call if you need to call someone on their phone, since you do buy the minutes...

I think there is a difference between wants and needs. Parents should provide needs, like food, shelter, and clothing. Cell phones, the kid should be earning money for. Don't have any kids, just my opinion, but if the parent doesn't supply it, will have a rough time monitoring and making rules for their cell phone the way the world is going.

I think the kid should alwasy tell the parent that the card has more minnes on it. then the partent can decided on what to do with the extra time. If parnets want to buy phone cards for their kids that up to them.

How old the kid is? If he/she enough old to buy a cellphone card .I think the kid can earning for it.Parents can't take care of your whole life .Something you should do it by your own.Isn't it.I never ask my parents buy a cell phone card for me.

NO I dont! like youthey should work for the cards if they have to have them and I havent heard of anyone haveing left over min. the people I know that use them are always going back to buy more mins.

I think the kid should offer to share the minutes period, since the parent is the one who bought them to begin with anyway. My daughter has a job and buys her own minutes. She only thinks of herself anyway most of the time. I would not buy cards every month. That gets to be expensive.

My daughter buys minutes for her 13 year old daughter. Her daughter knows that she is to be responsible and use the phone wisely which she does. I don't know if they get free minutes but knowing my granddaughter she would offer to share.

What other parents do is their own business, but if I were a parent I certainly would not buy my kid a cell phone much less a card every month. If the kid needed a phone to carry in case of emergency, s/he could borrow the family emergency phone, but there had better not be minutes racked up on it when it got home. No way. Kids are supposed to be kids and play imaginatively and grow into productive citizens, and not be running around yakking on the phone and not paying attention to life and annoying everyone. Oooooh, that will make some people made, but that is my opinion.

I believe that my kids have followed my examples and heard my speeches enough that they realize that they can give up some things and still survive. My daughter got all kinds of awards in kindergarten which included some free personal pan pizza's, free ice cream cones and other little things like that. When she would ask if we could go and get these things, I simply explained that the others didn't have those or there wasn't enough to go around. She asked one day if she could share hers with her brothers so we could all go and I just melted. I thought "Good Job Biskit"! They all followed her example and so far, that has lead to less arguments about "fairness". Personally, I think if the child with the extra minutes should share them if possible. It's only "fair" to pay the favor of parents buying the minutes forward! Have a good night!!

My fiance and I don't yet have children. However, I didn't get a cellphone until my father gave me the money to buy one, and it was prepaid. I was raised by my mom dad and by my grandparents. I was 18 when I got my first phone, and then after that, once I got a different plan, I had to pay for it myself. I think that if a parent is giving the child a phonecard to activate on their phone, no matter if they have free minutes or not because of the card, I think that the child should have no say on whether their mom and dad uses their phone, after all it's the mom and dad's money that's paying for it. I would say that the parents should take the phone away if the child refuses to let them use it. Just not buying them cards won't cut it, they could borrow money from friends, and that wouldn't be teaching them anything. If I didn't take the phone away I would make them do more chores, or not let them go out with their friends, or well the punishment would depend on their age.

It depends on why the child has the phone. Our son has a cell phone to get in touch with us when he is on a trip or at extracurricular activities. He calls us for a ride or if he is having trouble of some sort. We purchase a $20 card which is good for three whole months! The phone is for OUR peace of mind. He realizes that if he uses up those minutes (20dollars does not buy many AT ALL!) for personal calls, he will run out before the three months are up and will have to pay for his own minutes. He is really good about this and rarely uses the phone for personal calls unless they are very brief. This has made him very aware of how expensive a phone COULD get! Since the phone is not a toy and for my own peace of mind, I feel it is very appropriate for us to pay for his minutes. I would buy him a rain coat or snow boots. These are for his protection too. This is no different. Especially if he is not just chatting on it with friends Our daughter may be another story. We will have to see about that when she is older! LOL

I don't think kids need cell phones period. Free minutes are no big deal. That's less talk time the parent has to pay for.

One Christmas, I decided to get pay-as-you-go phones for everyone in the house. This gift was actually for my peace of mind (although the girls were 12 and 15, I believe, neither one had ever asked for a phone). They were intended for emergencies and for the family to keep in touch with each other for rides, changes of plans, etc. The minimum top-up for the phones was $10 and I made it clear that I would never pay more than that $10 each month. The reason I did this was because it was way cheaper than trying to get a "family plan" (Canada is NOT known for cheap cell phone plans LOL) and it would be a fixed expense I was willing and able to pay each month. If one member of the family had used their phone more and their minutes were almost up, we would trade phones. Because I work from home, mine gets used the least so I switch with whoever is leaving the house and might need more calling time. If one person received free minutes, as in your question, they would have been shared between us in this manner anyway. When my older daughter turned 18, I told her that her phone was now hers. She was responsible for it and for keeping it topped up each month. I felt it was an easy first step towards learning budgeting and financial responsibility. She accepted willingly and, since that time, has purchased a new phone of her own choosing and even changed to another carrier after doing her own research. So far, so good. When her sister turns 18, she will be told her phone is up to her, too.

Personally the parent was paying for the phone the extra minutes belong to the parents... I don't pay for son's phone, that was the deal when he got it. Before he turned 18 I went halves but if he didn't have his half he didn't have phone time - only reason I went halves was so I had a way to 'track him' - minute he dropped out of school and didn't find a job I quit giving any money for his phone. Figure he thinks he's an adult making adult disisions he can have the adult responsibility too.

Children are now too early to contact the phone, which is not good for them, and their high cost, the children can not control their own calls, these costs should be borne by the parents.

My opinion on cell phones is that if you are old enough to have a cell phone you are old enough to pay the bill - be it prepaid or a contract. However there are cases i can see a parent paying for the card - like if they require the child to carry it for emergencies. In the case of the extra minutes - I know here the minutes aren't transferable from phone to phone BUT If i was the parent and buying the cards i would expect that the phone be ok to borrow in cases of emergency. I think some kids only think of themelves and others are very contentious and think of others too - it really depends on the parents values and how they were raised.

I think there are alot of good things about having a cell phone when you have children. If parents can afford one then it is a nice thing to have and enjoy. I think when you get them one you should discuss what is expected in regard to the phone and its useage. Every child is different. And they are just children.

I don't have any children, but if I had bought a phonecard for my child and the child got some extra minutes, I wouldn't expect the child to share the extra minutes with me. I would be happy for the child and let him or her use the extra minutes the way they wanted. There were no cell phones when I was a child, but I know that my own mother would have let me keep the minutes if she had bought me the phonecard. I think that you have to be generous to teach your children generosity, and my mother's love and generosity made me want to become the same way, because it is something that I have always admired about her.