Regardless of what "plan" they are on, I'm seeing more and more of these types of articles. Obviously, kids aren't paying much attention in school these days. http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=113345&catid=188 CHEYENNE - In one month, a Cheyenne teenager sent 10,000 text messages and received about the same - all while her family's plan did not include texting. That means the family's provider - Verizon - charged them for each incoming and outgoing text. The girl's parents, Gregg and Jaylene Christoffersen, thought texting had been disabled, so one can imagine their surprise when they got the monthly phone bill and it asked for $4,756.25. "It just hit us like a rock, like you're stepping into a bus," Gregg Christoffersen said. The bill was legit. Dena Christoffersen, 13, had apparently been sending most of these messages at school. That's more than 300 texts within an eight-hour period every day for the whole month. Needless to say, it drew attention away from what she should have been doing: paying attention in class. "She went from As and Bs one semester to Fs in two months," Dena's dad said. Hours after the enormous bill arrived, Gregg Christoffersen took a hammer to his daughter's phone. He and Jaylene also grounded Dena until the end of school. "I felt really bad and I have learned my lesson," Dena said with her head down. Since she lost her phone, Dena's grades have gone up and the texting is down to zero. As for the phone bill, the family says Verizon has been willing to knock it down to a reasonable level. The Christoffersens are now asking school administrators at Johnson Junior High School to crack down on cell phone use during school. (Copyright KUSA*TV, All Rights Reserved)
Parents need to take a lot of the responsibility on this. They should either have texting on their plan, turn texting off on all phones (I know that Sprint can do this), so that they don't get charged for incoming texts and periodically check their bill. In this day and age, it is amazing to me how folks don't take the time to stay on top of this sort of stuff.
It amazes me when I see little kids with cellphones these days. I didn't even get my first crappy cellphone until my 2nd semester of senior year. Now I see little kids on their iPhones and G1s all the time.
I was going to start a thread asking when is it to early for a child to have a cell phone. Maybe it will get some response in this thread.
Yeah, rugrats are so privileged today. I didn't get a cellphone with text only when i was 19 and a sidekick until I was 21.
I immediately added unlimited texting to our family plan when I got my son a phone (he was 16 when I got it for him). I often wonder how he can possibly have the time to send so many texts. I was originally worried he'd use up all our minutes, but he hardly ever actually talks to anyone. It's virtually all texting. [qiote](I know that Sprint can do this), so that they don't get charged for incoming texts and periodically check their bill. In this day and age, it is amazing to me how folks don't take the time to stay on top of this sort of stuff.[/quote] Sure, but if you're like me, you have to call every month to fix the bill because they never actually put in the block. I had this trouble when I got my younger son a phone (he got one at 14. I blocked internet and any kind of downloads. Sprint would say they blocked it, and then I'd get a bill the next month with some sort of Internet charge or download. Always just a buck or two, but still.... So, I'd call again, they'd look at the notes, see that stuff was supposed to be blocked, tell me they blocked it again, etc. Over and over again. They always refunded the money, but we were only dealing with no more than $5 per month. I'd hate to have to try and get them to refund a $4,000 bill.
it's a great way to keep up with kids. limit their plan so they can't do something too crazy. my kids are still too young...but i like the idea of being able to check in with them without an excuse of "dad, we were no where near a phone!!"
Poor thing... I got my first car phone in college, but realized it was more of a novelty than anything, so after a year, I cancelled it. I didn't bother getting a cell phone until 2001.
My kids are 11 and 8 and they both have their own cellphones. The difference is that they are "kid" cellphones. They cannot call or receive calls from anyone that I have not pre-programmed into their phone. Unfortunately, they are kind of ****ty phones so there are times when they do not receive calls. They have these so that they can go do what they want while being able to stay in touch with us. It is also nice that they have something in case of an emergency. I've considered getting my 11 year old a regular phone but he's the less responsible of the two. He is also the most "gone" of the two so it would be nice to have a more reliable phone. I like the idea of trying to give him more responsibility but I'm still not sold on the idea yet.
I had a similar thing happen when I first got mine a phone 3 years ago. she ran up 2K worth of minutes and texting and I had to take it away from her..we had told Sprint to disable texts, but they didnt. that was 2.5 years ago.....to this day she still doesnt have a cell phone. Im having enough trouble getting her to take school seriously, last thing I want is something else to distract her form her classes.
that is why you get your kid one of these. it allows them to call mom & dad, and thats it. I would have them with one of these until they could drive. then after that, I'd have to find some magic non-texting phone to get them. then once they get to college, they'd have to get their own phone and plan (i.e. a job) if they wanted to be able to text.
Those are the kinds of phones that my kids have. You can program it to let them call more than just mom and dad. I've programmed them to be able to call other family members and close friends in an emergency.
me neither, that is perfect for my daughter. she wont like it since she cant call all her friends with it, but at least she could call me when she misses the bus three times a week. Could you give some more details on it? where do you get em?
