Wireless Phone Services are more affordable than ever, but they’re still pretty pricey. Deciding
if your teenager is responsible enough to own a cell phone is one thing, but deciding who’s going to pay the bill is an entirely
different issue, altogether.
If parents leave their teenagers in charge of paying the full bill, they run the risk of “out of control” teens who buy all the latest
gadgets and run up high cell phone bills. Parents also leave their teens susceptible to more serious problems because they have less
control over who their teens talk to.
But should parents demand paying for a cell phone bill simply to “control” how their teenagers use them? Should parents trust their
teenagers enough to allow them to pay for their cell phone, themselves? Or should parents help their teens become responsible young
adults by sharing the cost of the cell phone bills and monitoring phone usage?
Downside of Cell Phone Ownership
In a San Francisco Chronicle news article, dated February 27, 2005, teenagers left responsible for paying for their cell phones, gadgets,
and bills, without parental guidance, tended to do poorly in school, rack up bills they could no longer afford to pay, and forgo
necessities, such as a new pair of shoes, simply to own a cell phone.
In other news, parents who leave their teens unguarded when it comes to who they talk to on their cell phones, leave their teens
susceptible to emotional scars such as those found by teens who were bullied via instant messaging, text messaging, and verbal phone
calls. It could also lead to other problems such as giving out too much information to a complete stranger, a stranger that could later
harm the teen’s life.
So where does a parent draw the line? How much freedom should a teenager have when it comes to owning a cell phone? And who should
really flip the bill?
Cell Phone Limitations
Parents should give their teenagers space and allow them to talk to their friends—friends who are pre-approved and trustworthy—without
constant prying. And teens should acknowledge the fact that while they’re growing up, they are still children who need monitoring;
therefore, they need to respect their parents’ rights to check up on their calling and/or text messaging habits.
Finally, parents should enforce usage rules, including requesting information on unauthorized
calls and/or text messaging that could cause potential harm to their teens (i.e. bullies, pornography, etc).
Flipping The Bill
Since teenagers need to learn responsibility, it would be in the best interests of everyone involved to require teens to pay a percentage
of the cell phone bill; that percentage should be determined on a per family basis. But that percentage shouldn’t be so high that their
grades suffer, and not too low that they don’t feel it necessary to monitor their cell phone usage.
Teens can pay for their part of the cell phone bills by doing chores around the house, taking on a few side jobs around the neighborhood,
or working a part-time job. But they shouldn’t be the ones sending in the checks.
While teens should be required to pay their part of the bill, on time, every month, parents should be the ones in charge of sending
payment; after all, it’s their credit score that’s in jeopardy. And teens should be required to pay a late fee if they don’t turn their
portion of the bill in on time.
Which Plan Is Right?
Choosing a cell phone plan is no easy task. Do parents go with a pre-paid phone plan and risk running out of minutes when a real
emergency occurs, or do they go with a family plan and run the risk of going over their allotted minutes every month—thus ending up with
a whopper of a cell phone bill at the end of the month?
That’s another decision that should be determined on a per family basis; but one thing’s for sure, parents need to read the fine print
of every cell phone contract they’re considering and weigh their options carefully.
Family Plans
While family plans may seem ideal, monitoring minutes can be a nightmare. (If you, as a parent
find it hard to monitor one cell phone’s minutes, try monitoring two, three, or four cell phones.) Parents choosing to go with a family
plan should sit down and realistically figure out how much they can afford to pay each month and then find a plan to meet their needs.
But how do parents determine what their monthly needs are? They start by determining the real purpose for purchasing a cell phone plan:
business calls, keep in touch with family and friends, and/or emergencies. Then they determine how many minutes each family member needs
per month and total those minutes. The total minutes are then multiplied by 10% to cover possible overage and/or roaming charges, and
that’s how many minutes they need on a monthly basis. Next, they need to find a cellular plan that meets their needs.
If the plans offered are too costly, parents shouldn’t go with a lower plan because the overage fees could double, triple, and even
quadruple their monthly cell phone bill.
Prepaid Plans
Parents with limited budgets should never work overtime or go without necessities to own a cell phone—no matter what the reason. If a
cell phone is a necessity and parents are worried about not being able to pay the month-end bill, they should invest in a prepaid
calling plan instead.
Prepaid calling plans are ideal because they won’t mess up your credit score, don’t leave you with an unexpected overage charge at the
end of the month, and allow you to budget wisely.
But not all prepaid calling plans are created equal. Some prepaid calling plans are worse than purchasing a family plan; therefore, it’s
important for parents to weigh each prepaid calling plan carefully and read the fine print before making a final decision. Things to
look for in a prepaid calling plan are:
- cost of cell phone,
- quality of cell phone,
- range of service,
- cost to turn on service,
- per minute fees,
- activation fees,
(Is there a cost every time you run out of minutes before adding more minutes?)
- use it or lose it minutes,
- call connection fees,
- dropped call fees,
- off peak and on peak rates per minute, and
- roaming charges.
In the end, paying for a teenager’s cell phone usage shouldn’t be the sole responsibility of the teen or the parent. Teaching
responsibility in the usage of a cell phone can help teens begin to see the important of being responsible for other areas of their
lives and help prepare them for the real world—the world of bills and budgeting.
Enter your zip code to find the best wireless phone services in your area.
About The Author:
Alyice Edrich has been working from home, in one aspect or another, since the early 90s. She is the author of several
work-at-home e-books designed to help parents earn extra cash while spending more time with their children. Learn more at
http://thedabblingmum.com/ebookstore
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