Good morning trishcuit, despite possible criticism from others you have taken a step, one step, in your daughter's safety - used wisely it can be a help to her.  Teach her to use it well.

It is only one step, or one tool . . . teach her others.  Encourage her to use her senses, to be able to say "no" to friends who might want her to go where she shouldn't, teach her to be aware of her surroundings, teach her to be aware of others, teach her how to be safe where it might not necessarily be the stranger who we need to be kept safe from but rather someone we know.  "Strangers" are all around, we nor our children, can totally avoid them - they need to have the tools and words to deal with them.

You are a good parent, trischcuit :)

That's pretty much why Little M has one. He has to take transit home from school (and maybe bike or transit both to and from school next year) so this way he can reach us or call for help if he gets into trouble. So far, he hasn't abused it horribly. We use a $50 LG flip phone with pay as you play setup so I put $10 on every month and he pays .30/voice call and .15/text to use it that is subtracted from that total. Unused balance dies after 30 days so effectively it's a $10/month no contract plan. Only problem is that incoming texts also get charged so he's had to warn friends to minimize their texts to him.

Mendalla

I think a cell is a good tool for kids these days though a huge time waster too.  not just them, us as well.

Keep a close eye on texts and calls that put you over.  Going over is really expensive.  We make our kids pay the overusage and that helps them keep it in line.

tishcuit, my parents got me a cell around the time I started driving for the same reason.  They were quite against them, but a few years later they both got one too.  If I was a preteen now, I think my parents would be getting one for me before I was 16.

Are you aware of ICE?  It's for in case of emergency and is the first contact that emergency personnel look for.  You should be able to input more than 1 number under that 'name' as well.

One of his friends who was in our school car pool for a while packs an iPhone 4 and texts like crazy. I'd hate to see what plan his parents are paying for on it.

Mendalla

Mendalla, I could add unlimited texting to my plan for $5, so it might not be too bad.  I'm not a texter but I've considered adding when when the started charging me for incoming texts and then when they increased texts from $0.15 to $0.20.  Contracts only seem to help the phone companies grrrr.  It's still not worth it for me, I never spend more than $2 on texting, and that's a high month.

My daughter has unlimited texting. so that's good. she is responsible and sensible and I know they teach them stranger danger etc in school too, as well as what we try and impart to them.  

One note, kind of funny., When we are in line at a check out sometimes and it's taking a while it's not unheard of for me to chat with the person behind or ahead of me. Once that happened and my daughter looked at me accusingly and said "You talk to strangers!"

As for my parents, I bought THEM a cell a few  years ago for dad's birhtday.  he does the prepay thing with it. I know I feel better for it and I believe they have found it handy, at leat to inform me that they are in town and coming for tea, so tidy up.  .

Great point, chemgal.  I have "ICE parents" and "ICE home" (to reach my commonlaw) saved into my cell phone.  I'd like to think that people would know what that means if they found my phone while trying to help me.

I'll have to remember to tell my sister about this who recently moved out of our parents house and got a cell phone for college.  Thanks for the reminder.

I plan to get Rachel a cell phone when she's about 10 or 11 for safety reasons.  Yes, she'll probably go overboard with the texting and stuff, but it's still worth it to keep her safer.  The other night I was out for a walk and there was a kid riding a bike and it reminded me of my childhood, until the kid started ringing.  LOL  He stopped to answer his phone, probably a parent wondering why he wasn't home yet.  The world is different now and I think I'd be neglectful if I didn't provide Rachel with whatever protection I can give her.

I bought my daughter a cell phone for her grade 8 graduation last year.  She is on a MY5 plan and has unlimited local texting.  It is nice that I can reach her by text (or voice) , and in some ways the texting is more convenient, because I can send the message when I think of it and she will receive it and reply when she is able.  I feel secure knowing that I can always reach her if I need to (she loves her phone and it is always on) and she can let me know if she is delayed or hanging out with friends after school.  But there is no texting allowed at the dinner table!

Hilary, I think I had my parents (in a different city) as my ICE for quite a while before I thought to change it!

My daughter has actually been quite conservative so far. She plays the one game on it and sends a couple texts and that is all.  She likes it, and she likes having it but she isn't married to it like some are....yet.

In fact I would like her to keep it on her a bit more.

Little M is the same but that may be because he has such a basic phone and he and his friends don't really use text much. He uses email and IM a lot when on his PC (Windows Live Messenger especially) and if he had a smartphone that could do it, then maybe he'd start racking up data usage on that.

Mendalla

I would like my daughter to get more in the habit of taking it with her when she goes to friends' etc. What good does it do in an emergency when it is sitting in her bedroom?

Can she get a case that has a clip on it thst she can put on a belt or pants trishcuit? Something that'll help her remember to have it on her when she leaves the door?

That's a toughie, isn't it? Kids rushing off to a friend's place aren't likely to think of little details like sticking the phone in their pocket (unless they're teenagers who live on the darn thing).

Since Little M's is mainly for school (he takes transit home) he keeps it in his backpack so he's guaranteed to have it unless we forget to put it back after charging it.

Mendalla

It's good practice for remembering to take your wallet/licence with you once driving.

I think she is reluctant to take it to school. Even though that is where she spends so many hours per week, plus busing to and from. Odds are, that is when you will need it.   We had an incident a couple months ago with a surprise snowfall. The school bus lost  traction and went in the ditch, Everyone was wondering where their kids were  until the principal phoned and said what happened and to come pick them up from the gymnasium. (another bus fetched them and took them back to the school) School bus mishaps are in the back of any parent's mind whose child takes the bus. Had she had a cell then (it wan't her birthday yet) she could have let me know instead of waiting and worrying an hour.

Or any other school incident where I should just get my child out NOW rather than wait to hear from the principal, media, or God forbid, the police.