The biggest problem in picking out the right type of phone for your child, especially when it’s the first one you ever buy them, is just ensuring that you have something that’s going to last, and provide features that you’re comfortable with. That means ensuring it has everything they need to be happy and to talk to you and to friends, but also to provide you with the calm comforted security that you need to ensure the phone can’t be abused. What’s more, kids don’t always care for things like they should, and it’s a good idea to purchase a more durable phone that can take a beating. In fact, here are 8 things you want to think about before you buy just any phone for your kid:
1) First off, determine how much you want to spend.
Phones are really expensive sometimes, but they don’t have to be. If you’re thinking about buying the latest smart phone you could be looking at a few hundred dollars. Otherwise, you can get a great phone for $40 and under that has fewer features but the same amount of overall usability that can make them perfect for everyday uses.
2) Determine the type of cell phone plan you want to get.
Are you going to get them a phone plan that’s all their own? Or are you considering something more like those that feature an addition onto your plan. The costs between the two can be very different, as usually tacking on an extra phone for your plan is much cheaper, even though you’ll have to share messaging and minute allotments in most cases.
3) Do you want them to have web access?
Another part of choosing the right type of cell phones for kids as well as plan, is whether or not you want them to have access to the web. This is something that you can’t really put the same restrictions on, or control as much, so it may make you uncomfortable knowing that they can be looking at who knows what, without you being able to check up on them.
4) In fact, what parental control features do you most want?
Considering that things like web access can make it easier for your children to access content that you deem to be objectionable, there are a lot of phones with all sorts of parental controls. Some phones control web access, as well as restrict how many minutes they have to use, and you can even put a limit on what times of day the phone can be used, so that it’s not accessible during the nighttime when they should be sleeping anyways.
5) Determine if you want GPS installed within the phone.
When buying a kid’s cell phone, one of the features you want to consider is a tracking GPS trip. While this can seem like an invasion of privacy, it’s a great way to keep up on your children to be sure that they are actually going where they say that they are going. In fact, it can also allow you to sign up for alerts if your child cuts school by tracking where they are at any given time.
6) Think about getting a phone that’s properly durable.
This means buying one that’s built to take a bit of punishment. You don’t want to go with a fragile tiny folder, because those are really easy to drop, and once you do they break in two. That’s not something you want or else you’re going to end up buying a new phone every few days. Instead, go with something made of hard durable plastic, that’s built to put up with most everyday things that children can throw at them.
7) Consider phones made specifically for kids.
There are plenty of different types of cell phones for kids that are made specifically with children in mind. That means everything down to the interface and the look of the phone is designed from the ground up to be perfect for children. In fact, there are even a line of Disney phones, so that you can be sure your child can bring all the fun of the Disney Universe, right into the palm of their hand, in addition to all the great features a cell phone provides.
Take time to explain the responsibilities of having a phone.
Finally, just be sure that you take some time to sit down with them and really talk out the phone concept. This way, you get their input, and ensure that they really grasp what this means and what you will be expecting. That’s the best way to be sure that children’s cell phones go as smoothly as possible when you first present them.