Buying Kids Cell Phones

Children today bug their parents about getting their own handsets for a number of reasons that can be categorized under either necessity or luxury. At the end of the day, parents are still the ones who decide whether or not their child is ready for a phone.

What do you need to consider when buying kids cell phones?

A child's phone must allow parents to put limits on the phone's functions including being able to turn off text messaging and web access. There are phones that allow parents to program a list of people who can call their child and restrict who he can call.

Strike up an agreement with your child that he can use it only when he goes to a place with no access to a regular phone.

Choose kids cell phones with GPS tracker so you can easily locate your child when you need to.

Get a pre-paid plan for a limited number of minutes. This will at least save you from worrying about phone charges.

Discuss with your child some well known handset issues like cyber bullying, dangers of driving while on the phone, mobile phone etiquette and school rules about the device's usage.

Ideal kids cell phones are not web enabled and is not video capable to guard against the risk of accessing inappropriate content.

The best thing about allowing your child own a phone is that you can communicate anytime. You will have less time worrying about your child's whereabouts and in cases of emergency; they can easily be contacted and located.