SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Brandon Gonzales has been carrying his black Pantech cellphone with the slide-out keyboard for two years.
Brandon is 12.
And he’s certainly not unusual. Over the past decade, the age of kids packing their first cellphone has been dialing back younger and younger.
This month, as millions of students swarm back to school, it’s estimated that more than 75 percent of all U.S. teens have a cellphone.
And “tweens” — kids ages 9 to 12 — may be the fastest-growing cellphone market out there.
“The age a child gets a first cellphone is getting progressively younger. Parents want to be in touch with their kids,” said John Breyault, who authored a new guide on tweens and cellphones for the National Consumers League in Washington, D.C.
Picking up Brandon outside his middle school last week, his mother, Elizabeth Gonzales, said he got his first phone at 10 “for safety reasons.” Even when he’s outside with friends in their midtown Sacramento neighborhood, she likes knowing Brandon can call home in any emergency. “It gives me peace of mind,” Gonzales said.
While his black Pantech is not a trendy Android phone or iPhone like some of his friends have, 12-year-old Brandon Gonzales says he’s not bugging his parents for a fancy upgrade. “I’m just grateful to have one,” he said.
“Good answer,” responded his mom.
There’s plenty of debate over how old kids should be when they get a cellphone. If you’re contemplating the decision, here are some tips from the National Consumers League.
Have the “talk”
Discuss the dangers of “sexting”
(sending sexually explicit photos
by cellphone) and cyberbullying
(sending intimidating, harassing
messages). Be sure your kids know
not to answer calls from unknown
numbers and to never share their
cell number with people they don’t
know, especially online.
And, while it may sound silly,
explain the risks of texting while
bicycling.
Set some boundaries
Sue Watkins of Folsom, Calif., said
her two teens got cellphones in middle
school, when they began walking
to school alone.
She and her husband set ground
rules: No phones at the dinner table
or while out to eat with family. No
accessing the Internet via phone.
No texting in bed late at night.
Picking a plan
First, you want a carrier that covers
the areas (school, sports, after-
school) where your tween will
be using a phone the most.
Next, choose between a prepaid
plan and a contract-based plan,
where you pay a monthly bill for
services.
With a contract, your monthly bill
spells out each charge. The phone itself
is often heavily discounted. You
select a monthly bucket of minutes,
texts and data and may be able to
place limits on your child’s use so
you don’t rack up extra charges.
But you’re usually locked into a
year-or-more service agreement.
With prepaid plans, you typically
pay upfront and don’t pay monthly
contract or overage fees. Some prepaid
plans that bill monthly offer unlimited
texting. The phone itself is
not usually as discounted.
GT MY MSG? Texting use is a big issue,
so choose that option carefully.
For families with text-happy kids,
a more affordable option than
per-text fees may be to buy a set
amount of monthly text messages
or an unlimited plan, which tends
to run about $10-$20 a month,
says NCL.
Know the answers
Before heading to a cellphone
store, ask yourself some basic
questions: Why does my child
need one? Will it be used mainly
for emergencies or keeping in
touch with parents and family?
Should it be used for games, Internet
access, texting/chatting with
friends? Does my tween lose
things often? Can he/she be trusted
to care for a phone?
Schools rule
Check with your son or daughter’s
school for its policy on
cellphone use on campus.
You don’t want an expensive
phone confiscated because
your kid was caught using it
inappropriately.
Keeping tabs
With all the cellphone companies
jostling for the tween market,
there are plenty of cellphone options
aimed at parents.
Brands like Kajeet or Firefly Mobile
have simplified button commands
and let parents program in
favorite numbers, as well as restrict
incoming/outgoing calls and
texts.
Want to know if Natalie got home
OK after school? Or if Justin arrived
at his friend’s house? (And when
he left that house?) Using GPS services
like Verizon’s “Family Locator”
or AT&T’s “Family Map,” you
can get a text on your cellphone
when your child — or at least
his or her phone — arrives
home from school, shows up
at soccer practice or heads
to a friend’s house.
You can even request
“Schedule Checks” where
at set times — say, 4
p.m., — you’ll get an automatic
text of your
child’s cellphone location.
When the cellphone
leaves that address,
you’ll get another
text. Fees vary.
