Teenagers and cell phones

Oh, I'd make them pay for it. When they are the one who has the responsibility of paying a bill, any bill, they start being careful of what they do. She would throw a verbal fit probably, most teenagers would, but she'd learn a lesson, that's for sure. I don't have kids, but that is exactly what my parents would make me do.

Hi, Alot of teenagers are holding mobile phones nowadays and it is quite trendy now. Some are even holding new model of mobile phones. From my point of view, it is pretty convenience to have a mobile phone at my side. But if I were to give a mobile phone to my kid, I have to makesure that he is using it during the right time,not for chatting with friends all the time. It is for emergency used and also easier to contact each other. In order to avoid an expensive bill, I will opt for prepaid line for mobile phone. At least, I can select certain value I want to top up to mobile phone and every month, I do not need to pay for the bill.

Right now my oldest is only 7 so I have a few years before I need to worry about this thankfully lol. I don't want to get our kids cell phones for that exact reason. I would worry that they would think they could call and text as much as they want and I'd keep paying for it. I would say I would probably make them pay for it and then if it happened again the phone would be gone. While grounded they wouldn't be allowed to have their cell phones at all.

My teens all had jobs. So they got their own phones and paid their own bills.

My husband and I have actually discussed this for when the time comes for our daughter to have a cell phone. We've decided that the best option for us is that she will have to have a prepaid plan. So, in your situation, I think that you should make your daughter not pay the entire bill this time or any time in the future, but instead make her bay the charges that are higher than what you expect to pay on a monthly basis.

I am a firm believer in consequences for wrong doings. If you let her get by with it this time then she will not learn her lesson. I had a family member in a simialr situation and she had to pay the bill. It took a while but she remembers it and it hasn't happened again.

Unless we moniter / warn our children against the misuses of cell-phones, it is sure that they will get used to misuse this simple and handy equipment for non-productive ways! Chit-chatting, more messaging, making longer calls etc are the mail misuse of a cellular phone in the hands of a teenager! Just advise your child for making an economic use of cell-phone and there-by making a habit of its productive use for optimum bills! Thanks and have always comfortable bills!

we had the same issue and because my daughter was texting and we didnt have unlimited, our bill was about the same as yours. (she was the same age as your daughter) now she is 17 and will be getting a job shortly but we got her one for her birthday. my advice to you is to make her pay at least half and then get unlimited texting.

I would get a deal which gives them a certain amount of minutes, texts and wap for a certain amount and that's their lot. They can't go over that.

Teens should get cell phones when they are able to use them maturely.If they use them excessively to chat with friends and to text message to much and send pictures without knowing that it all cost money they should have it taken away for a while.This is why we get cases where a teen will have a several thousand dollar a month bill for their cellphone.This is why parents should go online and monitor the monthly usage month to month to make sure they are not paying through the roof to have their son or daughter to chat to friends.

Yes. i think it's a good way that we may teach them to valued things and not to become 'a one-day-millionaire'. they must be responsible enough to handle things on their own.. they should learn to manage every resources they had, including money.

I am a teenager and also have my own cell phone but I don't use it very oftern. Maybe this is because I am not as sociable as your daughter. One of the reasons for me to have a low cell phone bill is because my mom forbade me to use the phone for internet and this can greatly reduce the bill. Also, she will focus a lot on each items like the number of texting and the time I have been talking on phone and she will complaint a lot about the high cost if that is the case as she is the one paying for my phone bill. If I were you, I will first of all do the same as what my mom does. If this does not help, then I will try to change from the monthly paid plan to top-up cards for your daughter's cell phone. This might help because the top-up cards usually do not provide connection to the internet. If this also does not help, I will ask my daughter to pay the bill like most of the parents in the UK do if I were you. I think a lot of parents have encountered your problems. As a teenage myself, I think we teenagers obsessed with the technologies like the computer and cell phone. What you have to do now to stop your daughter from being more obsessed with her cell phone by making her understand that her cell phone is for emergency or necessary calls only but not for entertaining herself.

Does she know what the cell phone plan is? This can end up being the problem with a lot of parents, my sister racked up, not playing here, $1000 of cell phone time in a month, but my dad actually called the company and they totally let him off the hook. If she doesn't know what the cell plan is, i wouldn't make her pay and i'd tell her now so it doesn't happen again. Honestly with teens, unlimited is almost always the best way to go, it saves you money in the long run.

As a parent of a teenager myself, I like the fact that my teen has a cell phone. But, there are consequences if it is misused, or over used. And, also as a parent of a teenager, I know my teen doesn't have $300 to pay the bill. But she knows 'mommy' does. So, I would teach my teen a lesson by having them do extra chores to help them realize that everything is not about chatting, texting, and just leisurely using the cell phone.

If this was my daughter I would make her pay her portion of the bill. It would teach her not to do this again and take advantage of us, her parents. We had one daughter who was out past curfew and got a speeding ticket. She was around 19 at the time. I made her pay for the ticket and she never did it again. She also was forced to go to driving school. The ticket was very costly since she was driving 30 miles over the limit. She was a good teenager but got caught up in some stupidity one night with friends and they were racing down the highway. I was so thankful nobody was hurt. She's now grown and still remembers the incident. Today she's a paramedic/firefighter and drives the ambulance. Funny how she was simply practicing several years ago for her future..lol

I'm still single. But I went through the same situation as your daughter. My mom pays for everything. And I feel really guilty about it. So I save a lot of my allowance and started paying for my bills. To answer your question. Pay for it BUT deduct some amount to her allowance. Then tell her to pay half amount of her bill for the next six months. Why? Because that can teach her a lesson. Especially on saving money. Life is a learning process. Making her realize that money does not grow on trees will make her a better person when it comes to money. In college I have two cellphones. And I can proudly tell you with all honesty that I paid for my bills and did not ask for any money from my parents.

I'd rather give them a prepaid cellphone, so if ever there is no load then they can only use their phone for incoming text and calls. This will save you money.

When I first got my cellphone, it was automatically agreed upon that I will shoulder my phone expenses (since my parents already bought the phone for me, I thought that it just follows). It also enabled me to budget my money for it as well as moderate my use of it. I think it will be good for your daughter to experience shouldering the bill next month (i think it's ok for you to pay for it for now). :) Btw, I handled the phone expenses with the leftover money from my everyday allowance.