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Do you have a whole herd of kids, each one screaming they want a cell phone? On one hand, you want to make sure you can get in touch with them and vice versa in the case of an emergency. On the other hand, you have the incredible expense (and experience telling us you can be twelve and survive without a phone on your hip!) Decisions, decisions. If you have talked yourself into letting your kids have a cell phone but the expense is holding you up, consider cell phone family plans.
Cell phone family plans are a great service offered by most major retailers. These plans have a set number of minutes, just as regular plans, but they are shared by all the phones in the plan. You can choose a small number of minutes for use in case of emergencies only or a larger number to accommodate everyone's calling needs. Typically, the first two lines are included in the plan and you pay a fee (around $10.00) per month for each additional line. Many of the companies offering cell phone family plans also have free mobile-to-mobile calling, in which calls to other people with the same service provider are free. This is great for cell phone family plans because members of the family can talk to each other for free. Free is a good term when dealing with cell phones and billing issues!
What might the downside be? If no rebates are available on the phones, purchasing several of them may be expensive. However, if you were already convinced to buy everyone phones, you would be out this expense anyway. The good news is there are often rebates available on specific model phones that the company is trying to sell. Therefore, you can potentially get all the cell phones you need for your family for almost nothing.
For some people there is a bigger issue with buying their kids cell phones. There is a great debate being argued over what age kids should be allowed to have cell phones or whether they should at all. Of course, with most adults having a cell phone permanently attached to them, it is little surprise that children are growing up thinking it is a necessity. One idea is to limit the amount of time your child can spend on the phone and maybe even making them pay for a portion or their entire bill. This is a way to teach responsibility and independence, while allowing them the freedom they desire.