Phone for a Kid

Straightalk at Walmart, $45 a month UNLIMITED everything, several phones to choose from (my daughter has this). Boost mobile $50 a month UNLIMITED everything, several phones to choose from (wifes son has this). Good luck

We got our son a phone for his 10th birthday. it is a simple phone. No texting allowed and does NOT have internet access..ooh man - he's not here so I don't remember which one it is - it's a Samsung and it's a flip phone...works for me!!

We have Verizon and pay $9.99 per month for his phone. I think he's logged MAYBE 10 minutes a month on it. He knows that he can't use it in school but has it on him and OFF in school should there be a problem with the bus being late, etc.

I agree with the pay as you go. I got my daughter a tracphone when she was 8 for her "birthday, but really because she needed one due to her travel schedule at her dad's.

She used it very responsibly, so for Christmas I added her to my account and she got a 'real' phone.

I liked the pay as you go becaus eit gave her incentive to be responsible, but if she lost it or whatever, I wasn't out a bunch of money.

Definitely put a text block and a media block on it so he doesn't inadvertently run up your bill!

Why can't he use the house phone while he is at home???

I am not getting my grandkids phones until they are 10. They can use the house phone until then.

I got my stepson a phone from Frys grocery store. If you shop there & you have a Frys card, anytime you spend $100 in a month, they get a free 20 min. They have a couple different plans, one of them being a pay as you go. I shop at Frys are rarely have to pay for min. And they have a decent selection of phones.

If you have a family plan just get the one that is free to add a line. If not just find a cheap one for his first one. Thats what we did with our 9 year old. It's a samsun I think that slides up to see the numbers. Nothing fancy. In two years when he get's an upgrade he will get one with a key board.

How about a 'pay-as-you-go' phone? My husband and I both use these and it's about $30 for 3 months-worth of service per phone. Granted, we make very few calls on them (3 or 4 short ones per week) and I don't text, so that also saves us some money too.

Reading through the answers, I really like the plan Cheryl described. At this age, a simple plan will eliminate the potential for running up charges or getting in trouble for texting at school. I'd have a conversation about school rules. It would be good to have him go to the office at school, or ask his teachers about the rules regarding cell phones in the classroom. It's good for both of you to know.

I don't know who your carrier is, but we have Verizon Wireless. A few years ago when my kids started going home after school instead of to an after-care we got an extra line added to our plan for $10/month. We got a VERY basic phone that has texting capabilities & a camera, but that's about it. We added the unlimited texting option for that line & it's for the 2 of them to share as our "house phone". My husband picked what was the coolest looking of the free phones available at the time. I think it's called the Juke or something corny like that. In my opinion, they do not need anything more than that as I don't want them going on the internet without me around or buying games for the phone & charging it to the monthly bill.

My daughter got her phone at 6. She dances and there were times when I was not allowed to be where she was. It freaked me out.

She has my husband's old En2...and she is allowed to call and text anyone who's phone number I have put in there. If I see she has added one, she will lose it. She knows this. She also knows to not give the number to ANYONE.

Most phones out there are fancy and expensive now. So just talk to the people at the store and see what phones fit your criteria. It's all personal preference from there!

Disney has a phone that is oriented to children... you can limit the call routing availability; the minutes; the users; the input/output; and the Internet accessability... Good Luck!

We have the T-mobile family plan where each additional line is only $5 more per phone. We also have our kids 12 and 14 on this plan. They have a really good Parent Control ability. Right now the only people they can text or call is my husband and I and there grandmother. It works for us. Cell phones are a Priviledge not a Right in my opinion. Good luck

You can get a basic prepaid phone for $15 bucks or so & choose a plan accordingly.

My son is 11 and when my husband was mobilized the last time, I bought him a cell phone. We tried the pre-paid minutes but spent more than the $10. a month to add him to our Verizon plan. The minimum card was $15 a month and he never used all the minutes and they would expire. That way is more complicated if you don't use the phone often. He has a very basic phone that he can call only the numbers I give him and he can text (unlimited is on our plan so is on his plan). Texting is way easier for both of us so I just got him a basic phone with a qwerty keyboard. I would look for a free one at the company you have your plan with. Verizon is nice because the mobile to mobile minutes are free to those with the plan (which is most of our friends and relatives).

we did the same thing with our girls.. we didn't want them to have all the games & stuff so we just bought a flip phone it's the only one that doesn't charge you an extra data amount.. but you can also have the phone locked so the only calls he can make or receive are the only people you put in the phone.. thats what we did till we thought they were responsible enough.. It was for emergencies only not for play .. good luck