Do kids really need cell phones? New York City parents say yes—and they're suing the city about it. But cell phones aren't helpful solely to parents whose kids travel an hour each way to school on public transit. They're also a boon for suburban parents who know too well the danger of getting stuck in traffic on the way to pick up your child, and whose kids bounce between extracurricular activities and friends' houses like tween pinballs.
New services from Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and the brand-new Disney Mobile give parents lots of control over how kids use their phones, too. The Sprint, Verizon, and Disney Mobile services let you track your kids' location on a map, using either a Web browser or your own phone. Sprint and Disney Mobile let you restrict the phone numbers that your kids can call (or those who call them); Disney even lets you restrict calls by time of day. (No texting under the sheets after lights-out!) And one T-Mobile plan for families, KidConnect, prevents the dreaded overusage charges. It makes all calls within your family, on weekends, or to other T-Mobile customers free but otherwise forces kids to buy prepaid minutes.
For the littlest kids, Verizon's LG Migo VX1000 is a unique choice. This adorable, cartoonish gadget can call only four personal numbers, plus an emergency line. It has no text messaging, no games, nothing—it's just a way to keep in touch. So it's a perfect safety device for kids as young as five. Unfortunately, there's no way to restrict incoming calls. But if your kid is old enough to scheme how to defeat the Migo's purpose, she's probably too old for the Migo.
Tweens and teens want grown-up-style phones, while parents want control. Sprint, T-Mobile, and Disney Mobile all provide good options for this age range. Look for rugged plastic cases, such as those on Sprint's Sanyo SCP-2400 or T-Mobile's Nokia 3220. If your kid is into instant messaging, make sure you get an unlimited text-messaging plan.
You can usually monitor whom your kids are calling by looking at your bill on your carrier's Web site. That works with any plan and any phone. You can also ask your carrier to block all text messaging or Internet use on any phone.
Though family plans make sense for a lot of kids—and include free calls to Mom and Dad—there's a lot to be said for prepaid phones. You'll never run up huge bills, and teens gain a sense of responsibility by earning their minutes. Of the prepaid carriers, Virgin Mobile has the most teen-friendly content and a killer text-messaging phone in the Kyocera Switchback KX21, and Net10 and T-Mobile To Go have the most reasonable rates.
T-Mobile's KidConnect plan combines the best of the subscription and prepaid plans.
With kids, there's always a need for balance among freedom, responsibility, and control. Cell phones are a great way to extend that balance—to give your kids a bit more freedom to connect with their family and friends, and to test their responsibility in how they use that freedom while still maintaining control over whom they call and when.
Find more kid-friendly cell-phone reviews at go.pcmag.com/kidphones
Copyright © 2006 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.
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