Children often seem to start begging for a phone as soon as they hit preschool. While you may know that your child could benefit from having a phone, it’s also normal to be apprehensive about putting technology in your child’s hands. Getting a prepaid phone for your child offers several benefits that can ease the transition into giving your child more digital freedom.
Establish Better Family Communication
Although your child might think you don’t want them to have a phone, you might already know how convenient it would be to just give in. Being able to call you if they get out of sports practice early means they won’t have to wait. Plus, you may look forward to the day when they don’t need to borrow your phone to call their friends. Prepaid phones make it easier to stay connected as a family without the worries that come with giving your child unlimited access.
Start With a Low Commitment
Many traditional phone plans require one to two-year commitments. As a parent, the last thing you want is to pay for a phone that your child can’t use if you remove their privileges. Prepaid phones keep the power in your hands. Depending on the plan you have, you can simply choose not to renew the monthly service. Or, you may wait to add minutes until your child earns their privileges back.
Avoid Surprise Phone Charges
Paying for a phone your child can’t use is frustrating. But, having a surprise bill show up is even worse. Other phone plans might not limit what your child can purchase or do, and it is easy for them to accumulate charges for data use or phone calls that you didn’t approve. With a prepaid plan, you choose how much you want to spend. If your child uses up their time, then you can let them wait it out or add minutes. But, it’s totally up to you.
Set Up Parental Controls
Safety is always a concern for parents who give their children cell phones. With prepaid phones, you can use options to choose to allow your child to only be able to call only certain numbers. Or, you might restrict the data that your child can use to prevent them from viewing unsafe content.
Build Trust and Responsibility
Prepaid phones can also work a lot like teaching your child to drive a car. As your child demonstrates responsibility, you might add more minutes each month. Or, you could set the goal of moving towards an unlimited data plan. Giving your child privileges to work towards motivates them to continue to show responsibility as a new phone owner.
Just like riding a bike, you’ll know when your child is ready for a phone. But, you don’t have to give them full access to phone privileges all at once. Prepaid phones give you more control over how and when your child uses their new device. Being able to slowly give your child more privileges as they demonstrate responsibility makes their new phone a learning tool that enhances their safety and social development.
