Cell Phones for Tweens: Protecting Your Tween & Your Wallet

As parents in a modern age, the raising of tweens presents a plethora of unique and specific issues, not the least of which concern technology. For those unfamiliar with the term, tweens are pre-adolescents approaching their teenage years, and was first used by J.R.R. Tolkien in "The Lord of the Rings," to refer to Hobbits a similar period in the lives of hobbits. Having only gained wide English usage in the last decade or so, the term is used mostly when referring to youth aged eleven or twelve, though obviously children all mature at their own pace, and this advice may well apply to children and teens well outside of this narrow range. It is becoming extremely common for tweens and children as young as six or seven to carry cell phones. Just a few years ago, this would have seemed bizarre, yet even up where this writer lives in rural Vermont, more than half of the hundreds of fourth and fifth graders I surveyed as part of my work as a technology safety trainer owned and regularly carried cellular phones every day. Initially, as you likely are, I was taken aback - why could these kids POSSIBLY need cell phones?!?! Upon reflection, though I can see a lot of good reasons (and some bad ones) for school-aged kids to carry these devices. The first, and most obvious reason for tweens to carry cell phones is to facilitate communication with family. If activities are canceled, there is an real emergency, or even if they just forget their lunch money, calling parents or guardians with issues is made simple through the use of cell phones. Indeed, initially when students started bringing cell phones in to school, schools started banning their presence on school grounds. It was the PARENTS, and not the students who turned this trend around through vocal opposition to these bans. In a post-Columbine era, where metal detectors and school police or security forces are becoming the norm, parents feel the it's important to be able to reach their children. That said, most schools DO maintain rules requiring that student cell phones be turned off or stored in lockers throughout the school day.

While parents may want their tweens to have cell phones, and tweens may well be insistent, we do want to protect out kids from being called by just anyone - we want to monitor our children's interactions with adults, even coaches and teachers, and we know that cell phones are a primary method that other students may use to cyber-bully their peers. How can we provide freedom and independence to our tweens while protecting them from technology-related harm? Fortunately, the market has heard our concerns and has responded. There ARE child and tween-specific phones, each providing different levels of control and monitoring for parents. Here are a few options:

1) Kajeet

Kajeet is a cell phone service and network designed specifically for kids and tweens. Parents are able to configure the level of freedom that they want to give to their tweens. Identify specific allowable numbers that can make and receive calls to the Kajeet phone, and even make this list automatically change during specific times of the day or specific days of the week. Only call Mom and Dad during the school day, and no one at all after bedtime - it's all up to you. Parents can also monitor phone use (numbers called and when) from the Kajeet web site.

2) Firefly Mobile

The Firefly Mobile is very similar to the Kajeet phones, programmable by Mom and Dad to call as many as 20 friends and family members, but no more.

3) Wherify Wireless

Wherify is much like the phones listed above - the model exists, and it works well - but Wherify adds one special function not available on Kajeet or Firefly. Wherify allows parents to access the Global Positioning System (GPS) chip that exists in all cellular phones, and in this way, parents can "keep an eye" on where their tweens are at any time. Handy for keeping kids who are grounded honest, and invaluable in the case of an emergency.

4) Sprint PCS Vision Phone

There will come a time when the cutesy appearance of all three phones listed above will no longer suffice for your socially-sensitive tween. Kajeet, Firefly, and Wherify all look like kids phones. They look pretty cool, and some tweens might not mind, but some just want a phone that looks like Mom and Dad's. When you reach that point, the Sprint PCS Vision Phone fits the bill. It looks just like a regular phone, but with all of the filtering and monitoring functionality listed above. Many more carriers are offering similar options, so if you don't use Sprint, call your cellular carrier and ask what they might have to offer.

5) Tracfones

If your tween has gained enough trust to be allowed an unrestricted cell phone, yet you don't want to be met with a surprise when the bill arrives (This happens A LOT!), you might consider picking up a Tracfone. Tracfones are fully functional pre-paid cell phones, parents can easily provide an "allowance" of monthly minutes that can not be overused. When there are no more minutes on the phone, no more calls can be made until next month when Mom and Dad reload the phone. This is a wonderful way to teach self-control and budget management to tweens.

While we may not be crazy about the idea, within the next few years, more eleven and twelve year olds will carry cell phones than not. While there are some risks inherent in this reality, there's no reason to panic. A savvy parent can go a long way toward protecting their tweens as they race toward adulthood.