by Morgana Ross

Created on: January 07, 2007   Last Updated: April 25, 2007

As a former customer service agent for a large cellular phone provider, I once had to take a call from a three year-old boy who needed assistance with his voice-mail feature. Yes, you read that correctly. A three year-old boy was given a cellular phone (and a rather expensive model, I might add) by his father with the intent that it be used to "keep in touch" with family members. As a customer service agent, I was happy to provide the assistance. As a parent, I was puzzled by the need to provide younger and younger children with communication tools that few adults master.

I saw the repeated theme everywhere: Children talking on cell phones- in schools, on the bus, at the malls, even while sitting next to their home phones. The media covers stories that are both negative and positive. In one, a child who was snatched used her cell phone to call for help from the trunk of a vehicle. In another, unwary parents complaining that the phone companies coax children into overusing the phones with an array of appealing features like text messaging and music downloads.

True, cellular phones are an ideal method of keeping in touch with your children in the "on the go" lifestyle adopted by most Americans. The phone is there, ideally in case of emergencies, for children to call Mom or Dad and ask for help. What most people aren't understanding is that their children aren't using the phones for the emergencies for which they were intended. This overuse takes away from the positive aspects of giving a child a phone and boils down to the fact that you gave a "child" a phone. By child, I mean they aren't adults. There is no concept of "minute usage" when conversing with friends, or of "texting fees" when attempting to talk to someone in another room. This trend can be taxing on a parent's wallet.

I took so many bill complaint calls from concerned parents that I developed something of a scripted response to them, outlining options parents can take to ensure their children's usage remains safely in the expected range.
Some things to keep in mind:

-First and foremost, only allow users on your cellular accounts that you truly want to be able to make changes. Certainly, your fourteen year-old might know how to fix the phone when technical support says something bewildering but if you add them to the account this allows them full access to a great many things- credit card numbers associated with the account, the ability to buy new phones or add new lines, or just the ability to add expensive

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>