Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Mom, I want a cell phone

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Republic Wireless for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

 

Cell phones are one of those objects that tweens are coveting more and more. I know my 9 year olds are waiting (not-so) patiently for us to allow them to get a cell phone.

There are a few things that keep making us say no. One of them is that we don't really feel like it is needed. We are one of the few families that still have a home phone available, and we don't leave any of the kids home alone at their age. So they currently always have the home phone, or our cell phones available if needed. Another reason is price. We pay nearly $200 a month for our cell phones (mine and my husbands), with several children our cell phone bill could add up to a hefty sum!

However, I have to say, I recently heard about Republic Wireless. After learning about them just last week, I am more inclined to say yes to my boys' requests sooner. Republic Wireless offrs a hybrid phone service (WiFi and Cellular) for only $19 a month with the purchase of the $199 Motorola DEFY™ XT Smartphone.

The Motorola DEFY™ XT Smartphone is the perfect starter smartphone for a kid, or a great tool for the frugal adult!  Here are some of its features:

Front-facing VGA Webcam
Rear-facing camera with auto focus/LED Flash, 4x digital zoom
Android operating system with wi-fi and Sprint® 3G Coverage with dual-band reception
Over 450,000 Apps through Google Play™
3.7 inch Corning® Gorilla® glass display
Dustproof, water and scratch resistant

For about 60 cents a day, I don't know anyone who could pass this up! I know my kids would be beyond thrilled with this fun and tough phone. With the water and scratch resistant features I would be less concerned about them ruining their phone!

What age do you think kids should have cell phones? Is their age the biggest factor, or the price?

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2 fantastic comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it depends on two things. #1 - A NEED. A REAL need, like kids home alone. We did that that back when my kids were in 3rd, 4th and 6th grades. My 6th grader had the phone and we kept in touch. We were gone for about an hour each morning and an hour each night... so this worked very well for us. We took the phone back when summer came and it was not a NEED anymore.
#2 - Responsibility - I have 2 high school kids and one in her last year of Jr. High and they want phones. My rule is that they can get a phone when they can pay half of the monthly service. So one of the kids has a job and can do this... another kid is actively looking for a job and the third kid doesn't exactly want a job.

In this case, Republic Wireless sounds like a fantastic deal and very, very affordable for a teen! That would mean my kids would need to pay me $10 per month for their phone service, I think that is great and would love to try this out!

Jennifer @ Mom Spotted said...

Well, my 12 year old has his own phone. It's an iPhone and we made him save up to buy it himself. It doesn't cost us any extra to add it on (we have a business plan) and he has to pay the monthly insurance fee too.

The reason behind it is because he is very into afterschool activities and with all his sports, band, and programs we were struggling to communicate when there were changes. So he got the phone and loves it for social reasons but at the end of the day he knows the phone is for us. If we call he MUST answer it or call right back or he will lose it.

If we didn't have the plan we do this would definitely be a great option!

 
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