Examples of rules for new phone users

[Anonymous]

We had rules in place and as the PP said, my son found a way to hack around them. He has no access to social medial or internet. However, where there is a will, there is a way.
That being said, our rules were:
- phone stays out of bedroom at bed time
- Contacts had to have a first and last name
- We were allowed access at all time
- Password could not be changed
- parental controls (for what they are worth)
- if he messes with settings, it is taken away

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they change the time zone - it is taken away.
(They manually change time zones to get around time restrictions on the phone)

I finally figured out how to stop this. Granted my kid shouldn't be doing it but there is a way to change the settings. It took some fiddling but I was able to make the clock disappear.

[Anonymous]

Our biggest one is that no matter where they are, they need to respond if we contact them. We don't do it excessively, but if we call or text and an unreasonable time goes by without a reply, that's a problem. Likewise, when they go somewhere with friends we require them to let us know they have arrived.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had our kids start out with a cheap flip phone, to get used to having it without losing it, knowing when to answer and when not to (in class), having good phone manners (never having the phone on a table where food is served), etc.

They can only be programmed with three phone numbers. They have to stick with that for a year successfully before they get a smart phone.

We did this too and it's a good idea but also doesn't really mean much or train them for having a smart phone. A cheap flip phone means they have zero interest in it and it stays in their bag all the time. There is no reason to have it at the dinner table, etc. But sure, our kid used it to call us for rides, which was helpful.

My kid had a flip phone summer before 6th and first half of 6th. He said it was so embarrassing that he would never get it out in front of his peers. We do not live in a particularly wealthy area and are in public school. He would use it to call us as needed but would hide in a bathroom stall or make sure no one was around to see. He told me never in a million years would he let anyone see him pick up a call on it. I found this interesting and was not expecting the reaction.

I’m surprised that you are surprised that a preteen would find this embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

We are liking the phone we got from Troomi. Check it out.

Pinwheel and Gabb would also be comparable, and may have features that work for you. I loved Pinwheel more than Troomi, but a couple of specific-to-us factors tilted the scale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are liking the phone we got from Troomi. Check it out.

Pinwheel and Gabb would also be comparable, and may have features that work for you. I loved Pinwheel more than Troomi, but a couple of specific-to-us factors tilted the scale.

We also used an online code and got $50 off. If buying, find a code and apply it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our biggest one is that no matter where they are, they need to respond if we contact them. We don't do it excessively, but if we call or text and an unreasonable time goes by without a reply, that's a problem. Likewise, when they go somewhere with friends we require them to let us know they have arrived.

And they can not turn off tracking feature.

[Anonymous]

You might also want to think about how many total hours a day they will be able to use the phone. iPhones have Family Sharing where you can restrict hours during the day, but there might be hours outside that time that there friends are available to play an online game , etc.

My tweens would be on their phones all day watching utube videos or playing games if we didn’t have daily time restrictions.