Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are normally deals on Verizon that give you a free phone with a new line. If there isn't one now, I guarantee there will be on Black Friday in 1 months.

What we did was when we were ready to get our kids phones, we signed up for the new line and took the new phone and gave our old phones to our kids.

Free phones are not free. they just have no upfront cost and instead you "finance" them through your contracts and monthly payments.

This simply isn't true. I mean it's true that the payments are in the bill but it's not true that you're paying for it. The phone might be $20 a month for example and they'll list it on the bill then also have a $20 credit for the phone for two years. Making the net cost zero. If you end the plan before it's paid off then the balance of the phone is due immediately. So while yes it's being paid off over time, you don't actually pay for it in these offers as long as you continue the service until the phone is paid for.

You can purchase a phone and add it onto your phone plan.

I have a tween with his own Apple ID using his Gmail. He is set up under family sharing and I have set up screen time and down time limitations. This includes time limits for apps, app downloads/purchasing, communication limits and contacts etc.

Prior to getting him a phone, he had an apple watch that was used for calling and texting. The apple watch had it's own phone number and cost about $10 a month.

Hope this is helpful.

Anonymous wrote:There are normally deals on Verizon that give you a free phone with a new line. If there isn't one now, I guarantee there will be on Black Friday in 1 months.

What we did was when we were ready to get our kids phones, we signed up for the new line and took the new phone and gave our old phones to our kids.

Free phones are not free. they just have no upfront cost and instead you "finance" them through your contracts and monthly payments.

There are normally deals on Verizon that give you a free phone with a new line. If there isn't one now, I guarantee there will be on Black Friday in 1 months.

What we did was when we were ready to get our kids phones, we signed up for the new line and took the new phone and gave our old phones to our kids.

NP: Verizon sometimes has a deal where you get an iPhone for free when you add a new line. I'd consider that to ensure that it has the necessary insurance. I know some folks might not like this but I feel it helps esp when they are teens. You can keep that phone for 3-4 years. Talk to you child about learning to maintain goods for a long time

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't your 12 year olds have email addresses?

I mean, I totally understand not linking an apple ID to a kid's address, but by 12 a kid should be communicating regularly by email. It's a pretty important skill, and easy to teach in safe ways.

communicating with who?

NP: Off the top of my head DS 12 emails family, friends, school teachers, music teacher, and his Boy Scout troop. I encourage him to use email since it is easier for me to monitor than texts.

Anonymous wrote:Don't your 12 year olds have email addresses?

I mean, I totally understand not linking an apple ID to a kid's address, but by 12 a kid should be communicating regularly by email. It's a pretty important skill, and easy to teach in safe ways.

communicating with who?

We all share the same Apple ID for apps.

Anonymous wrote:Don't your 12 year olds have email addresses?

I mean, I totally understand not linking an apple ID to a kid's address, but by 12 a kid should be communicating regularly by email. It's a pretty important skill, and easy to teach in safe ways.

OP here, I got DD a Gmail address as a baby but wasn’t planning to let her use it until 13 per the rules.

Don't your 12 year olds have email addresses?

I mean, I totally understand not linking an apple ID to a kid's address, but by 12 a kid should be communicating regularly by email. It's a pretty important skill, and easy to teach in safe ways.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can buy a used phone and add it to your account.
DD should have her own apple ID. You can link it to yours as a minor account.

OP here, thank you!!! I wasn't sure about the apple ID since she isn't old enough quite yet to have an email address. Will research this!

My 12 year old just got a phone. We created an iCloud email address for his Apple ID. He does not otherwise use the email address. It is linked to my account. But I think I may have had to lie and say he was a year younger than he was when setting it up. 12 might be too old for the parent linked a child account.

Anonymous wrote:You can buy a used phone and add it to your account.
DD should have her own apple ID. You can link it to yours as a minor account.

OP here, thank you!!! I wasn't sure about the apple ID since she isn't old enough quite yet to have an email address. Will research this!

You can buy a used phone and add it to your account.
DD should have her own apple ID. You can link it to yours as a minor account.

Bump - anyone??

I don't want to ask Verizon because they will probably try to upsell me!

I think I can get an older iPhone (unlocked) on eBay and just add it to my Verizon plan by adding a line. Is that correct?

Also if I get an iPhone for DD age 12, obviously she doesn't have her own apple ID and I don't particularly want her to - do I have to log into her phone using my apple ID? Maybe baseless but for some reason that makes me nervous, like she might accidentally buy something or get some kind of virus.

Any tips would be much appreciated - I want to avoid spending $$$$ on this if possible!