Teenagers and Cell Phone Bills - UGH

I need to rant. I just opened our family cell phone bill and it was through
the roof! And who are the culprits? My two teenagers. My husband and I told
them very clearly when we got the phones that their phones were to be used
primarily for emergencies and the calls we make to each other. Do you
consider calls to girlfriends in other states an emergency. I plan on
suspending cell phone privileges, but I am concerned about their being able
to reach me in the event of crises. What to do before my husband kills both
kids?
Laura

Take the phones away and buy them prepaid phones, that way they will learn
what the phones cost.


"LauraB" wrote in message
news:G3qMe.8921$1b5.3708@trnddc05...
I need to rant. I just opened our family cell phone bill and it was through
the roof! And who are the culprits? My two teenagers. My husband and I
told
them very clearly when we got the phones that their phones were to be used
primarily for emergencies and the calls we make to each other. Do you
consider calls to girlfriends in other states an emergency. I plan on
suspending cell phone privileges, but I am concerned about their being
able
to reach me in the event of crises. What to do before my husband kills
both
kids?
Laura

Also, let them pay the pay-per-go phone cost out of their allowances.

"Christian" wrote in message
eenews.net...
Take the phones away and buy them prepaid phones, that way they will learn
what the phones cost.


"LauraB" wrote in message
news:G3qMe.8921$1b5.3708@trnddc05...
I need to rant. I just opened our family cell phone bill and it was
through
the roof! And who are the culprits? My two teenagers. My husband and I
told
them very clearly when we got the phones that their phones were to be
used
primarily for emergencies and the calls we make to each other. Do you
consider calls to girlfriends in other states an emergency. I plan on
suspending cell phone privileges, but I am concerned about their being
able
to reach me in the event of crises. What to do before my husband kills
both
kids?
Laura

"LauraB" wrote in message
news:G3qMe.8921$1b5.3708@trnddc05...
I need to rant. I just opened our family cell phone bill and it was
through
the roof! And who are the culprits? My two teenagers. My husband and I
told
them very clearly when we got the phones that their phones were to be used
primarily for emergencies and the calls we make to each other. Do you
consider calls to girlfriends in other states an emergency. I plan on
suspending cell phone privileges, but I am concerned about their being
able
to reach me in the event of crises. What to do before my husband kills
both
kids?
Laura

Send them to "Brat Camp" and have them star in this reality TV show. Then
the little punks will make enough dough humiliating themselves to afford to
pay for the phones themselves. Oh yeah, don't forget to take the computers
out of their rooms, and the televisions, and the stereos...Then kill them.

In message G3qMe.8921$1b5.3708@trnddc05 LauraB
wrote:

I need to rant. I just opened our family cell phone bill and it was through
the roof! And who are the culprits? My two teenagers. My husband and I told
them very clearly when we got the phones that their phones were to be used
primarily for emergencies and the calls we make to each other. Do you
consider calls to girlfriends in other states an emergency. I plan on
suspending cell phone privileges, but I am concerned about their being able
to reach me in the event of crises. What to do before my husband kills both
kids?
Laura

Some cellphones have the ability to lock down what numbers can be dialed
to the phonebook (and to lock the phonebook as well) -- This will let
your children call each other, you, and other pre-selected numbers but
not the rest of the world.

Another option is prepaid cells, give them $20 cards each month and let
them pay for the rest, this will assist them in learning the value of
money

--
Is it my imagination, or do buffalo wings taste like chicken?

In article G3qMe.8921$1b5.3708@trnddc05,
LauraB wrote:

I need to rant. I just opened our family cell phone bill and it was through
the roof! And who are the culprits? My two teenagers. My husband and I told
them very clearly when we got the phones that their phones were to be used
primarily for emergencies and the calls we make to each other. Do you
consider calls to girlfriends in other states an emergency. I plan on
suspending cell phone privileges, but I am concerned about their being able
to reach me in the event of crises. What to do before my husband kills both
kids?
Laura

BTDT

It's too late for the best option: prepaid phone plans. It costs more
per minute if you use very many minutes -- but the phone just won't
work, instead of it working and racking up a bill!

I made my kids pay me for the minutes they went over. We also increased
the total number of minutes when it became apparent that the number of
minutes we were paying for was too low for us, but that's up to you.

My daughter's biggest expense right now is calls to information: it's
about $1.50 per call to directory assistance, and for some reason she
racked up about $30 last month! She is, however, paying for it.

The other alternative is to let their dad kill them . . . I understand
the impulse . . .
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

In article G3qMe.8921$1b5.3708@trnddc05,
says...
I need to rant. I just opened our family cell phone bill and it was through
the roof! And who are the culprits? My two teenagers. My husband and I told
them very clearly when we got the phones that their phones were to be used
primarily for emergencies and the calls we make to each other. Do you
consider calls to girlfriends in other states an emergency. I plan on
suspending cell phone privileges, but I am concerned about their being able
to reach me in the event of crises. What to do before my husband kills both
kids?
Laura

This reminds me of the T-mobile commercial that has been running
recently. Parents open the bill and start screaming their kids full
names - middle names too! We had the same problem a few months ago. We
did two things. Our kids when calling friends have to call from home,
especially if it isn't local. We switched to a company called OneSuite
(www.onesuite.com) for those out-of-state and long-distance calls. I
seriously cannot say enough about OneSuite, easy to use and cheap cheap
cheap. The second thing we changed from regular pay phones to prepaid
phones. The kids moaned and whined but we have been saving tons of money
and many headaches. Not to mention my DH and I are fighting a lot less
these days.
Anna

"LauraB" wrote in message
news:G3qMe.8921$1b5.3708@trnddc05...
I need to rant. I just opened our family cell phone bill and it was
through
the roof! And who are the culprits? My two teenagers.

And this comes as a surprise? Ever hear of "the tragedy of the commons?"
Time for some "tough love." Yank the phones and tell them they can have them
back *after* they have repaid the overage charges.

--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

I agree with the prepaid option...once they use up their allotment for
the month, they can contribute to buying their own cards if they need
more minutes.

ya, prepaid phones are the way to go. There are a number of services
geared specifically to teens like boost mobile and virgin mobile. The
costs are not that expensive and you keep better track of how much you
use. If you need info on different prepaid plans, I recommend
www.paygmobile.com as a good resource.