Cell Phone for 5th grader.

[sjc0816]

It's becoming apparent that I need to get my 5th grader some sort of phone so that I can contact him. He has a good amount of freedom and a lot of the time I spend chasing him down. I'm okay with the freedom (he just goes to friends houses or the park with friends, basketball court nearby or tennis courts)....but I'm not okay with chasing him down when he needs to come home.

We have a Verizon family plan between my DH and I but I'm not interested in any sort of data/smart phone for him....just something that I can call or text as needed. I don't even know what's available or out there in this arena.

Any ideas?

[ketchup]

Just buy a simple El Cheapo flip phone for ~$20 and put him on a basic pay-as-you-go plan like H2O (uses AT&T network).  Stress that it's for calling/texting you only, and with limited use it should definitely end up being <$10/month for service.

That's the sort of thing I was on when I got my first cell phone as a senior in high school (2009).

[GuitarStv]

No.

[Kapiira]

Until recently I had a pay as you go t-mobile plan that works out well for the type of use you are describing.  It was 10 cents per minute or text with a $3 minimum per month.

[SuperSecretName]

Ring plus is free. I just signed my 6th grader up.

You need a sprint phone/SIM.

[gatortator]

checkout http://pagepluscellular.com. cheap pay as you go ($10 for 100 min valid 120 days)  or monthly plans: $10.00 for 250min/250 text/10MB data when you sign up for auto=refill.  works on Verizon network and Verizon phones in case you have an old one laying around.

I had good experiences using their live chat feature when I had to setup two of my phones.

This is what I plan on using for my kids when they are older, since Verizon has the best coverage in our area.

 

[shelivesthedream]

If it's just that YOU want to call HIM, but the cheapest phone you can find with a PAYG sim and don't put any money on it (or maybe £5 for real emergencies).

[radram]

"...NEED to get my 5th grader..."  I disagree.

He WANTS one.... you WANT him to have one.  Little rant over :)

I started my daughter on a 7" tablet through T-Mobile.  It was about $250 about 4 years ago and included the chip that enables 4G.  T-Mobile had 200MB of free data per month for life.  The plan did not include any texting, but there are apps that text for free.  You could get phone calling apps, but she did not  It was so-so in my area, but at the time she was ALWAYS in an area with WIFI, so it worked well for her.  It was also a great financial lesson.  She watched her free data like a hawk, and NEVER ran out.  I can already see she is doing the same with finances.

About a year and a half ago, freedom pop improved their data service in our area, and we now use them. It works good for texting, but so-so for phone calls.  3G and 4G can text pretty well, but a phone call is delayed and spotty.  All works very well on WIFI.

Phones start today at around $40, and include 500MB data, 500 texts, and 200 phone minutes per month, all free.  No contract. There are ways to get more free data per month, but I have not needed to. With the right sale and deal, you can get unlimited text free as well.  Honestly, customer service is very poor, but so far I have not needed it. 

In the past year and a half, we purchased 2 S3's for $89 each, and 2 victory's for $40 each.  That is all costs, all in, for 18 months of service for 4 smart phones.  We are light users, and they meet our needs.

One more strange quirk.  The victory's use very little data on idle, but both of the S3's use a lot.  We still have not found out why.

[MDM]

...a lot of the time I spend chasing him down. I'm okay with the freedom (he just goes to friends houses or the park with friends, basketball court nearby or tennis courts)....but I'm not okay with chasing him down when he needs to come home.

Buy him a watch.

Tell him what time he needs to be home.

Ground him for some amount of time if he abuses the privilege (definitions of "some amount" and "abuses" are up to you).

Minimal one-time cost and ~$0/month thereafter.

[southern granny]

we have our ten year old grandson on our ting account.  I like it because I can go online and see every phone number that he makes a call or text to or receives from.  I can switch access to data on or off. 

[CopperTex]

My 17 year old daughter doesn't even have a cell phone. Why? Because she uses one of our old iphones at home for free texting over wi-fii and whenever she's out, she is always with someone who has a phone she can use. I let my kids friends parents pay for cell phones that they can use when they are out with them.

[shelivesthedream]

Some of y'all do need to lighten up a bit. The OP is really not suggesting anything outrageous, just asking for the cheapest option to be able to contact her child when he's out on his own. No data plans, no smartphone, not even a call plan... Chill.

[lakemom]

...a lot of the time I spend chasing him down. I'm okay with the freedom (he just goes to friends houses or the park with friends, basketball court nearby or tennis courts)....but I'm not okay with chasing him down when he needs to come home.

Buy him a watch.

Tell him what time he needs to be home.

Ground him for some amount of time if he abuses the privilege (definitions of "some amount" and "abuses" are up to you).

Minimal one-time cost and ~$0/month thereafter.

This is exactly what I was going to post! 

[PencilThinStash]

...a lot of the time I spend chasing him down. I'm okay with the freedom (he just goes to friends houses or the park with friends, basketball court nearby or tennis courts)....but I'm not okay with chasing him down when he needs to come home.

Buy him a watch.

Tell him what time he needs to be home.

Ground him for some amount of time if he abuses the privilege (definitions of "some amount" and "abuses" are up to you).

Minimal one-time cost and ~$0/month thereafter.

This is exactly what I was going to post!

I don't even have kids, but I'm filing that one away in the back of my brain for future use.

[MayDay]

My kid is 8 and I'm seriously thinking about a phone. We've used walkie talkies but the connection is poor and it's frustrating.

It would be "mine" but I don't want to give him my breakable smart phone if he's off exploring. I would loan it out to him if he was going off exploring.

 He has a watch and will come home when he's supposed to, but for my peace of mind surrounding people who call police/cps on unaccompanied children, I want him to have a phone at times.

[Bikeguy]

checkout http://pagepluscellular.com. cheap pay as you go ($10 for 100 min valid 120 days)  or monthly plans: $10.00 for 250min/250 text/10MB data when you sign up for auto=refill.  works on Verizon network and Verizon phones in case you have an old one laying around.

I had good experiences using their live chat feature when I had to setup two of my phones.

This is what I plan on using for my kids when they are older, since Verizon has the best coverage in our area.

I got this for my daughter.  She burned through the entire amount in no time at 5 cents a text.  Use caution.  Not sure whether texting can be turned off on that plan.

[redcedar]

I would strongly suggest giving this a long term approach. Kids adapt very quickly to technology and want to do things their peers are doing. They learn, communicate, and think with technology in ways that we just did not at the same age.

Now I am not suggesting that you buy a brand new iPhone 6s+ because other kids have them but I think you will be unhappy in less than 6 months if you go with a basic flip phone paired up with basic no data plan.

I would recommend two options
1. A hand-me-down phone, ie your current phone if close to a time when you would consider a new phone from yourself. Or similar hand-me-down from a family member.
2. A low cost android smartphone

[randymarsh]

Some of y'all do need to lighten up a bit. The OP is really not suggesting anything outrageous, just asking for the cheapest option to be able to contact her child when he's out on his own. No data plans, no smartphone, not even a call plan... Chill.

+1

You can get a boring flip phone + year of service for like $100 from www.tracfone.com

[Helvegen]

Some of y'all do need to lighten up a bit. The OP is really not suggesting anything outrageous, just asking for the cheapest option to be able to contact her child when he's out on his own. No data plans, no smartphone, not even a call plan... Chill.

Bingo.

My 10 year old has a Kyocera Hydroview. She is on our Cricket family plan on the lowest data tier. I don't see the big deal. Quite frankly, it has made our lives easier in some ways and it is teaching her some additional responsibility because it is her phone to keep track of, not break/lose. We are starting the process of weaning her off childcare and her having a phone for this was not negotiable.