A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 Anyone here got teenagers?

DD just needed to have a cell phone, not the normal one. The one with wireless web, built in camera and camcorder, the whole 9 yards. So for her birthday (which was only on Sept.20) she got her phone.

She states I will be responsible, I will pay the bill. The first bill came in yesterday. You guessed it, teens are not to be trusted, they are not respnsible and chances are they will not be able to pay their bill. It was $172.14. I was shocked. She has two weeks to pay this and you can bet she's gonna be doing errands and alot of babysitting in those two weeks.

And to top it all off, today she tried to miss the bus again so she wouldn't have to go to school, I sent her out anyway. She can finish combing her hair on the bus.

mine and hubby's kids are past teens and then we have ashley, but one of the grand kids is a teenager, she goes to his moms (her great-grandmother's) after school and was using the phone there (his mom is on a fixed income) she ran the bill up talking to boys (she too had wanted a cell phone and no one got her one) She was having wild parties over there when no one was there (except his mom- she's in the bed and can not get up to see what's going on) so she was parting and calling and having people in and out the back door (hubby installed a camera on the front- so she was using the back door)

anyway, to cut out her little actitives we put a pad lock on the back door (and we have the key) and he fixed the phone boxes in the extra rooms where you can get a call but you can't call out. So if she wants to call out she has to use the phone on the table by his mom's bed. Well....she hasn't been back since all that got fixed.

Put your daughter's cell phone on one of those pay as you go plans, she'll learn really quick to manage her minutes better.

Laughing and crying with you here, Tamara!

We have 4 teens...luckily only 1 is still at home. We too have heard that "everyone has a cell phone" line and we say well, everyone doesn't have one cause YOU don't have one!

That's VERY good advice for a "first" cell phone...
...but if you've already signed a contract with someone it's gonna be a long two years! :rolleyes:

It's all those "extras" on a cell phone that really run the bill up. The wireless web, pictures, etc. If I just talk on mine I'll never go over the minutes, but when you start adding the web minutes, and sending pictures and text messages, it adds up FAST!

They didn't have cell phones when my daughter was a teenager, thank God!

Good luck!

Cindy

My daughter had to have a cell phone as it is long distance to call our house from school and the school really doesn't like long distance calls to be made. So she didn't get text or pictures or anything. Just a plain flip phone so she can call home or call her sisters. She is very good about not using all her minutes. Of course she also knows that her phone will be taken away for infractions. Then try to get a ride home when you stay after school!!!! I remember when my oldes wanted a pager in junior high....nope said I, only druggies use them. LOL A story she reminds me of repeatedly now that her baby sister has a cell.

Oh, WOW! FLASHBACK!
Yeah...that was the thing when Rachel was a teenager.
I had forgotten all about that!

My, how times have changed! :rolleyes:

hehe ^.^ I remember my first cell phone! I totally ran up my mom's bill lol. I payed her back and let the year pass through so she could return it. Then i went out and got a Virgin Mobile phone. I still have it, and ya ^.^ I only call people to figure out where they are if they're not around me. 20 bux a month keeps me happy I don't get to talk for hours like i used to, but that's okay ^.^ If i wana do that, i can talk to them in person!
~Phoebe

my first cell phone WAS a pay as you go.. actually, it was a prepaid, local only, unlimited cell. so i could make local calls and 1-800 calls on it, that's it. and it was good enough for me for 2 years!

matthew on the other hand (18, knows it all) got a cell phone for christmas last year. this year, he gets to give it back or change the bill to his name, or, change it to pre-pay. he's been ok, but one month, (only one) he went over his minutes by DOUBLE for paying your mom back!

That was one of the suggestions I was going to say.

The other is, (I don't know if they have this in Canada or not)
but we have Verizon..
and they have a Verizon to Verizon talk free...

and for me, I'm under my husbands' plan...
I call him, it's free, if I call after 9:00pm and Weekends, it's free.. so that's all I use it...
if I go over, *which I don't* it would only eat up his minutes, and I think his plan he gets something like 400 minutes or something like that..

*****Connie,
EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!
If more parents would stick together and say that,
none of them would be having stuff...

Although, I do let my oldest ride his bike to the *4 blocks away* store to get bread, milk or a couple of garbage stickers.. and I have thought of it seriously of getting him one, for the sole
purpose if he got into some trouble he could call home...but mine KNOWS that what other kids have,
don't mean crap~ola cause we don't have the $$$
to be up on all the latest "toys".

*** One thing to be warned by, check your bill religously, is the #'s... and charges..
the wrong way with a fingernail will get you
billed for something...
Mine did that a couple of times, and my husband found them and got them corrected.. cause I accidently pushed with my fingernail..
the person on the other end of the phone said he
could see that they were downloaded but never used, so he didn't keep the charges...

YES!
Rachel used to just have her cell bill automatically put on her credit card...and happened to notice last month that she was being billed almost $120.00...and usually her cell bill was $40. They had been charging her for calling her voice mail...which had been free for years, then all of a sudden it wasn't free anymore...but they failed to mention that to her!

Whoa..........this is a very timely topic for me.

My girl Nikki is having her sweet 16th birthday on Sunday.
She is getting her first cell phone and me too.

We are going with a family plan and shutting off the house phone.
I couldn't believe all the taxes we were paying on our last bill.11.32 just in taxes......good grief.

Thanks for all the info........hmmm.....now I have a few more questions before I sign a contract.

Tamara sorry,I meant to say to you.

I agree with you.Make her pay back those charges.

You,[as her Mother] are the most important teacher she will ever have.

Duckie...check the taxes and "other charges" when you're shopping for a cell plan.

My bill...
Monthly Service Charge-----$87.94
Gov't Fees And Taxes--------$7.95
Other Charges--------------$11.92
TOTAL---------------------$107.81

The "other charges" :rolleyes: are:
Fed Universal SVC Charge
Kentucky Lifeline Support
Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge
Utility Schools Surcharge


Cindy Sue

Well, the phone is paid for and cannot be hooked up to a pay as you go, she knows that my plan is-can't pay, it goes. She was quite upset that she can't go to the scool hockey game this evening because she has to babysit to pay off some of the bill. I'm going to make paying this bill off as hard as I can on her. It's a lesson she won't forget soon.

I thought my phone bill was high at $80 but that's also internet, call waiting and call display. Another reason not to complain. Only after I get the phone I have everyone tell me to say away from Telus. Too late now the phone is paid for.

Tamara...that phone bill I posted of mine is for 3 cell phones (3 different numbers). I didn't even think about that last night when I was posting it...just showing about the taxes and "other charges".

For 3 phones that's not too bad...except they put stuff on the bills all the time that I don't have and don't want...even charge for downloads that I haven't downloaded. I never download ring tones, etc. but they put them on the bill for some reason. I have no idea what that's about...but I'm gonna call them and find out!

Seems like every cell company I've been with tries to sleaze stuff onto the bill hoping you won't notice...Cingular being the worst.



That'll work! I imagine that will make her think a lot more when she's talking on the cell phone...and asks herself "Do I want to talk on the phone and babysit :p ...or go have fun with my friends?"


Cindy

My youngest received her cell for her sweet 16 when I arrived at her high school to pick her up after band practice at 9:30 PM only to discover they had let out early and everyone, including the band director, waved to her as they drove off and left her sitting on the sidewalk after dark in a deserted school yard. We went with the family plan - 3 phone numbers (cheap phones with some perks)- lots of minutes and free PCS to PCS calling. It's still expensive but I like the security and it's less than some of the amounts y'all have posted.

My oldest is the king of the long distance phone call. When he was a mere babe in arms I found him playing with the phone - the next month we had a charge to the Philipines, the following month it was to Venezuala - after that the phone went on a high shelf. He didn't repeat his phoning foolishness until he fell in love at 21 while visiting Japan. He paid a $5 monthly fee on his phone at school to get 4 cent per minute calling and "assumed" we had the same thing when he was home for a few weeks. The phone bill was $1,475 - yup - one thousand four hundred and seventy five dollars. I still get palpitations when I think about it.

I agree with you Bev on the secruity issue...
That's what I would do for my oldest when he
just goes to the store on his bike for a loaf
of bread, or milk...
Or playing with his friends...

My husband's plan is he gets something like
4~500 minutes during the day, after 9:00pm is
free and so are weekends...
So, we can call Oregon or where ever for free...

We upgrade in Nov. and I am seriously thinking
he gets one, for just such adventures....

After reading this, I must call my daughter and apologize for her charging .75 on my bill because she was way too lazy to look up # in the book.

oh, i don't know. those 75cent calls add up quick!

Not me! My "teenagers" have "almost teenagers" of their own, now.

I love teenagers, I spend a lot of time with 15-17 yr olds and they keep me on my toes. Working with early teens right now and not enjoying that quite as much.

PS - If you expect them to act like kids they never disappoint.

I go online with teenagers in Europe. They are hilarious! No, I am NOT a dirty old man, I just love their fresh new outlook on life as they enter adulthood. The most charming are the Scandinavian teens. Almost all of them speak, read, and write English fluently as well as several other languages, and I am moderately proficient in German if need be, so we get along swimmingly!