539 out of 200
yep. I said that right. That would be 539 text messages on a plan that allows for 200 per month. And the month wasn’t even half over.
FavoriteSon and FirstHusband went on a field trip to Washington DC last week and while the students weren’t allowed to talk to each other on their phones, they were allowed to text each other. Just for the fun of it, when they got back, I got online to check FavoriteSon’s usage.
Voice Minutes Used: 8 (and he didn’t even call his mother)
Text Messages: 539
That was February 14th and the billing cycle ends in March.
So after a little family pow wow, I got on the phone and increased his text message to 1,500 for an extra $10 per month. Back dated to include the 539 messages so he won’t have to pay 10 cents for each one over 200.
Because he’s 13. And communicating with his peers. Which he wasn’t really doing so much last year. Before the contact lenses. and the clear skin. and the cool hair. and the team sports. and he’s a good kid, who gets good grades and does his chores. most of the time. and is sweet to his baby sister. some of the time.
Besides. He’s paying for it.
The rules? We’re making them up as we go along, but so far:
1. This rule was instituted the day he got his phone: No phone in the bedroom at night.
2. We get to look at his text messages. If we ask, he allows us. (he can read mine)
3. He promises he will not text anyone anything their parents will need to call us about.
4. No texting during homework or family meals.
5. He doesn’t forward chain texts & tells his friends to stop sending them.
6. He has to check his own minutes and self-regulate.
He is very motivated to keep these rules. He’s eligible for an upgrade.
What teenager cell phone/texting rules have worked for you?
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My sister had a phone as a part of my plan, when she lived with us here in Florida. We didn’t have a text messaging plan. She didn’t know this. I mean, why should she think any differently – she was in her early 20s. We had 500 text messages in a few weeks. Thank goodness she said something – we were on the 25ยข per message plan.
I think those rules aren’t too bad – although I would have had to argue about a few them if I was the teen. (I was a handful!)