Choosing a Cell Phone Plan For Your Child

If you are the parent of a teen or a pre-teen, chances are you have been faced with this question: Should I allow my child to have a cell phone? If you've already determined that cell phone ownership would be a wise idea for your son or daughter, the next question you'll confront is: Which cell phone plan would be best for the younger member or members of the family?

As you might expect, there are a number of factors to consider when selecting cell phone service for your child:

A Lone-Ranger Plan. This stand-alone plan allows your teen to have his or her own private cell phone account. For the most part, that means keeping usage and per-minute fees under control. Your teen will talk less-and you will save more money in the long run.

The Add-On. With this type of plan, phone service for your child is added onto your own cell phone account. This means that you'll need to share minutes with your child-along with sharing the responsibility of phone ownership.

The Pre-Paid Version. With this plan, you'll pay for your child's cell phone minutes in advance. When the minutes have been used up, the service ends. While this may be the most economical option, it can also be the most frustrating-especially if your teen loses service during an emergency or another inopportune time.

A Local Unlimited Program. If your teen will be making only local calls, this plan may be your best bet, since local calling minutes are unlimited. However, your teen will have to pay costly long-distance fees with this type of plan.

Making Your Decision

Talk with your teenager about how the cell phone will be used. If you both agree that your child will primarily be calling local friends and relatives, you'll probably want to opt for a local unlimited plan. If you feel that your teen is not yet responsible enough to keep track of minutes, a prepaid program may be the most appropriate choice.

Also, be sure to do some comparison shopping before making your final choice. This means comparing policies involving anytime minutes, weekend minutes, general monthly charges, long distance fees, and peak minutes. You may also need to ask detailed questions, such as what the charges for text messages are; what the fees for Internet access might be: and whether you can alter the plan during the time when the contract is in force.

In addition, you may want to talk to other parents about their experiences with various cell phone plans. If you find a number of couples complaining about a particular provider, you may want to take your business elsewhere. After all, you don't want your teen to be stranded on the highway with a cell phone that keeps flashing a "no service" warning.

The Final Analysis

In the end, you may discover that a family plan works best. This is because such a plan enables you to divvy up minutes to members of your brood. Such a plan also instills family cooperation, encouraging better communication between parents and children and between brothers and sisters. Shared minute plans can offer similar benefits.

If you find that the plan you select meets your family's needs-if the members of your household seldom complain about service-chances are you've found the appropriate plan. And that should make each member of the family happy!

Go to Telecom Beacon for more helpful cellular guides and great cell phone deals.

Firefly vs Migo - Choosing a Cell Phone for Your Kid

This article is designed to provide a review and comparison between the two leading kids cell phones: the Firefly and the Migo from LG (the TicTalk will not be discussed). Designed to equip consumers with the latest reviews this article will provide a brief analysis about the pros and cons regarding these two cell phones. Let's get started....
The Firefly has been out for a while, mid-2005 exposed the Firefly plans and towards Q3 of 2005 the Firefly was coming onto US markets namely on the Cingular network. The GSM enabled handset appealed to the kid audience through parents by offering basic features on a simple phone. The added 'security' appealed to parents hence the rush for other manufacturers to produce a similar device. Lo and behold, LG was next inline offering their version called the Migo. The LG VX 1000 Migo is a CDMA enabled handset and operates on the Verizon network.
This article doesn't look at the practicality of the devices, but compares the two against each other; which device should you buy if you had the choice. Since both operate on different networks this means if you're already with a carrier your choice may be restricted. As stated, the Firefly operates on the GSM network (T-Mobile, Cingular, Rogers), and the Migo operates on the CDMA network (Verizon, Sprint, Telus? or Bell?). The thing with GSM phones is you could potentially purchase it 'unlocked' and activate it on any GSM network provider of your choice. You cannot do the same with CDMA. If you're purchasing for the first time and will choose between the two networks (Cingular and Verizon in the States) then the rest of this review will help your decision making.
Weighing in at a paltry 56 grams, designed to accommodate smaller hands, the Blue and Pink Firefly measures 1.75 x 3.46 x .79, weighs 2.12 ounces, offers up to 2.5 hours of talk time, and up to 100 hours of standby; a bare bones 850/1900 MHz GSM cell phone that permits parents to limit outgoing calls to certain numbers and also sports 'mom' and 'dad' buttons for quick dialling.
Conversely, the green Migo measures 1.77 x 3.42 x 1.07 weighs 2.4 ounces, offers 4 hours of talk time, but unfortunately no prepaid options are available with this phone. Network: CDMA; High-Speed Data: 1xRTT; remember, neither phones have Bluetooth, cameras, or any additional features common on regular phones. The phone also shows 5 buttons for quick dialling and emergency dialling.
Pro: Firefly. With the Firefly you can limit who calls your child based on a pre-programmed list. The Migo does not offer this security feature so essentially junior can give the number to friends and get them to call. The Migo only permits 5 programmable outgoing call numbers while the Firefly list enables 20.
Pro: Migo. The Migo works with hearing aids. Also, the second antenna is for eventual GPS support, where that goes we won't know, but it is an additional feature on the Migo.
Con: Both phones are designed to give the bare phone essentials. However, they are candybar styles, which means the Firefly antenna is located within the phone unit and does not protrude out. This means cellular frequencies are closer to the brain. The question now revolves around how early is too early for exposing kids to cellular frequencies on a regular basis? On one hand you don't want to risk your child's health, on the other hand scientific research is still inconclusive when it comes to cell phone 'radiation'. The juror is still out on this one, be your own judge regarding the health impacts. The Migo's SAR rating is 0.915 w/kg when held up to the head, below the legal limit of 1.6 w/kg and also below the Firefly's level of 1.322 w/kg. The Migo antennas are outside of the phone as well.
Conclusion: Both phones offer pretty much the same features and are built in the same way. If you're on a network already and just want to add a kid phone then it's Firefly for GSM and Migo for CDMA. Simple. If you're getting a phone on a new network then it seems the Firefly wins by an edge. This article does not investigate the durability of the phones because they are both so new (the Migo especially), nor does it look at the sound quality. Both phones are near equal in this respect, however, the Firefly seems to be built stronger and the Migo appears to have marginally better sound in preliminary tests. Remember, a teen will not enjoy these phones for their basic nature, but your young child may benefit from the added security. Firefly seems to offer more in this security detail. So for now, points to Firefly, barely.







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