Everyone seems to have a smartphone these days, with comScore recently announcing this phone category dominates the market at 59 percent penetration. Smartphones are useful tools for the entire family, whether they’re for your teenage child or yourself.
Family Plans
Most major wireless service providers offer family plans, which split minutes, texting and data between several lines. The advantages of going with a family plan include paying a lower cost than if you bought the plans individually, and being charged a low price to add a basic line to the account. Whether you’re picking up an iPhone, T-mobile’s Blackberry 10, or an Android phone, examine the family plan options carefully. Track your family’s current cell phone usage habits to determine whether you can peacefully co-exist on the same plan, instead of fighting over data and minutes. Once you have an idea of exactly how heavy your mobile usage is, you can determine the best plan.
The Advantages
Kids these days live in a smartphone-saturated world, so it’s not a matter of IF they ask for a smartphone, it’s WHEN they ask for a smartphone. Smartphones keep your kids in touch with you, as well as provide them with tools that help with education. Some schools allow students to use their own mobile devices in the classroom, using apps and other resources to enhance their learning.
Another advantage is that you can use the GPS-enabled smartphones to track your child’s location. Up to 70 million people will be using GPS tracking apps by 2016, Time Magazine predicts. While your kids might consider tracking an invasion of privacy, it does help you to keep them safe and also gives you anti-theft measures on the smartphone itself.
Sixty percent of toddlers watch at least 2 hours of TV a day, according to Kids Health. However, the venue for those shows has started to change from the TV screen to mobile devices through streaming services. You can help break your kid’s dependence on the TV and introduce more moderated time through a smartphone or tablet.
The Drawbacks
One of the main drawbacks of getting a $200-plus pocket-sized computer is that kids are rough on phones. Some companies, such as Fisher Price, make smartphone cases specifically to protect against the destructive hands of infants and toddlers, while giving them an interactive experience. Mobile devices are proving to be useful learning tools for kids, even at a very young age, so being able to let them play with the phones without destroying them is important.
Even with family plans, the pricing for multiple smartphones may be prohibitive if you’re on a strict budget. You might need to start off with only the adults getting smartphones, and the children getting feature phones. As they prove to be responsible phone users, you can purchase used smartphones or use your current phones as hand-me-downs when you upgrade.
Do your kids have smartphones? Tell us your experiences in the comments.
This is a guest post from Lucy Kim. Lucy is a mom and avid environmentalist who runs a social media company from her home.