Parents used to only worry about “the talk”. Now you have something else to worry about and it is happening at a younger age. You now get to dread the cell phone argument. “Why can’t I have a cell phone?” I know this is a big one these days. You won’t necessarily find answers to “Help! My Kids Want Cell Phones.”  in a Parenting for Dummies book either. So what do you do when your child wants a cell phone?

You should understand that this argument now conforms to “the birds and the bees talk”. It is not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when.

Initial Action

You must first realize that there are a multitude of pros to the introduction of a mobile phone to a child. For starters they can be in constant contact with you. You can get a phone call when they get home with the sitter or when they make it over to a friend’s house. And in case of emergency, the GPS enabled on the cell phone can let you monitor the cell phone’s (and by default, your child’s) location from home.  Keeping in touch with a child should not be overlooked. Safety concerns are even higher with a growing rate of families that have scattered schedules caused by work, divorce or other daily obligations.

Your child may view the new device as a method of liberation, through communication, games, and personal possession. You should see it differently. It is an ally. You worries are not misplaced. Good parenting should be your concern. Parents have been worried about peer pressure and who their kids hang out with forever. A cell phone will not change this. Besides, a study conducted by GfK Mediamark Research & Intelligence shows a surprising trend. Even though the ownership of cell phones in children is increasing, keeping in touch with parents is still the most common use.

When

The when is the real heart of the issue. The number of variables that must be taken into consideration greatly affect the age at which a cell should be introduced. Looking at just the trends it appears most parents have deemed 10 to 11 years old the best time to shell out cell phones.  The amount of kids in this age bracket who have cells has jumped to a bit over 80% from 2005.

The situation within the child’s life also comes into play. Children of working single parents, often spend considerable amounts of time in the care of others. The extra peace of mind could be worth all the trade offs. However, this is a learning experience for the child. They should not be left to free-range with their new “toy”.

If the child is younger (6-10), they should be taught the importance of 911 and consequences associated with using it incorrectly. About 20% of all 6 to 11-year-olds had cell phones in 2009. If you decide this is an appropriate age to bestow the tech on your child, do so with a walkthrough. Realize curiosity is a major motivator. They should be conditioned to view the phone as a way to call parents, important contacts, reach lifelines and play games.

The child’s level of responsibility, family dynamics, child’s time management skills, and safety concerns should ultimately determine when a child gets a cell phone. That being said, I would never suggest parents hand the keys to a vehicle to their teen without conceding a cell phone as well.

Why

The why, is largely a behavioral question. Why do kids need cell phones? The dynamic of communication has changed. Many parents will say the kids in certain demographics presently are not in need of a cell. And in many cases this is true. As was stated earlier, the actual structure of communication has changed. Having a child rely on house phones and emails could put them behind in their social growth as well as hinder the real-time responses they could get to questions with school work.

What I see happening is quite profound because it represents such a dramatic shift in our behavior, how we consume media, produce media, share media and communicate with each other.  As a media sociologist, I am especially struck by how convincingly our adoption of new communication technologies is changing long established media industries like music, print and television.

– Dr. S. Craig Watkins, Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, within the Department of Radio Television Film in the College of Communication

Prior to making this decision remember there is a reason many of us no longer run around with beepers and pockets full of coins.

In a interview with Lana Berkowitz of the Houston Chronicle, Ellen Wartella of Northwestern University’s communication studies department said that: “The mobile phone is a tool to use much like in the past parents used neighborhood groups or the next-door neighbor to keep tabs on our kids, she said, noting, ‘It’s a question of: Is this a tool that will help the family?’”

Related Links:

http://www.gfkmri.com/PDF/MRIPR_010410_KidsAndCellPhones.pdf

http://www.parenting-journals.com/196/do-kids-need-cell-phones/

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/otherparentingissues/i/kids_cellphones.htm

http://www.today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32228705/ns/today-parenting/37577179

Here are some of the advantages to getting the Verizon cell phones.

One: You can get Verizon cell phones that have a plan that will give you as little or as many minutes as you will ever need. If you are going to use the phone on a limited basis than you can get a plan for the least amount of minutes, this way you will only pay for what you will use.

Two: With Verizon cell phones you will be able to use text messaging but it is not unlimited. There will be a charge for this service but it is usually only a few cents per text message. You will also be able to get online with these cell phones but you want to find out about the price for doing this.

Three: The biggest advantage is that this company has so many towers all over the place that you will not have any problems getting service for your cell phone. It doesn’t matter where you go in the United States because they will have a tower for you to get service.

These are just a few of the advantages that you will get when you use Verizon cell phones. There are many others that you want to check into before you decide to use this service. Cell phones will continue to grow in popularity. So it is important that you take the time to find the phone and the service provider that will work best for you.

London-based fashion designer Francesca Rosella and anthropologist Ryan Genz came up with a solution in the form of an old classic. Their invention is a “little black dress” fitted with the ability to accept and place phone calls. The M-Dress is equipped with software based on gesture recognition to handle phone calls. It has an antenna sewn into the hem, a SIM card in the label, and a speaker embedded in the left hand cuff.

“It’s not meant to wear every day. It’s for a special evening when you don’t want to be bothered carrying all of your plastic boxes,”said Rosella.

No, there is no keyboard. As of right now, the M-Dress, which is part of the Cute Circuit line expected to debut in October, can only call out to one number. It can, however, answer calls from any number. The company’s website describes the slinky little piece as “an elegant silk jersey”.

Relevant Sites:

Ecouterre: http://www.ecouterre.com/22333/little-black-dress-that-works-as-a-cellphone-turns-you-into-the-gadget/

CuteCircuit: http://www.cutecircuit.com/

CNN, Futuristic Fashion Gets Smart: http://157.166.255.31/2008/TECH/science/10/24/future.fashion/index.html

One: You need to figure out how much you will be using your cell phone on a daily basis. In other words, will you be talking on it a lot every day or will it be for emergencies only? You have to know this because the cell phone plans will all provide a different number of minutes.

Two: Will you need to use text messaging or get on the internet through your phone? If you do than you will want to find out how much each plan will charge you for this. Some of the cell phone plans will have unlimited texting and web access.

Three: Find out what they will charge you if you go over your minutes in any given month. This is important so you don’t end up having a bill that is outrageous each month. If necessary you can always up the amount of minutes on your plan.

These are just a few of the most important things that you need to find out about before you decide on which of the cell phone plans you want to use. Cell phones have a lot of good uses but they can get expensive if you don’t have the right plan. So take your time and find the one that works best for your phone needs.

Summary: How do you know which of the cell phone plans to use? There are a lot of plans for cell phones that you can choose from. There are some things that you need to find out about and decide on before you get any plan. Find out what these are so you will have an easier time deciding on what plan you want to use.

There was a fan of Justin Bieber, a Canadian pop singer, who recently went a little too far. Somehow he obtained the singers cell phone number and proceeded to harass the celebrity with unwarranted and unwanted text messages (SMS). The star retaliated. He released his alledged tormentor number to his 4.5 million twitter followers. Bieber tweeted that it was his own. Kevin Kristopik’s cell phone was flooded with over 26,000 text messages and calls before he could shut down the number.

Kristopik is just a teen. But now because of this exchange between the two, Mike Kristopik (Kevin’s father) could be looking at a bill to the tune of thousands of dollars. The estimate has now grown to be around $20,000.

How the teen got the number is not the largest issue, but does still deserve mention. According to radio host Spike at WKQI-FM, the teen sent an email bragging about hacking one of Bieber’s friends Facebook pages. He then allegedly threatened to hack the station if he was not sent tickets. No comments and no charges surround the statements.

The real issue comes to responsible texting. Since there is no face to face exchange in the world of texting, people (not just teens) tend to cast aside proper social behaviors and delve into irresponsible, intrusive, inappropriate, and even sexually vulgar use of their cell phones.  It is a completely unregulated media.

Emmy nominee, Jane Lynch has become the face of responsible texting. The star of the hit show “Glee” posed of a mug shot as part of the awareness. The viral campaign will be targeted towards responsible texting for kids. The campaign is courtesy of LG Mobile.

The Antennas are used to boost your signal. The batteries are used to power up your phone and it is always a good idea for you to keep extra batteries just in case of emergencies. A car charger is also a good idea because you will be able to charge your phone as you go from one place to another.

Cell phones are being used more than ever these days because of the convenience they provide you and the prices for cell phones, plus the new long life batteries. Landline phones are not being used so much anymore because of mobile phones growing in popularity.

Most of the accessories for cell phones will need to be charged all the time. If you don’t keep your battery charged it can die at anytime, even during a conversation you are having. It is important that you keep them charged or you will end up spending more money replacing them.

You can get any of the accessories for cell phones that you want to but the most important ones will be the batteries, chargers and the hands free kit. The hands free kit will let you drive and talk on your phone without putting yourself or others around you in danger. So decide which cell phone accessories you want and then take good care of them so you don’t have to replace them.

Summary: What cell phone accessories are available and what are they used for? There are quite a few of them and you won’t need all of them. You will just have to decide which ones will be the best for your needs. Find out what the accessories are so you can decide which ones would work best for you.

More and more people are considering whether they really need to have a cell phone and a land line. There are certainly pros and cons to this. One thing to consider is how often do you really use your regular phone. Generally a land line is great for local calling because it you can make unlimited calls for a specified amount of money each month.

If you take an upgraded package with your cell phone company ou can actually create a monthly budget that might be less than your landline is now. This is especially true if you’re calling a certain person over and over and they are in the same cell plan as you.

If you have several phones throughout your house ou may not like to go just with a cell phone that forces you keep that phone with you. Obviously as you move around the house and you leave your cell phone in one room when it rings this may be inconvenient for you to constantly be searching where you set it down.

Many cell phone companies now offer free nights and weekends in their plans. If you work during the day, you probably are not making a lot of phone calls then anyway. So in this case getting rid of a landline and doing most of your calling on your cell phone makes sense.

Ultimately this will come down to personal choice. You may want to do continue to use both, or you may want to elinate your land line and just go with your cell phone to save money.

Here are 2 things you should consider when you compare cell phone plans before you actually sign up for one.

1. How often you use it. Consider how many minutes you will use per month, and also the time of day do you make the majority of your calls. One more thing to consider is who is the person that you call the most. It might be worth joining a cell phone carrier that they already use so that you can get free unlimited calling to them.

2. Do you like to commit. Most major cell phone carriers want you to sign a minimum one or two-year contract. They offer incentives to get you to do that. Things like free phones, unlimited text messaging, unlimited calling to your friends, and these sort of things. The downside to it is when you have a contract with them you’re locked into it for that length of time.

For that reason some people would prefer to go with a higher rate, and less benefits, to get lesser contract period. Some people even go so far now as to just buy prepaid cell phones and use them whenever they need one, so they’re not locked into a contract.

If other things are important to you make a note of them. When you compare cell phone plans, however, be sure, and consider how often you’ll use the phone and whether you want to sign a contract for a certain period of time or not.

In this article, let’s take a look at a few free cell phone ring tones websites, as well as what are some excellent purchases you can make if you like to have unlimited ring tones available for you.

Ringtones are the sounds and tunes that alert us about the incoming call. You can get ringtones for free on just about anything including rock, rap, Christian, sports, country, comedy, and so on. Many of the ringtones that come with your phone are kind of lame so people look to replace those.

One website I found is the FreeSite.com. This is an excellent site for free cell phone products and accessories. They show you where to find resources on the Web such as free cell phone ringtones, Java games, music, screen logos, screen savers, wallpaper, free SMS sending services, and much more.

The Freesite has a link to RingTones Galore which contains several different providers so you can choose the type, quality, and price of ringtone that suits you best.

Also do not forget to check out some manufacturers themselves. Nokia, for example, offers over 1200 different ring tones for free that you can get if you have a Nokia a cell phone.

If you just have to have the latest and greatest ringtone Jamster.com offers a low cost monthly subscription where you will always have access to the coolest ringtones.

Prepaid cell phones used to be fairly expensive and difficult to find. That really isn’t the case anymore, and as more and more people have gone to them even big brand name carriers offer their own version of prepaid cell phones.

The nice thing about a prepaid cell phone is you pay for your airtime upfront. This is similar buying a long distance phone card. When you run out of minutes you can either add more to them or let the plan expire and discard your card. If you are not happy with the carrier you have can just buy a prepaid phone card with a different carrier.

There are a few downsides to this type of cell phone as well. They may not have the most current handset cover if you are into style. Also, if you are the type of person that uses a cell phone a lot you may end up paying a higher rate per minute then if you were to get a contract with the cell phone carrier.

If you are the type of person that does not use a cell phone very often, but just wants to have one available in case from an emergency, this is an great way to go. Senior citizens are another example of a person who would fit into a prepaid cell phone category. They may not use the phone as much as a normal cell phone user but would still like to get into the cell phone game and learn a little bit about how it works.

This is just a little bit of information on prepaid cell phones, and you have to determine if they are the way you want to go or not.