Our plan includes data across all phones-there is no “D” data, “H” data or “my” data. I use almost none, H uses some while on public transportation and at lunch, D uses the most at various times, often in school, asv the kids use their phones for research, uploading photos and film for class and so on. While not all the kids have smartphones, those that do use them often in school. It’s a lot easier to make a short film on your phone than to go to the trouble of checking out a video camera from the media department. The kids without the phones really are at a disadvantage. One of the school’s cameras got misplaced a couple of weeks ago and the students lost all of their footage just days before the film was due.
What we do to keep D on track is limit the hours she can use her phone, and she’s happily used that when she wants to concentrate on homework or just go to bed early.
You could turn off the data plan but keep the texting plan.
Then your kid could still text.
Then your kid could still go onto internet, FB, twitter, instagram, youtube, etc when he is wifi connected at home or at school. Couldn’t surf internet in the car.
Wow, we have SO many discussions about this at our house. It’s not just our son. It’s the whole family. We bloody well sit around with our screens on, constantly. Yeah, we all “need” our screens. I need them for work (see username and pic LOL), husband needs them for work, son needs them for school (assignments over their mail system, writing has to be done on computer, etc) … we all need a screen to connect with friends … we’re all news junkies and “interesting info” junkies, etc … something comes up in conversation and the internet answers the factual questions … that’s the diff between screens today and screen time when it was just TV and you could realistically say (as I did and my mom did) “no more than an hour of TV a day.” Nobody really “needs” TV, so it can be limited easily. But we all truly do need our phones/laptops in the 21st century for legit purposes beyond passing the time.
Not every minute, though. So what we’ve been doing lately is No Screen Time for the whole family. Every evening. Ideally for several hours. (Barring things like true deadlines.) If we talk or play Scrabble or something as a family, great. If we read our own books and ignore each other, great. Doesn’t matter. Just get off the effing screens. All types of screens and ALL of us in the family. (I say as I type on a screen.) OK, we make an exception for husband’s work calls, but for anything else, we do have a landline and if anything is important they’ll call on the landline. And a few hours’ delay in seeing an evening email or text is not going to make a huge difference.
At other times, text and email and web surf and video-game away. Some of it’s truly needed, some of it’s just fun and social (which is fine. Even good.) But at least let’s all take a break to refresh the poor brain
We don’t have unlimited data so I have the account set to automatically turn off once our HS senior hits the limit. She uses some music apps that drain data so her wireless data doesn’t last long. She still always has access to our wifi and can text and make calls.
I have observed that the times that we have restricted the phone as punishment after the first day or so DD is noticeably more relaxed.
I think it must be mentally exhausting to keep up with all the texts, instagram posts, twitter posts, snapchats and facebook feeds from your friends, especially if you are a social butterfly like my DD.
I’m the the (surprising) minority that says, either he limits the cell phone dependency or you do. Some are saying he needs access because teachers communicate, but that can’t be the bulk of his after school and weekends. Granted, my kids are out of college now, but in hs, I turned off their phones for a day or two, when it went out of control. I don’t buy the need to be on FB constantly, either.
FWIW, D’s school does not allow kids to use the wifi except on their laptops, which are school-owned. So shutting off a kid’s wifi would effectively block them from using data at all in school. While it’s certainly not NECESSARY to have a smart phone and data plan to be at that school (and many kids don’t). D has saved her group’s bacon more than once because she DOES.
